The Big Chill (1983)

Director:

Lawrence Kasdan

Writers:

Lawrence Kasdan (written by) &
Barbara Benedek (written by)

Release Date:

28 September 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Tagline:

The story of eight old friends searching for something they lost, and finding that all they needed was each other.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Funeral | Suicide | 1960s | Reunion | Reflection

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

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
Meg Kasdan	...	Airline Hostess
Patricia Gaul	...	Annie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kevin Costner	...	Alex (scenes deleted)

Directed by
Lawrence Kasdan

Writing credits
Lawrence Kasdan		(written by) &
Barbara Benedek		(written by)

Produced by
Lawrence Kasdan	....	executive producer
Marcia Nasatir	....	executive producer
Barrie M. Osborne	....	associate producer (as Barrie Osborne)
Michael Shamberg	....	producer

Cinematography by
John Bailey

Film Editing by
Carol Littleton

Casting by
Wallis Nicita		(as Wally Nicita)

Production Design by
Ida Random

Set Decoration by
George Gaines

Costume Design by
April Ferry

Makeup Department
Michael Germain	....	makeup artist
Lyndell Quiyou	....	hair stylist
Mickey Scott	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Barrie M. Osborne	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stephen P. Dunn	....	second assistant director (as Stephen Dunn)
Michael Grillo	....	first assistant director
Daniel J. Heffner	....	second assistant director (as Dan Heffner)

Art Department
Donald R. Abblett	....	production painter (as Donald Ablett)
Michael Casey	....	assistant property master
Tim Donelan	....	set dresser
Mike Higelmire	....	set dresser (as Michael Higelmire)
Gary Kudroff	....	set dresser
Michael Muscarella	....	construction coordinator
Rick Young	....	property master
Lewis Bowen	....	painter (uncredited)
David Goldstein	....	painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Raul A. Bruce	....	boom operator (as Raul Bruce)
Gene S. Cantamessa	....	production sound mixer
Dennis Drummond	....	sound editor
Patrick Drummond	....	sound editor
Robert Grieve	....	sound editor
Rick Kline	....	sound re-recording mixer
Donald O. Mitchell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kevin O'Connell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Norman B. Schwartz	....	post-production dialogue
Michael Tomack	....	sound editor
Dody Dorn	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)
Steve Purvis	....	adr post-production (uncredited)
Donald C. Rogers	....	technical director of sound (uncredited)
Philip Rogers	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Lawrence J. Cavanaugh	....	special effects supervisor (as Larry Cavanaugh)

Stunts
James Winburn	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Lou Barlia	....	camera operator
Michael W. Blymyer	....	best boy (as Michael Blymyer)
Bobby Brown	....	assistant camera (as Robert Brown)
Jack Brown	....	assistant camera
Michael Ginsburg	....	still photographer
Al LaVerde	....	key grip
Ronald W. McLeish	....	gaffer (as Ron McLeish)
George R. Schrader	....	dolly grip (as George Schrader)
Ty Suehiro	....	second grip
Jeffrey W. Petersen	....	electrician (uncredited)
Riko Schatke	....	grip (uncredited)
Ronald Vidor	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sandra Dawes	....	extras casting
Deborah Lucchesi	....	casting coordinator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
April Ferry	....	costume supervisor
Michele Neely	....	costumer
Mort Schwartz	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Bruce Cannon	....	assistant editor
Mia Goldman	....	assistant editor
Bruce Pearson	....	color timer (uncredited)

Music Department
Meg Kasdan	....	music consultant
Mike Deasy	....	musician (uncredited)

Transportation Department
John Reade	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Pamela Alch	....	script supervisor
Jenny Collins	....	production assistant
Nan R. Eisley	....	assistant: Mr. Kasdan
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer
Michael Hill	....	production accountant
Mark Indig	....	location manager: South Carolina
Larry Kaplan	....	unit publicist
Stratton Leopold	....	location manager: Atlanta
Scott Musgrave	....	production assistant
Elise Rohden	....	production coordinator
Gerald Scaife	....	production assistant
Emily T. Warwick	....	assistant: Mr. Shamberg
Michael McCulley	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Carson Productions (as Carson Productions Group)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1983) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1986) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Criterion Collection, The (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video (1992) (Germany) (video) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• Delta Airlines  travel services
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Modern Film Effects  titles
• Motown Records  soundtrack

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | Denmark:A (DVD rating) | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Italy:T | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company:

Carson Productions

Trivia:

Kevin Kline met future wife Phoebe Cates when she auditioned for the part of Chloe, which eventually went to Meg Tilly.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Michagan football game is being played on a Sunday (as it is two days after Friday and the day before Monday), but college football is played on Saturdays.

Quotes:

Sarah: I know he wasn't happy. That doesn't tell you much. I'd no idea how bad it was. I think he purposely wanted to cut off from all of us because he was so unhappy with where he was at.
Nick: Hm.
Karen: Is that true, Chloe? Did you feel that?
Chloe: I don't know. We had some good times. I haven't met that many happy people in my life, how do they act?
Nick: Mm hm.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Big Chill: A Reunion (1999) (V)

Soundtrack:

BAD MOON RISING

Ensemble Acting at it's Best

"The Big Chill" is about my peers. When first released in 1983, I, like the characters, was in my early thirties, a former rebellious collegian from the '60s. After a decade in the work-a-day world, being a family man and raising babies, watching "The Big Chill" was like a fantastic time machine and took me back to places long forgotten. It really connected with me on a visceral level and I loved it.

Now, almost twenty years later, I've watched "The Big Chill" again. Same effect? Not exactly, although a lot of this may be due to the effect of viewing any movie a second time. My views of the 60s are not so gilded as they were then either. "The Big Chill" is still a very good movie; you have to love it for the ensemble acting. So many of the actors in the movie went on to have respected careers in the 80s and 90s. It's one of those rare movies like "American Graffiti" and "Diner" that served as a launch pad for acting careers. And the soundtrack is perfect, capturing the breadth of late '60s pop music. I really wish Kasdan had done with these characters, what Updike did with his "Rabbit" novels, that is, show the characters at ten year intervals through their lives.

This is one of the better movies of this type and is highly recommended even for the gen-x'ers.