Return of the Secaucus Seven (1979)

Director:

John Sayles

Writer:

John Sayles (writer)

Release Date:

5 September 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Seven former college friends, along with a few new friends, gather for a weekend reunion at a summer house in New Hampshire to reminisce about the good old days, when they got arrested on the way to a protest in Washington, DC.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | New Hampshire | College | Protest | Reunion

Awards:

5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Bruce MacDonald	...	Mike Donnelly
Maggie Renzi	...	Katie Sipriano
Adam LeFevre	...	J.T.
Maggie Cousineau	...	Frances Carlson
Gordon Clapp	...	Chip Hollister
Jean Passanante	...	Irene Rosenblue
Karen Trott	...	Maura Tolliver
Mark Arnott	...	Jeff Andrews
David Strathairn	...	Ron Desjardins
John Sayles	...	Howie
Marisa Smith	...	Carol
Amy Schewel	...	Lacey Summers
Carolyn Brooks	...	Meg
Eric Forsythe	...	Captain
Nancy Mette	...	Lee
Betsy Julia Robinson	...	Amy
Cora Bennett	...	Singer
John Mendillo	...	Bartender
Steven Zaitz	...	Singer
Brian Johnson	...	Norman
Ernie Bashaw	...	Officer
Jack LaValle	...	Booking Officer
Jessica MacDonald	...	Stacey
Benjamin Zaitz	...	Benjamin
Jeffrey Nelson	...	The Man

Directed by
John Sayles

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Sayles		writer

Produced by
William Aydelott	....	producer
Jeffrey Nelson	....	producer

Original Music by
Mason Daring
Tim Jackson		(as Timothy Jackson)
Bill Staines
Guy Van Duser

Cinematography by
Austin De Besche

Film Editing by
John Sayles

Production Management
Maggie Renzi	....	unit manager

Sound Department
Fred Burnham	....	assistant sound
Bill Gitt	....	sound transfer
Wayne Wadhams	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
David Arndt	....	chief grip
David Arndt	....	gaffer
William Aydelott	....	camera operator
Fred Burnham	....	location still photographer
Frank Coleman	....	assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Deborah Shaw	....	costume consultant

Editorial Department
Maggie Renzi	....	assistant editor
Steven Zaitz	....	assistant editor
John Dowdell	....	hd colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Mason Daring	....	music producer
Mason Daring	....	musical director
Tim Jackson	....	musician: drums (as Timothy Jackson)

Other crew
Carolyn Brooks	....	production assistant
Fred Burnham	....	title stills
Mason Daring	....	legal counsel
Logan Goodman	....	production assistant
Wendell Lees	....	production assistant
Donald McLane	....	assistant to director
Maggie Renzi	....	location manager
Ita Roberts	....	caterer
Michael Rubin	....	technical assistant
Elizabeth Shafer	....	script supervisor
Steven Zaitz	....	location manager

Production Companies

• Salsipuedes Productions
• Anarchist's Convention Films (restored version)
• UCLA Film and Television Archive (restored version)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment (1982) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• IFC Films (2003) (USA) (theatrical) (restored version)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD) (restored version)
• Libra/Specialty (1979) (USA) (theatrical) (for Picture Source Associates)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (video)

Other Companies

• EFX Unlimited  titles
• Magno Sound  sound mix
• The Shannon Door  location provided by
• Tri Film Services  negative cutting

Also Known As:

"Secaucus 7" - International (English title) (informal short title)
"Secaucus Seven" - International (English title) (informal short title)
"The Return of the Secaucus 7" - International (English title) (informal title)
"The Return of the Secaucus Seven" - International (English title) (informal title)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R | UK:15 (re-rating) (2006) | UK:AA (original rating) | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Jackson, New Hampshire, USA

Company:

Salsipuedes Productions

Trivia:

This film was the film directorial debut of John Sayles.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Camera shadow on the ground during the basketball game when JT falls down.

Quotes:

Frances Carlson:You know, I can't imagine you guys teaching. I mean, is it the same old stuff we got?
Mike Donnelly:Well, I start the year with the Boston Police Strike.
Irene Rosenblue:They let you teach *that*?
Mike Donnelly:They let you teach just about anything, so long as you keep the students from knifing each other.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Cinefile: Made in the USA (1993) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Mean to Me

A Solid Beginning

Sayles' first film is, as one previously reviewer noted, the prototype independent film: small budget, previously unknown actors, an emphasis upon talk and ideas over action or even an event-oriented plot. The script varies from slow at times to very entertaining and incisive at others, but it always feels real. You don't necessarily feel you know the characters all that well when it's over, but you care about them nonetheless. It's all in all a very worthwhile film, in which you can see the director learning how to handle an ensemble cast, as he has done so effectively in recent years in Lone Star and Sunshine State. If you like this type of film at all, you will find it rewarding and quite worth your time.

It is amazing, though, how so many of the reviews attempt to not merely acknowledge the similarities to The Big Chill, but to elevate one film and denigrate the other. They come from very different places in terms of budget, stars and polish, but are both very fine films. In one sense, TBC is deeper in that the characters in that film have varied from their previous ideals (or at least it seems that way), a fact that lends a melancholy beneath the slickness that really isn't there in S7. However, a lot of people reach the age of the characters in S7 (they are all only about 30, younger than the characters in Chill) without yet having to really put things in perspective. The leads in S7 have become teachers, a predictable outcome. One other character has taken a job as an aide to a senator. J.T. is pursuing (or putting off pursuing) a musical career. The fact that this film views the characters before some of the inevitable conflicts in their lives have ripened actually makes it more subtle, and allows for the viewer to wonder where they will be in 5-10 years. Will the leads become Kevin Kline and Glenn Close? Will one of the characters die young and precipitate the life-examining session that occurs in Chill? I think the two films dovetail nicely together. To exalt one at the expense of the other is unnecessary and needlessly cynical.