MovieChat Forums > Silent Running (1972) Discussion > Joan Baez songs: Just terrible.

Joan Baez songs: Just terrible.

posted 18 years ago by blueingreen88
46 replies | jump to latest

Love the '60s. Love Dylan. Think hippies (sometimes) get a bad rap. HATE the Joan Baez songs in SILENT RUNNING. Granted, I'm not a fan of hers. I think she's probably the single most grating, sanctimonious, cloying, liberal, holier-than-thou singer/songwriter of the '60s EVER (followed closely by Peter, Paul & Mary). But her songs, while on their own may be considered decent by some, just DO NOT FIT in the film and probably instantly dated the film about 48 hours after it was originally released in March of 1972.

I wasn't expecting a STAR WARS-type soundtrack (I realize it was released 5 years earlier), but actual songs WITH LYRICS don't work in a sci-fi film, regardless of the content/context. In SILENT RUNNING, these songs stick out like a sore thumb and just generated snickers of disbelief from this viewer.

(Otherwise, a damn fine film with arguably Bruce Dern's best-ever performance.)

[–] Avenger69 18 years ago

You'll love this then: the reason for the inclusion of the Joan Baez songs is that they were trying to get a hit song out of the movie (as was popular at the time)!!

[–] blueingreen88 18 years ago

Yeah, saw the Douglas Trumbull interview of the Special Edition DVD... that totally cracks me up: Did they even READ the lyrics to those songs??? Talk about depressing! Who'd by a 45 of THAT???

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] tay-15 18 years ago

Watching this film last night for the first time in likely 30 years, I have to admit my only complaint was the soundtrack. Baez' songs were jarring (and dated). I think a synth-based score could have made the film even more effective.

Not a big deal, just an opinion.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] Studman_Productions 14 years ago

can't believe they did that!

[–] JPMerola 13 years ago

"...trying to get a hit song out of the movie (as was popular at the time)!!"

Who expected, "There's Got To Be A Morning After" after Shelly Winters died a whale's death in "The Poseiden Adventure"? But then, I never considered surviving (or not) a capsized boat much of an adventure.

[–] daronimo 18 years ago

I totally agree with you man, and not only are they irritating but they age the film more than any other factor!

[–] bklyn5 18 years ago

yes. these songs are absolutely horrible. Classical music..Or electronic music would have given the movie something infinite and we could relate to it more.. but this is just....really really bad. it's like pretty cheesy I would say. who wants to hear ''oh children..all our children blah blah'' and meanwhile watching the snails on the leaves?

[–] seashellz 17 years ago

then you likely havent heard of Jesse Sykes.
SHE is the queen of grating on the nerves;
Im not fond of Joan, but would take her over Sykes
my gawd, it reeks!

[–] elbarto-1 17 years ago

i just watched this for the first time and i had to leave the room when these (aweful) songs played.
baez fan or not - they (and any songs like this) are totally inappropriate in a sci-fi flim.

since it doesnt deserve a seperate topic -

i actually laughed out loud when bruce dern "figured out" that the forest needed sunlight to survive. he's the ****ing horticulturist (sp?) on a ****ing space ship in the ****ing distant future and doesnt understand the basic concept of photosynthesis.

old or not. this movie sucks ass.
cool effects (for the time) though.

-order66
Thank goodness I also passed Suspension of Disbelief 101

[–] LCShackley 17 years ago

I love this film and went to see it originally because Peter Schickele (PDQ Bach) was involved with the music. I even owned the soundtrack. And I think REJOICE IN THE SUN is an ideal song for this film. It sounds like Al Gore could have written it.

I'm not a Joan Baez fan by any means, but I thought this song definitely worked.

On the DVD, you can see some shots from the recording session.

[–] widescreenguy 15 years ago

LOL !!!

ya no kidding. like numerous megaprojects, the fatal flaw in designing space pods to orbit SATURN of all places where the sun would resemble a bright street light is wacko to the max.

I remember watching this in the theatre when it was 1st released and felt a great deal was missing in the film. my critiquing skills were in their infancy back then but cikey, all the effort to make a feature film can somebody spend half a day to get the premise right?

typical hollywood pap. the worst one for that I ever saw was 'armaggedon' with a bunch of roughneck astronaughts bouncing around the surface of the comet instead of light as a feather from the lack of gravity.

etc etc.

"google it if you dont think so ...."

[–] scotbpens 15 years ago

. . . the fatal flaw in designing space pods to orbit SATURN of all places where the sun would resemble a bright street light is wacko to the max.

Were the ships orbiting Saturn, or were they in a solar orbit somewhere out NEAR Saturn? In either case, it's STUPID! If, for whatever contrived reason, the forests had to be shot into space, why not put them in Earth orbit?

All the universe . . . or nothingness. Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?

[–] sdribble 17 years ago

I'd agree with this. The music is terrible and belongs in an 8th grade instructional film about forests. But, alas, that was how the 70's went!

[–] Bladerunnerrr 17 years ago

As far as the music, I have to say that in the viewing I had with the film, when the song started, it was greeted with laughs and a "no WAY, is this for REAL?"

And it this was with people who are FOR conservation/environment/etc.

It was just silly. Silly enough to qualify for a new Mystery Science Theater 3K treatment.

Joan Baez's wailing is so comical, you almost think it was done intentionally so. It's like the awful song in the original "Poseiden Adventure"...a really bad hippie-pop song put in a movie to appeal to the teens but that dates the movie 5 minutes after it's over. ANd it sticks in your head like a cold virus, not because it's GOOD, because it's SO BAD you can't foget it; you're traumatized by its horrible cheesiness. OH THE HUMANITY!

[–] megatone230 17 years ago

A few years ago I found a copy of this soundtrack album at a record store I worked at...I snatched it because it had a groovy cover and was on green vinyl, I was expecting some far out sci-fi syth music, I was dissapointed to hear the cheesy hippy vocal music. It totally seemed out of place and actually discouraged me from seeing the movie until recently.
They should re-release it with a new score...would be interesting to see.

[–] xredgarnetx 17 years ago

Baez can sing a loverly tune, but in a sci-fi flick her voice and lyrics grate. They grate more than grated cheese. Cheese. Hmn, methinks this film is cheese. Saw it in 1972 and again last night. Still cheese. Hardly Dern's best performance, and director Trumbull proves he was never meant to direct. The robots are cute in a pre-R2D2 way.

[–] grrrdevin 17 years ago

I think Rejoice In The Sun would be a classic song if someone else sang it.

"I've been living off toxic waste for years, and I'm fine! Just ask my other heads!"

[–] nsavage3-1 17 years ago

Well, I have to admit, I probably wouldn't have liked Joan's "Rejoice in the Sun" in ordinary circumstances. But, being an impressionable 9 year old when this movie opened in '72, the song is now synonomous with Silent Running, and all of the emotional impact that the film had on me back then.

Because of this, I'm very fond of this song, as well as the other music. Besides, it does give the movie more of a "hippie" feel. And its what makes the movie original.

Great flick!

[–] grrrdevin 17 years ago

When it creeps in at the end of the movie, I started crying. That was the perfect moment for it.

"I've been living on toxic waste for years, and I'm fine. Just ask my other heads!"

[–] apostasia 17 years ago

I do find Joanie rather sanctimonious and that makes her music cloy, but I don't particularly mind the songs here. It does date the film rather, but there's no great shame in that.

Just a painted face on a trip down suicide row

[–] MikeAnsaraFan 17 years ago

I totally disagree. I absolutely love these songs. They are beautifully written and sung.