10 More Obscure Films You Must See
2. Silent Running (dir. Douglas Trumball, 1972) 
Theres a misconception that proper, grown-up science fiction films cant be sentimental. The cliché goes that science fiction is supposed to be cold, clinical and existential, with any concession to basic emotion being seen as immature screenwriting or a sign of directorial weakness. But way before E. T. set about proving everybody wrong, there was Silent Running, a touching sci-fi drama with environmental themes, directed by the man who supervised the visual effects on Blade Runnerand 2001: A Space Odyssey. Silent Running is set in the future where the Earths vegetation has been reduced to a series of bio-domes in space, being tended to by astronauts and their helpful robots. Upon being told that the domes are to be destroyed, one astronaut (Bruce Dern) turns renegade, kills his crewmates and takes command of the Valley Forge to keep Earths last-known organic species alive. During a perilous journey through Saturns rings, he comes to realise the wider impact of his actions, and questions whether he is doing the right thing after all. If you were as cold and calculating as HAL, you could easily dismiss Silent Running as nothing more than hippies in space. Its true that its ecologically-themed dialogue and ambivalence towards technology fall into the same traps as later environmental films like Ferngully and Avatar. But beneath its seemingly preachy exterior there lies a more subtle beast, which explores Mankinds costly indifference towards Nature. Trumballs special effects still look good today, and the film retains a strong emotional pull, whose influence can be clearly seen in the opening of WALL-E. Three Men on a Blog review The Movie Hour podcast: #50