SILENT RUNNING (1972) Movie Poster, Original Vintage Daybill, RARE
Size AU Daybill Post-War (13" x 30")
SILENT RUNNING (1972) Movie Poster, Original Vintage Daybill, Artwork by George Akimoto, Starring Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts & Ron Rifkin, and Directed by Douglas Trumbull is in Very Fine Condition. ...
SILENT RUNNING (1972) Movie Poster, Original Vintage Daybill, Artwork by George Akimoto, Starring Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts & Ron Rifkin, and Directed by Douglas Trumbull is in Very Fine Condition.
Movie Poster and Condition.
Condition: This Original Daybill, Movie Poster is presented in Very Fine+ condition, 2 Daybill folds as issued, some edgewear present, a small half a cm tear on the bottom right side. Otherwise, this poster presents in excellent condition with a colourful clean presentation. The poster artwork is credited to George Akimoto, whose illustration forms part of the film's original promotional history. This Australian daybill is an appealing collectible for fans of classic science-fiction cinema, Bruce Dern and vintage movie posters.
Movie Synopsis
Silent Running (1972) is a landmark science-fiction film with a powerful environmental message. Directed by special-effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull, the story imagines a future in which Earth's natural plant life has been wiped out. The last surviving forests and botanical specimens are preserved inside enormous geodesic domes attached to a fleet of American space freighters travelling through the outer Solar System. Their precious cargo represents humanity's final hope of restoring the planet's ecosystems.
Bruce Dern stars as Freeman Lowell, an astro-botanist serving aboard the spacecraft Valley Forge. He has spent eight years caring for the forests, flowers and animals housed beneath the ship's glass domes. Lowell is deeply committed to the preservation project and believes that one day the living collections can be returned to Earth. His fellow crew members, John Keenan (Cliff Potts), Marty Barker (Ron Rifkin) and Andy Wolf (Jesse Vint), do not share his passion. They are eager to abandon the increasingly unpopular mission and return home.
When orders arrive from Earth instructing the crews to destroy the domes and their contents so that the ships can resume commercial cargo duties, Lowell is devastated. He cannot accept the decision to sacrifice the last remnants of nature for economic convenience. A desperate confrontation follows, leaving Lowell alone with the enormous responsibility of protecting the forests. With the help of three small maintenance drones named Huey, Dewey and Louie, he takes control of the Valley Forge and attempts to keep its fragile ecosystems alive while evading the authorities.
The relationship between Lowell and the drones gives the film much of its emotional warmth. Although they are machines, the little robots become his companions, helping with everyday tasks and providing a sense of connection in an otherwise lonely existence. Their names are a playful reference to Donald Duck's nephews. In a remarkable production decision, the drones were performed by actors who were double amputees, wearing specially designed lightweight costumes and moving on their arms. Their convincing movements helped create characters that remain memorable in science-fiction cinema.
Trumbull brought considerable visual-effects experience to his first feature as director, having worked on 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Andromeda Strain. The film's spacecraft miniatures, detailed interiors and projected space imagery were achieved with inventive techniques, much of the work photographed in-camera. The production also transformed the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Valley Forge into the interior of the fictional space freighter. The forest environments were constructed inside an aircraft hangar in California, creating the illusion of vast, self-contained wildernesses travelling through space.
The screenplay was written by Deric Washburn, Michael Cimino and Steven Bochco, from a story by Trumbull. Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin and Jesse Vint provide strong supporting performances, while Peter Schickele composed the score. Folk singer Joan Baez performs two songs, including the poignant closing song, which reinforces the film's melancholy atmosphere. Released by Universal Pictures in 1972, Silent Running was modest at the box office but gradually developed a devoted following. Its themes of environmental responsibility, ecological loss, isolation and the value of living things remain relevant, making it an influential cult science-fiction classic and a distinctive entry in early-1970s cinema.
To find out more about Silent Running (1972) click here to go to IMDB.com.
Special Notes.
