and even bought the OST LP for the Baez songs. But I can see that not everybody would.

but the movie itself is wonderful. It's kind of one side of the 70's really, with the cold war hanging over the world and the birth of environmentalism.

Now, on the flip side was Dark Star, which presses some of the same paranoia and madness buttons, but in a slightly different fashion.
Unlike Silent Running, though, Dark Star is very, very funny. Well, it is if nuclear bombs with an existential crisis are your bag.

seemed to be everywhere in the early 1970's cinema didn't he?

I don't think the film's aged well and have always been suspicious of Dr K's veneration of it. There's too much of the Hippy Hangover thing going on.

Now "Soylent Green" - There's a real early 70's eco-miserablist parable that's stood the test of time..almost.

...SF movies ever.

Fascinting fact: the robots' weird gait was achieved via their being operated by leg-amputees walking on hands.

... though like all good SF, it says more about the time it was made than the time it's portraying. In the case of "Silent Running" in manifests itself as the eco-message (now back on the agenda - "Wall-E" is clearly indebted to it) and the folk songs, which are really what dates it, aside from the (state-of-the-art at the time, but now rather quaint) special effects. The story is still very moving though, and there's no way Bruce Dern would be a leading man these days...

Oh dear, always loved this film, the hippy-dippy message, the folky tunes. Remember seeing it as a highly impressionable teenager and just being completely bowled-over by it. And still 30 odd years later it twangs the heart strings ever so.

And can also see why it's a complete turn-off for others, my gorgeous other half included.

I think it's Bruce Dern who makes the film a classic rather than its sci-fi themes. It may have aged in terms of its visuals, music and stylisations but it's genuinely moving and thought-provoking and Dern's performance is superb. He's magnetic.

Easily in my top twenty and obviously a big influence on "Moon".

The 'Dark Star' shout is a good one too.

Very, very funny.

Not as good as Dr K made it out to be, but one of those films that I certainly didn't regret watching and definately an interesting period piece.

I will say this though. My own FPO had never seen 2001 A Space Odyssey till last night when I took her on a dream date to see it on the big screen at London's fabulous Prince Charles Cinema. I myself had never seen it on a big screen.

There's little chance, I fear, that Mrs Simmonds could have hated Silent Running as much as Mrs Sprocket hated 2001 A Space Odyssey. Blood was nearly spilt round about "Beyond The Infinite."

Mrs Sprocket, I should say, loves sci fi. The Alien Films, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica and many others are among her faves.

as I was just talking to my mate Con at lunchtime about both Silent Running and Dark Star. Dark Star was so influential mainly because of the late Dan O'Bannon's input in creating the non pristine spacecraft which also featured in Alien (which he also wrote).

And I will read no further.

How dare you mention Mike And The Mechanics songs on this blog!