8 Great Sci-Fi Movies With Only One Main Character (Most Of The Time)

8. Silent Running (1972)

Silent Running is a post-apocalyptic science fiction film starring Bruce Dern as Freeman Lowell, a botanist and ecologist aboard the Valley Forge spaceship designed to preserve the plant life threatened by extinction back on Earth.

After orders are given to destroy the Forge's precious cargo, Lowell conspires against his crewmates to take over the ship and save one of the ecological domes from annihilation. In the process, he recruits the help of three service drones that become his only friends as he descends into the madness of isolation.

Dern's performance is intense and awkward, right from the start, and despite the underlying good intentions, he's difficult to empathise with after his actions in the film's opening half an hour. He's clearly tortured though as he tries to fill the void left by the absence of his crewmates with the company of the service drones.

With beautiful sets, effects that still hold up today (mostly) and a strong lead performance, Silent Running remains a downright classic.