tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post8744158143048176946..comments2024-03-24T14:47:00.370-07:00Comments on Approaching Pavonis Mons by balloon: Silent RunningAl Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517967406876572177noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-78224619152859295672012-04-14T05:52:12.497-07:002012-04-14T05:52:12.497-07:00There is no environmental extremism.
Christians k...There is no environmental extremism.<br /><br />Christians kill people for their beliefs, communists kill people for their beliefs, libertarians, anti-abortionists, fascists, muslims, anarchists, racists, jews, patriots, pretty much everyone EXCEPT environmentalists commit murder for their causes.<br /><br />You are the Muhammad Ali of being wrong.Gubulgarianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-3665126404266036882012-04-09T08:01:16.503-07:002012-04-09T08:01:16.503-07:00In 1959 the Avro Arrow fighter aircraft project wa...In 1959 the Avro Arrow fighter aircraft project was cancelled by the Canadian Government. All prototypes, tooling, and technical data were ordered destroyed. There was no reason to destroy all of this work and not even leave a prototype that could have been placed in a museum, but politicians at the time made that decision out of an irrational fear that Russian spies would somehow gain access to this technical data and steal secrets. <br /><br />I agree that there are many flaws in the plot and the science, but the idea that politicians would order the domes destroyed actually makes sense to us poor Americans who see politicians destroying books that teach evolution and denying all of the science of global warming. As long as the domes exists, there would be some faction (inevitable referred to as radical environmentalists) wishing to return the plants to Earth. Destruction would put an end to that argument forever.Charleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15180806722145739316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-15601771463802603132012-03-06T03:25:49.358-08:002012-03-06T03:25:49.358-08:00Reading this article brought home a tangentially r...Reading this article brought home a tangentially related fact:<br /><br />Can you believe that we send SIX manned missions to the moon over the course of just FOUR years (1969-1972) ... and FIFTY years later have yet to even send ONE manned mission beyond earth orbit?<br /><br />As for the film, I saw it when it was first released. I was 12 and found it profoundly disappointing, especially given the description on the movie poster: "Amazing companions on an incredible adventure ... that journeys beyond imagination!" Still, a number of images stuck with me, not the least of which was Dern, already a veteran of many Westerns, playing poker with the drones.<br /><br />I came to appreciate it more in later years, but evenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-33867072271813314202012-03-05T05:09:56.644-08:002012-03-05T05:09:56.644-08:00This was the first fim to make me cry!
Teared up a...This was the first fim to make me cry!<br />Teared up at the end when the gardens float off into space (complete with watering can robot....)magicmousemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10869622360423607374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-27590589624149387302012-03-04T08:27:06.738-08:002012-03-04T08:27:06.738-08:00The plot doesn't make much sense, as I think I...The plot doesn't make much sense, as I think I say in my piece, but I suspect I fell in love with the film at a point when my critical deflector shields had yet to form. If I came to it cold now, I doubt I'd see it similarly. Oddly enough I've never seen Soylent Green.Al Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01517967406876572177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-55253484407729524432012-03-04T06:29:58.824-08:002012-03-04T06:29:58.824-08:00I watched Silent Running for the first time on Net...I watched Silent Running for the first time on Netflix a few weeks ago (Like a few others, I see!) I thought there was some good ideas in it, but I just couldn't take the plot seriously. Why not just collect seeds and store them somewhere, like the Svalbard seed vault instead? <br /><br />Soylent Green is still my favorite "eco catastrophe" movie. I think it has more of a bite and the ending always makes me slightly depressed afterwords. <br /><br />The biggest compliment that I can give to these movies is that they actually carry the storyline to its logical conclusion and don't opt for the forced happy ending (I'm thinking James Cameron's The Abyss!) <br /><br />I would love to see John Brunner's book The Sheep Look Up turned into a movie. I think it has more relevance today than when it was written in the 70's.Chris J.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-68361909077538754422012-03-02T14:04:55.553-08:002012-03-02T14:04:55.553-08:00It's certainly a great looking film but I'...It's certainly a great looking film but I'm afraid it falls into the category of "Utterly Stupid Dystopias" for me.