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Silent Running

1972 · Movie · G · 89 min

6.5(641)unSUB Rating

AdventureScience FictionDrama

In a future where Earth’s plant life is gone, a lone caretaker tends the last living forests inside greenhouse domes aboard a space freighter, aided by a few service robots. When authorities order the domes destroyed so the ship can return to routine work, he refuses—setting off a tense standoff that leaves him increasingly isolated in deep space.

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Details
Years
1972
Release date
1972-03-09
Language
English
Rated
G
Runtime
89 min
TMDB rating (input)
6.4/10 (641 votes)
Budget
$1,350,000
About

You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a reflective, message-driven sci‑fi with loneliness, moral gray areas, and a touch of warmth from robots; Not for you if you need fast action or tight logic like The Andromeda Strain.

Pros: strong environmental theme; memorable robot companions; striking space imagery | Cons: slow pacing; thin character depth; plot holes linger

Themes

  • dystopia
  • sunlight
  • space travel
  • saturn
  • biotope
  • plant
  • greenhouse
  • forest
  • space
  • food
  • robot
  • space station
  • +2 more

Cast & crew

  • Bruce Dern

    Bruce Dern

    as Freeman Lowell

  • Cliff Potts

    Cliff Potts

    as John Keenan

  • Ron Rifkin

    Ron Rifkin

    as Marty Barker

  • Jesse Vint

    Jesse Vint

    as Andy Wolf

  • MP

    Mark Persons

    as Grey Drone #1 “Dewey”

  • SB

    Steven Brown

    as Orange Drone #2 “Huey”

  • CS

    Cheryl Sparks

    as Orange Drone #2 “Huey”

  • LW

    Larry Whisenhunt

    as Green Drone #3 “Louie”

  • Joseph Campanella

    Joseph Campanella

    as Neal - ‘Berkshire’ Captain (voice/uncredited)

  • RE

    Roy Engel

    as Anderson (voice/uncredited)

Directed by Douglas Trumbull