Images may have a small 'MPA' digital watermark and this does not appear on the poster. Posters are being held by magnets in the corners to take photographs, so you may see some magnet and shadows from the magnets in these areas. The magnets are not included in the sale of the item.
Postage, Insurance & Your Country Taxes
Postage costs are quoted for this item, include insurance up to AUD$100, but if you reside outside of Australia, the price does not include any import taxes/fees that you may be required to pay when the item reaches your borders. Please check with your local authorities for any additional taxes or fees. If you would like full insurance coverage for your purchase, please message me and I would be happy to quote the additional cost (estimate is AUD$2.50 p/AUD$100 or 2.5% of the item value, up to a maximum item value of AUD$5,000).
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FAQ
At Movie Posters Australia, the love and conservation of movie posters comes first, and we like to share this passion. Our commitment to quality means we will provide high quality memorabilia to our customers. Posters are carefully chosen and authenticated to ensure originality and value. We want our customers to trust MPA, so we always try to be as open and transparent as we can, provide detailed condition information and images, to ensure customers are comfortable and confident in their purchase.
While the industry does have a few condition rating standards, there is no movie poster condition rating system that has become the accepted standard world wide. This unfortunately makes condition terms vary from movie poster dealer to movie poster dealer. Terms like Mint, Near Mint, Very Fine, Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor, seem to be universal to most condition rating standards, but most standards still lack definition about what and how many flaws/defects/damage defines a specific condition level. For more information on how Movie Posters Australia grades the condition of its movie posters, daybills, lobby cards and other ephemera please see out Movie Poster Condition and Grading page.
In the early days of cinema, posters were primarily hand-drawn and printed in various sizes, often tailored to fit the available space in theaters or promotional areas. In the United States, the "One Sheet" size (some times called '1 Sheet' or '1SH' approximately 27" x 41", became the standard during the 1930s. This size was manageable for theater display and suited the needs of a growing film industry.
Different countries developed their own poster sizes and styles, which also changed sometimes over the decades, and were influenced by local preferences and practical considerations, like available paper sheet sizes and how many posters could be printed on one sheet.
In Australia, the most popular size, the Daybill, has evolved over the decades. Australian Daybills sizes in chronological order are:
- Long Daybills (15" x 40"), from 1920's to pre-WW2 or pre-1941, were printed two to a sheet, longer than current Daybill versions. There were size variances in width from 14.5" to 15" and in height from 39.5" to 40".
- War Time Daybill (10" x 30"), during WW2, for a short time to conserve paper during a war time shortage, four Daybills were printed on one sheet. Information from Press Sheets also referred to these War-Time sizes as "New Size Daybills".
- Post-War Daybill (13" x 30"), this 13" x 30" Post-War size carried through until the 1980's, but also varied in size from 13"-14" x 29.75"-30.25".
- Post-80's Daybill (33cm x 66cm, or 13" x 26"), over a few years in the late 80's, the size changed again to a metric 33cm x 66cm, although these have also varied from 32-33cm x 64.5-66cm. New sizes from the late 80's were created, sometimes called a Mini Daybill or Mini Poster, in 9" x 12", 11" x 17" and 13" x 20".
In the UK, the somewhat unique 'Quad' poster, measuring 30" x 40", became popular, offering a larger landscape format that allowed for more elaborate designs.
In Japan, movie poster sizes were smaller, such as the "B2" (20" x 28"), which suited the more compact living environment of larger cities, smaller advertising spaces, and unique aesthetic sensibilities.
The 1970s and 1980s, witnessed the rise of the "six-sheet" (81" x 81") format, reflecting a trend towards larger and more visually impactful advertising.
Overall, the variation in movie poster sizes across different countries and decades highlights the interplay between technological printing advancements, paper resource availability, paper sheet size changes, cultural preferences, and the evolving nature of movie marketing.
At Movie Posters Australia we tag each poster we sell with a 'size' and 'condition' description at the very top of the page for our customers to easily see. There may however be some slight variations to sizes by up one inch due to variations in production and guillotine methods by printers over the decades.