Silent Running - Trailer 1972

Year Published: 1972

Country of Origin: United States

Description: 16mm Film - Silent Running - Trailer - USA 1972 Directed by: Douglas Trumbull Written by: Deric Washburn, Michael Cimino, Steven Bochco Cinematography by: Charles F. Wheeler Music by: Peter Schickele, Joan Baez ("Rejoice in the Sun", "Silent Running") Starring: Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, Jesse Vint, Steve Brown, Mark Persons, Cheryl Sparks, Steven Brown, Larry Whisenhunt In the future, all plant life on Earth is becoming extinct. As many specimens as possible have been preserved in a series of enormous, greenhouse-like geodesic domes, attached to large spaceships, one of which is named Valley Forge, forming part of a fleet of American Airlines space freighters, currently just outside the orbit of Saturn. Freeman Lowell, one of four crewmen aboard, is the resident botanist and ecologist who carefully maintains a variety of plants for their eventual return to Earth and the reforestation of the planet. Lowell spends most of his time in the domes, both cultivating the crops and attending to the animal life. The crew receives orders to jettison and destroy the domes and return the freighters to commercial service. After four of the six domes are jettisoned and blown up, Lowell rebels and opts instead to save the plants and animals on his ship. Lowell kills one of his crew-mates who arrives to plant explosives in his favorite dome, and his right leg is seriously injured in the process. He then jettisons and triggers the destruction of one of the remaining domes, trapping and killing the remaining two crewmen. Enlisting the aid of the ship's three service robots, Lowell stages a fake premature explosion as a ruse and sends the Valley Forge careening toward Saturn in an attempt to hijack the ship and flee with the last forest dome. He then reprograms the drones to perform surgery on his leg and sets the Valley Forge on a risky course through Saturn's rings. Later, as the ship endures the rough passage, Drone 3 is lost, but the ship and its remaining dome emerge relatively undamaged on the other side of the rings. Lowell gives the surviving drones the names Dewey (Drone 1) and Huey (Drone 2), while the lost Drone 3 is named Louie. Lowell, Huey, and Dewey set out into deep space to maintain the forest. Lowell reprograms Huey and Dewey to plant trees and play poker. Lowell begins speaking to them constantly, as if they are children. Huey is damaged when Lowell accidentally collides with him while driving a buggy recklessly, and Dewey sentimentally refuses to leave Huey's side during the repairs. As time passes, Lowell is horrified when he discovers that his bio-dome is dying, but is unable to come up with a solution to the problem. When the Berkshire - another space freighter waiting to see if the Valley Forge has survived the trip - eventually reestablishes contact, he knows that his crimes will soon be discovered. It is then that he realizes a lack of light has restricted plant growth, and he races to install lamps to correct this situation. In an effort to save the last forest before the Berkshire arrives, Lowell jettisons the dome to safety. He then detonates nuclear charges, destroying the Valley Forge, the damaged Huey, and himself in the process. The final scene is of the now well-lit forest greenhouse drifting into deep space, with Dewey tenderly caring for it, holding a battered old watering can.

Online Copy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSlDO53GNOg

Metadata Source:YouTube