Review of Silent Running (1972) by Arnaud L — 18 May 2009

This is good short-story sci-fi. Good effects, good acting, and a compelling story. Notable for it's personable drones (the precursors of Star Wars droids), it's director Doug Trumball (one of the special effects gurus from 2001), and it's budget of $1 million studio-hands-off money (one of four independent films in a special marketing exercise --American Graffiti was another).

In the end the film suffers from a couple of plot-hole problems that in retrospect could have been corrected in the editing room--the whole 'last forests of Earth' premise is just plain unbelievable.

At it's heart this is well-delivered sci-fi, an experimental and landmark film from a first-time director.