In a ruined future, huge orbiting spaceships preserve the last remaining trees from pollution and overcrowding on Earth. Botanist Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) receives an order to destroy the trees. He refuses, setting himself against his superiors and fellow crew members. Directed by special-effects titan Douglas Trumbull, Silent Running's innovative effects and powerful themes ensure its cult status.

In response to the environmental issues of the 1960’s, Trumbull married the theme of ecology to his pioneering special effects simultaneously making a social statement and a beautiful film full of aesthetic opposites. His rendering of vast greenery trapped within steel and glass is a moving vision. Dern’s unforgettable rendering of the unhinged Lowell, a man driven by what he thinks is right, is frightening and heartbreaking.

Lowell is the quintessential over achiever, the loner who seems to have given up a chance at “fitting in”, in order to gain individual accomplishments. While his three fellow crewman wear basically the same garb as Lowell, his jumpsuit is covered with patches not unlike the dutiful Boy Scout collecting badges for his sash. Also setting him apart from the others is the color of his jumpsuit. Lowell sports a powder blue uniform, while the others don the colors of red, white and blue respectively; the colors of the USA and representative in this film of a country of followers rather than the self fashioned leader that Lowell sees himself as.

Silent Running eerily resembles our present environmental and social issues. The concern of environmental awareness is of course obvious and at the forefront of the film. There is also a fantastic speech given by Lowell to his crewmates that really emphasizes some of the social issues that we are facing perhaps more today than in 1972. When his fellow crewmates make fun of Lowell for eating raw fruit and vegetables he argues by asking them if they know where their food came from and better yet, what it actually IS that they are eating. He goes on to explain, passionately to the point of fist fighting, that at least he knows where his food comes from, that he grew it with his own two hands and that he garners much joy from his toiling. These arguments are similar to the present day wave of eco-groups calling for more responsible eating habits a.k.a. sustainable agriculture, which encourages communities to eat “closer to home” by buying direct from local farms, butchers, fisheries and so forth. It is also reminiscent of the classic argument of processed vs. organic food that is still raging on as this is written.

The effects are quite astounding for their time working well with the film rather than overpowering it. The only things that date this film badly are two songs sung by folk musician Joan Baez. While her musical styling is fitting for the socially conscious theme of the film, some may find it over the top and borderline laughable.

Never the less, Silent Running is worthy of a place on your sci-fi DVD shelf, although you may want to see if there will be a high definition format (most likely Blue-ray) in the near future. Digital cleaning and sound enhancement could only serve to make this great film even more of a treat to watch!