Silent Running is a science-fiction cult classic stands the test of time. In the (perhaps not so distant?) future most of the life on earth has gone extinct and there are no forests or jungles left on planet Earth. The last plant and animal life ecosystems have been put into vast domed spaceships and sent into orbit. These huge ecospheres are tended by a handful of military men and contractors. When the order comes to destroy the domes with nuclear blasts and return to Earth, everyone is delighted because they get to go home to their wives and children far ahead of schedule. However Commander Lowell, the (somewhat sociopathic) Space-Hippy botanist (played perfectly by Bruce Dern) takes drastic action to save all that’s left of the natural world. Can the last man in space program his droids (Huey, Dewey and Louie) to play cards and help him tend the last gardens of earth after he dies? A word of warning – scenes in this movie might make you cry.

If Star Wars hadn't exploded onto the scene in 1977, maybe more Hollywood science fiction would have been made along the lines of this earnest, emotional message movie. It was the first directorial effort of the special effects expert and director Douglas Trumbull (2001: A Space Odyssey, Brainstorm) and was written by Deric Washburn & Michael Cimino (The Deer Hunter, Heaven’s Gate) and Steven Bochco (Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, L.A. Law). Sadly, they don’t make movies like this anymore.