Silent Running
In 1968, visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull (The Andromeda Strain, Close Encounters of the Third Kind) contributed to the ground-breaking special photographic effects of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Four years later, he stamped his own indelible mark on the science fiction genre with his mesmerising directorial debut – Silent Running.
In the not-so-distant future, Earth is barren of all flora and fauna, with what remains of the planet’s former ecosystems preserved aboard a fleet of greenhouses orbiting in space. When the crews are ordered to destroy the remaining specimens, one botanist, Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern, The ’Burbs), rebels and flees towards Saturn in a desperate bid to preserve his own little piece of Earth that was, accompanied only by the ship’s three service robots.
Featuring a captivating central performance by Dern, visual effects that rival anything in 2001 and a powerful ecological message, Silent Running is a haunting and prescient sci-fi classic that resonates even more strongly today than it did at the time of its original release.
Release Information:
Technical Specifications
Supplements
- Brand new audio commentary by critics Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw
- Original audio commentary by Douglas Trumbull and actor Bruce Dern
- Isolated music and effects track
- No Turning Back, a new interview with film music historian Jeff Bond on the film s score
- First Run, a new visual essay by writer and filmmaker Jon Spira exploring the evolution of Silent Running's screenplay
- The Making of Silent Running, an archival 1972 on-set documentary
- Silent Running by Douglas Trumbull
- Douglas Trumbull: Then and Now
- A Conversation with Bruce Dern, an archival interview with the film's lead actor
- Theatrical trailer
- Extensive behind-the-scenes gallery
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Barry Forshaw and Peter Tonguette