The Big Chill (1983)

A group of seven former college friends gather for a weekend reunion at a posh South Carolina winter house after the funeral of one of their friends.

Director:

Lawrence Kasdan

Writers:

Lawrence Kasdan, Barbara Benedek

Stars:

Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Berenger	...	Sam Weber
Glenn Close	...	Sarah Cooper
Jeff Goldblum	...	Michael Gold
William Hurt	...	Nick Carlton
Kevin Kline	...	Harold Cooper
Mary Kay Place	...	Meg Jones
Meg Tilly	...	Chloe
JoBeth Williams	...	Karen Bowens
Don Galloway	...	Richard Bowens
James Gillis	...	Minister
Ken Place	...	Peter the Cop
Jon Kasdan	...	Harold and Sarah's Son
Ira Stiltner	...	Running Dog Driver
Jake Kasdan	...	Autograph Seeker (as Jacob Kasdan)
Muriel Moore	...	Alex's Mother

Storyline

A seminal Thirty-Something movie in which a group of old college friends who are now all grown up and hardened by the big wide world come together for the funeral of Alex, a barely glimpsed corpse, who was at one time the brightest and the best of them, and yet who never managed to achieve half as much as any of the others. The friends use the occasion to reacquaint themselves with each other and to speculate as to what happened to their idealism which had been abundant when they were younger.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | funeral | suicide | group of friends | 1960s | 

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Taglines:

How much love, sex, fun and friendship can a person take? The story of eight old friends searching for something they lost, and finding that all they needed was each other.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 September 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Reencuentro

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$56,968 (USA) (6 November 1998)

Gross:

$56,968 (USA) (6 November 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Carson Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The main cast members lived together for a few weeks before filming began. The night before filming began they all stayed in character.

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Goofs

The position of Harold's and Sarah's left arms after she and Harold talk to Nick on the front steps after the wake.

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Quotes

Michael: I don't know anyone who could get through the day without two or three juicy rationalizations. They're more important than sex.
Sam Weber: Ah, come on. Nothing's more important than sex.
Michael: Oh yeah? Ever gone a week without a rationalization?

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Connections

Featured in The Big Chill: A Reunion (1999)

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Soundtracks

"MY GIRL"
Written by William Robinson Jr. and Ronald White
Performed by The Temptations
Courtesy of Motown Records and Jobete Music

User Reviews

One of the best ever

While channel surfing, saw this movie again tonight, for about the 35th time. What makes this movie great is not the story - hell, there is no story really - but the making of the movie itself. It is the single best combination of acting, film editing, sound track, dialogue, and every other thing that goes into a movie, ever put together. No special effects, no car chases, no suspense, no anything that usaually passes for entertainment. Just excellent film making. Even tonight, I saw yet one more background detail I never noticed before. You have to watch this movie multiple times to appreciate it. Nearly everything that happens early in the movie relates to something that occurs later on. The transitions and foreshadowing, the character relationships, the very words themselves all fit together like no other film ever made. I truly believe that this is a film that should be studied as an example of pure movie making, no less than Citizen Kane. To rate this movie as a 10 is to underrate it. Of course, that is just my opinion.