MovieChat Forums > Silent Running (1972) Discussion > So, let me get this straight...

So, let me get this straight...

posted 9 years ago by nashknight-1
16 replies | jump to latest

1. A top of the line biologist doesn't know that plants need sunlight to survive?? That's elementary school stuff, literally 7yos know that!

2. He kills several of his colleagues and himself so that he can prolong the life on a forest for... several more years? They was no chance he could replant the Earth or any other planet, the space craft was doomed to fail anyhow.

3. He puts the fate of the last remaining forest into the hands of some of the most incompetent robots in existence? It is explicitly shown that they can't do squat, can't plant the tree, can't follow orders, can't even get out of the way of danger. Why didn't he stay on the forest platform??

All this and the films snail pace and lack of, well, anything interesting, make it a very very bad movie. If there were't for some interesting visuals and music it would be total garbage. 3/10

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

Back, then, all movies where simpler. We've progressed in better writing in many, many ways. Since that progression, it is hard to see the simpler stories being good at all - EVEN THOUGH, at their time, they played out okay.

So, yeah, very easy these days to pick apart all them issues here (that are so obvious to us NOW) since we've gotten use to much better writing connections, characters, tied in actions, and resolutions.

Saw this as a kid, and not only were the effects AMAZING to me at the time, the story was easy to know and believe. Here was a guy fighting the "system" with the only options he had left at the time. Yes, he made very bad, immoral decisions... if you notice, MOST movies are based on people making bad choices. It provides the conflict.

Sure, it IS dated, and doesn't follow the standard structures and delivery we've come to expect, but in its day, it played just fine, was kind of ground breaking, and enjoyed.

But, yes it does reflect many modern attitudes. Kinda sad when Science Fiction becomes real, and it is not the good kind.

[–] Boromir (10009) 9 months ago

A top of the line biologist doesn't know that plants need sunlight to survive?? That's elementary school stuff, literally 7yos know that!

This part of the movie is somewhat obscure, but it gives the impression that the filmmakers intended to convey the loss of essential human knowledge over the years, particularly in our interaction with nature. However, it is not convincing for several reasons:

(1) The idea is not introduced until the part where he discovers the connection between the sun and plants.
(2) It seems that other important knowledge about nature is preserved.
(3) The time span is not extensive enough for such basic knowledge to vanish from humanity's consciousness. For example, Lowell remembers the ocean from his childhood, so not long time has passed.
(4) How does such knowledge disappear so quickly? It is usually passed down from generation to generation, from parent to child, you don't even need written text for that.
(5) Shouldn't advanced and smart scientists in the future be quicker to make the connection between nature and the sun? Even if that specific piece of information fades over time, their overall understanding should be advanced enough to discover again about the connection between the two.