Silent running

I call this a Sci-Fry movie because of the stoner hippie ideals. Not a bad thing, mind you, I am just saying. I caught this movie at a midnight showing in our capitol city. That was back in the early hedonistic 80’s. I paid my admission, and could not say no to a large bucket of buttered popcorn, (in those days, probably my late dinner). I pushed my way through the theater doors. The audience reeked of weed. I caught snippets of pseudo intellectual babble. Nervous giggles from their dates. As I sat down I knew I was in for a mellow buzz.
Bruce Dern was inspired pick of the litter to play our main man. There is something unsettling about him whether he is in character or not. It is those beady penetrating eyes. I would not trust him with my pin number even if he swore on his mother’s grave, but that’s beside the point.



Our movies hero, botanist Freeman Lowell, is the keeper of earth’s last gardens. Nature has been trampled over by the machinery of industrialized civilization. What has been rescued is up in space in giant dome like green houses. A half dozen of these extra terrestrial Edens are a burden to the commercial freighter Valley Forge. To help perform the duties are a trio of maintenance droids and a few human co-workers. Word from earth calls for their jettison and destruction so that the Valley Forge can go back to making the big bucks. No different with today’s funding of our museums. Any politician will remind that it is much cheaper to yank the plug. Kids learn all they need from TV anyway.
So Freeman’s co-workers like good union drones go about obeying their orders. One by one a pod of earth’s last gardens are destroyed. One by one Freeman is losing his composure. This must stop. Wrongs can happen during righteous Crusades. That’s all ready to much plot given away. I will tell you the droids names though. They are Huey, Dewey and Louie. The drones’ names are unimportant. 4.5 out of 5 stars