MovieChat Forums > Silent Running (1972) Discussion > The DVD is worth it! I waited so long t...

The DVD is worth it! I waited so long to buy it. Kick myself

posted 13 years ago by jeffyoung1
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If you are a devoted fan of SILENT RUNNING or are very interested in how films are made, by all means go purchase this dvd. I paid only $10 and waited well over a year, possibly two, to buy this same dvd that was sitting in the same store, same shelf all that time.

I watched the additional features, such as how the film was made and the perspectives of the director, staff, and Bruce Dern. There's fascinating footage on the concept of the robots and how the ideas came about to finding several young people without legs who could fit inside the very lightweight styrofoam robot shells. The biggest of the robots actually had a teenage girl inside. I do not know if she was one of those born without legs or had lost hers in an accident. But in spite of her condition, she is so sweet and beautiful inside when she answers the interviewer's questions, not one trace or hint of bitterness or anger. Her name is Cheryl and she will always be an inspiration after watching her.
Watching how this movie was made is in some ways more interesting than the movie itself. The director only had one million dollars to work with from the studio and he did wonders. There were many ways to economize without making the movie look cheap. The director is just 29 years old and seems a genuine nice guy who keeps everything tight without becoming uptight himself. It is a shame he did not go on to bigger and better. You wish that of nice guys but they don't always finish first.
The director and producer could not afford expensive sets or multiple shooting takes, but it doesn't show in cheapness. They actually worked with one giant set all the time, the decommissioned Essex-class aircraft carrier, the Valley Forge. The aircraft carrier offered everything, location interiors, office space, sleeping quarters, cafeteria, you name it. But it all had to be brought in.
These features of the DVD are invaluable for any college student studying film, directing, acting, or anything else related to the film industry.

[–] Movie_map 13 years ago

I hate to tell you this but I watched the film about the making of the movie for free on Youtube. It was very interesting, particularly the parts about the drones and how they were brought to 'life'. I've liked this movie ever since it came out (It's great on the big screen) but there have always been two things that have bothered me. One, the premise doesn't make much sense. Why go to all the time, effort and expense to launch bio-domes into space when it would have been much easier to build them on earth? Even if they put them in the middle of a desert it would still be much, much cheaper. And then why send them out to the outer solar system? If the film makers had a better explanation for why that was done, the logic behind it, it was never communicated on screen.
The other problem is Joan Baez. I've got nothing against her personally. I'm sure she's a very nice lady. But her singing, to me, is like nails on a chalk board.

[–] Xeokym 13 years ago

Why go to all the time, effort and expense to launch bio-domes into space when it would have been much easier to build them on earth? Even if they put them in the middle of a desert it would still be much, much cheaper. And then why send them out to the outer solar system?

We are never told much about the "whys," but we can make some speculation based on the clues we are given. During Lowell's mealtime rant, we're let in on the fact that there is not a single tree or plant left on the Earth, and that the temperature never fluctuates one degree over or under 75F. That leads me to surmise that whatever is left of the human race lives inside some kind of protected structures, probably something similar to the biodomes or geodesic structures of the ship. If there is not a single plant left on the planet, that indicates that we either used every single thing up, or (more likely) they all died off due to some kind of prior conditions such as war, the loss of a majority of forestry, climate changes, etc. Probably a combination of conditions.

It may have been unsafe to entrust the last of our plants & animals to structures on earth - there could have been marauding groups of people who took over such things in hungry desperation. Maybe the ozone layer was ruined or there were dark clouds over the earth, and it didn't get enough sun to grow anything. And maybe when the ships were originally launched, they were sent out in hopes of finding another habitable planet to start growing them on. It could be any variety of factors, but all we know is that circumstances on earth changed at some point, deeming the biodomes redundant.

Just because we're not filled in doesn't mean there was no logic behind it. In some movies, yeah, there's just a big inconsistency staring you in the face that doesn't make sense & never gets addressed, but that is different than movies like this where it is left up to the viewer to fill in details. The point of the movie wasn't about how the earth got like that. The point is that it could end up like that for a variety of reasons, so let's not allow it to come to this.

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I can't understand your crazy moon language.