10 Post-Apocalyptic Films That Prove Mankind Is Doomed
2. Silent Running (1972)
Simply put, this is one of the best science-fiction films of the 1970s and many think it gives even Kubricks 2001: Space Odyssey a run for its money. It stars Bruce Dern as Freeman Lowell, a nature-loving crew member aboard the Valley Forge, a gigantic spaceship in a small fleet that carries the last surviving forests of the Earth, which has fallen victim to overpopulation and ecological neglect. When the cost of maintaining these 'bio-domes' becomes too high; Lowell murders another team mate and jettisons himself and the last bio-dome into space. Silent Running had a great influence on modern culture, from Wall-E to Red Dwarf and its certainly one of the biggest tear jerkers in sci fi history. The eco-message that mankind is cruel towards the environment in the face of profit is as relevant now as it was in the 1970s. You can completely relate to Lowell as he cuts himself off from the world as a means of trying to save it.
