tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post6959885284365510100..comments2024-03-17T07:11:44.454-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: CULT MOVIE REVIEW: Silent Running (1972)John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-5615505935749769772018-07-28T01:07:31.789-04:002018-07-28T01:07:31.789-04:00Just discovered this movie. Will remember it for a...Just discovered this movie. Will remember it for a lifetime. A rich review (and I'm not a big review person, recalling how the Beetles wrote "semolina pilchard climbing up the Eiffel Tower" just to laugh about what the critics come up with new). But this review truly completes the experience of the movie for me.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12750316659299498720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-40245395008370671762013-01-17T11:20:17.694-05:002013-01-17T11:20:17.694-05:00One of my very favorites--I remember reading the n...One of my very favorites--I remember reading the novelization in elementary school long before I knew it was a film, and recall the unfavorable reviews it received at the time (quite a few folks didn't even understand that it was in space; they thought it was a SUBMARINE movie!)<br /><br />I have seen it many times and always cry at the end.<br /><br />Tom Epps<br />US NavyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-50985909362322464872011-03-29T11:13:14.206-04:002011-03-29T11:13:14.206-04:00Hi DLR:
Thank you for providing some good context...Hi DLR:<br /><br />Thank you for providing some good context on Silent Running there. I can definitely see how Silent Running is a more human, natural, less antiseptic look at the future than Kubrick's 2001. Side-by-side, the films make for an interesting comparison.<br /><br />I love the miniatures, and I love Aurora kits, so maybe that explains my passion for these Amerian Airlines space freighters. I've always wished for a model kit of this particular ship.<br /><br />And I think you're right about the actors -- they're supposed to be unlikable, and that's very much how they come off. <br /><br />Great comment, my friend, and thank you for the kind words about the review.<br /><br />best,<br />JKMJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-78857553687276109272011-03-29T09:16:47.224-04:002011-03-29T09:16:47.224-04:00Hi JKM;
I'm late to the party on this but I c...Hi JKM;<br /><br />I'm late to the party on this but I come with a platter of tasty tidbits from a contemporary interview with Trumbull from Castle of Frankenstein.<br /><br />1. The film is a response to 2001. DT thought SK's vision too cold ("HAL is the most human character") and wanted a more human future. <br /><br />2. The spaceship's exterior textures are almost all Aurora model-tank hubcaps!<br /><br />3. All of the human-character actors except Dern were difficult to work with (because DT was a neophyte director) but they were supposed to come off as unlikable so he felt that it worked out OK. He had great experiences working with Dern and the four amputees who played the drones. <br /><br />Great analysis as usual.DLRnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-54445009763956881242011-03-28T15:23:45.019-04:002011-03-28T15:23:45.019-04:00Hi everybody,
Le0pard13: You do a great job enume...Hi everybody,<br /><br />Le0pard13: You do a great job enumerating the Dern mystique, I think. Many people consider him to be playing a villain in "Silent Running" too: a crazed, out-of-his mind, eco-terrorist. Some think that his violent advocacy of the forest equates to, essentially madness. I feel, however, that Dern also does a great job of capturing the character's sense of guilt over his actions. But he's a controversial choice for this role; no doubt.<br /><br />Jdigriz: I'm glad you enjoyed the review; and Silent Running is an old favorite of mine, as well.<br /><br />Anonymous: You're right - Trumball created a variant of these freighters for the Earthship Ark in The Starlost. The model there is gorgeous too, but wasn't filmed as carefully and beautifully, making it look somewhat less realistic.<br /><br />SFF: I think you'll really like Silent Running. It's definitely a product of its time, as all films are; but Silent Running feels that way a little more because of the Joan Baez songs. Still, this is one you should definitely check out!<br /><br />Hi David: You're right to bring up the emotional aspect of the film. To think of the last forest -- gone from Earth forever -- well, crying buckets is perfectly appropriate.<br /><br />Thank you all for great comments on a sci-fi classic (And another dystopian vision!)<br /><br />best,<br />JKMJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-2381572489669528532011-03-28T13:04:27.932-04:002011-03-28T13:04:27.932-04:00Late 70s/early 80s. I watched it one night with me...Late 70s/early 80s. I watched it one night with me Mom on local TV. Lights turned out, we sat and cried buckets at the end. One of those life memories I will never forget.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03097420555737415471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-43428060391801115682011-03-28T10:23:13.379-04:002011-03-28T10:23:13.379-04:00Boy this really sounds good. I guess I need to ge...Boy this really sounds good. I guess I need to get that back on my watch list.<br /><br />I wish it was on Blu-Ray because I bet those images and close-ups would look sharp.<br /><br />Having said that, I'm embarrased to say that I have not seen this film and I've come close to buying it several times.<br /><br />Anyway, it sounds pretty interesting and I loved your thorough look at the picture.<br /><br />BAsed on your analysis, this film, with all of the latest technology, and I'm not referring to crap CGI, but film qualities etc... I bet a remake of the film could look like something special a la Sunshine.<br /><br />I loved those scnes in Sunshine inside the garden. All the best, SFFSFFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04256589316922398158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-72701012607262230462011-03-27T23:26:55.687-04:002011-03-27T23:26:55.687-04:00The models use in "Silent Running" would...The models use in "Silent Running" would form the basis of Trumball's model of the Earthship Ark in the television series, "The Starlost".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-46789852797074213132011-03-25T21:19:56.929-04:002011-03-25T21:19:56.929-04:00Thanks for a thoughtful review of an old favorite....Thanks for a thoughtful review of an old favorite.jdigrizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17887305269410549709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-38915743397523128752011-03-25T18:28:27.470-04:002011-03-25T18:28:27.470-04:00Excellent look at this one. Interesting selection ...Excellent look at this one. Interesting selection of Bruce Dern for this. A fine actor, indeed, but one associated with villains, brutes, and not very bright characters early on in his career. Indeed, the same year he was Freeman Lowell, he turned in what to many is his most hated role of villainy. That of Asa Watts from THE COWBOYS -- the guy who kills John Wayne most viciously.<br /><br />Still, I think his role in SILENT RUNNING helped to get him out of that pigeon-hole. His characters from the 70s really began to expand. I love his bad/good guy bit as the detective in Walter Hill's THE DRIVER. Great analysis on this sci-fi film, my friend. Thanks.le0pard13https://www.blogger.com/profile/09421175808461787862noreply@blogger.com