Sci Fi Sunday: Silent Running
In 1972 Bruce Dern made two films that would make me a lifelong fan and they couldn’t have been more different. In The Cowboys he was the sadistic outlaw who shot John Wayne in the back while Silent Running saw him playing a killer again but this time one filled with remorse.
The aptly named Freeman Lowell is one of the crew of the Valley Forge, a space freighter that’s carrying earths last forests contained within huge domes. When the order comes through to destroy the domes and return home, Lowell can’t do it. He kills his three fellow crew members and sets off for Saturn’s rings with only two robot drones for company.
Several elements combine to make this a science fiction classic. Dern’s performance, played for the most part opposite the expressionless drones’ is a thing of wonder. The film is full of moving moments, Lowell’s speech as the drones bury one of the murdered crew and the scene where he “operates” on one of the damaged drones, are just the most powerful. It’s not all doom and gloom though, the film has plenty of humour as well, with Lowell taking on Hewie and Dewie (the names he gives the drones) at poker being a perfect example.
The film boasts a trio of amazing screenwriters, Deric Washburn and Michael Cimino who would go on to write The Deer Hunter together and Steve Bochco who went on to TV fame with Hill Street Blues amongst others. Their screenplay manages to engage both the heart and the head, a rare accomplishment particularly in this genre.