<br /><br />Completely nonsensical plot, and as you point out, a botanist who doesn't know plants need sunlight.Lyndonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02225999704347903995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-22720526478752901612012-03-02T14:00:36.765-08:002012-03-02T14:00:36.765-08:00Hello, where can this be found on Netflix? I sear...Hello, where can this be found on Netflix? I searched for "Silent Running" and got no results. Is it under another search? Or has it suffered the fate of anything any good these days, and has become pay-per-view? Thx, this movie sounds cool!QW Singularityhttp://quantumwidgets.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-88310286371050154912012-03-02T12:22:44.911-08:002012-03-02T12:22:44.911-08:00Karen: I think children identify very strongly wit...Karen: I think children identify very strongly with the robots. I remember being very upset about the one that gets blown off into space.<br /><br />Kate: I love the Joan Baez music!Al Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01517967406876572177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-52322297383344062062012-03-02T11:55:51.555-08:002012-03-02T11:55:51.555-08:00I only discovered Silent Running a few years ago v...I only discovered Silent Running a few years ago via the magic of Netflix and I immediately fell in love. I wanted to be on board the ship, swimming in those pools, tending those plants, playing poker with those drones, killing those bad corporate stooges... well maybe not the last bit, but you get the idea.<br /><br />But what really sold me on it was Joan Baez! What wonderful music, perfect for the film, perfect for the times, perfect for the sensibility.<br /><br />I loved it so much I never really thought about the implausibilities though. I think I still really approach movies leading with my chin, maybe. And this one delivered such a soft tap.Kate Sherrodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08706419613939420574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-42869256367273611062012-03-02T07:41:52.540-08:002012-03-02T07:41:52.540-08:00Tried watching this film once more, the other day ...Tried watching this film once more, the other day (it's on youtube!), and realised that, although it is a great film, it did not "age" that well. Same goes for 2001.<br /><br />I wonder how I would see the brilliant 'Moon' in a few decades.<br /><br />(By the way, not "ageing" well says more about how modern culture and entertainment influences me, than about the films: Silent Running and 2001 are still, and will forever be, great films.)Daxhttp://www.stereodax.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-16868687091829343542012-03-02T07:19:03.907-08:002012-03-02T07:19:03.907-08:00Silent Running is a beautiful little film, and doe...Silent Running is a beautiful little film, and doesn't deserve to be overshadowed the way it is by its flashier cousins.Jo Hallhttp://www.hierath.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-73263846730088476332012-03-02T06:11:17.118-08:002012-03-02T06:11:17.118-08:00People often ask for predictions that SF got right...People often ask for predictions that SF got right. Along with the usual things, I always include this as a warning about the dangers of environmental extremism.Tregonseehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01705100658499499100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-84417270509320710332012-03-02T06:02:49.541-08:002012-03-02T06:02:49.541-08:00Interestingly, Trumbull's original story for S...Interestingly, Trumbull's original story for Silent Running was even dreamier than the movie ended up ... and had a finale that incorporated a trippy encounter with an alien spacecraft. I agree that Dern does a great job expressing the duality that sets Silent Running apart from lesser films.Graham Edwardshttp://grahamedwardsonline.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-6554231383075898102012-03-02T05:54:47.516-08:002012-03-02T05:54:47.516-08:00When I was a kid this film made me cry - I couldn&...When I was a kid this film made me cry - I couldn't bear the little abandoned robots at the end. It stuck in my head for its bleakness.Karen Barclayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12862897610977854911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-20423711168207917902012-03-02T05:48:22.513-08:002012-03-02T05:48:22.513-08:00I don't think this film could have had anythin...I don't think this film could have had anything but a profound impact on any fan growing up in the '70s/'80s. It certainly has cast a long shadow over my mindset, and look forward to sharing it with my own kids at some point. Despite Lowell's violence, I always felt there was a profound gentleness in Dern's performance.Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07562489207268326426noreply@blogger.com