Found out via facebook, regrettably, that visual effects king Douglas Trumbull has passed away at the age of 79. His work included cornerstone effects films such as as "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Blade Runner, and, of course "2001: A Space Odyssey". But one of his most innovative creations was the "Back to the Future" ride. Trumbull was the first to give riders the full "immersion experience" with surrounding screens and motion actuated seating.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0874320/
I saw him more as an visual artist, rather than a traditional story teller and movie maker when he was at the helm as director. During the downer 1970's, "Silent Running" was the only new science fiction product available, after countless Star Trek reruns. The visual style of 2001 kind of echoed there, but a much smaller budget. A grim tale of earth's last biospheres being placed in giant domes, and launched into space for protection. And a grimmer story of one man's fight to save them, as the space ship's owners order the crew to ditch the domes so the spaceships can return to more profitable cargo missions.
Still, before I outgrew the big budget Sci-Fi movies, there was a level of quality, and believability in the images that Douglas Trumbull created. While there may not have been much of a plot, going along for the ride was what mattered.
