The Big Chill (1983) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error A group of seven former college friends gather for a weekend reunion at a South Carolina winter house after the funeral of one of their friends. Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 27 titles created 19 Feb 2012 a list of 26 titles created 28 Aug 2012 a list of 25 titles created 23 Jul 2014 a list of 36 titles created 13 Nov 2015 a list of 25 titles created 13 Dec 2015 Title: The Big Chill (1983) 7.2/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.

See more awards » Videos An emotionally distant writer of travel guides must carry on with his life after his son is killed and his marriage crumbles. Director: Lawrence Kasdan In the midst of a searing Florida heat wave, a woman convinces her lover, a small-town lawyer, to murder her rich husband. Director: Lawrence Kasdan Grand Canyon revolved around six residents from different backgrounds whose lives intertwine in modern-day Los Angeles. At the center of the film is the unlikely friendship of two men from ... See full summary » Director: Lawrence Kasdan Take two rival TV reporters: one handsome, one talented, both male. Add one producer, female. Mix well and watch the sparks fly. Director: James L. Brooks Edit 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.

Written by Mark Thompson <mrt@oasis.icl.co.uk> In a cold world, you need your friends to keep you warm! See more » Genres: 30 September 1983 (USA) See more » Also Known As: $56,968 (USA) (6 November 1998) Gross: Did You Know? Trivia Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider . See more » Goofs The fog completely disappears after Harold's brief close-up shot when he and Nick are jogging through town. See more » Quotes Nick : [in a high-pitched voice] Hey. everyone, it's J.T. Lancer! Let's all go watch this incredible show! [everyone runs into the living room] Karen : Come on, Sam. Ok, I've seen it at last. Now what? 31 October 2001 | by (nts78rpm@hotmail.com) (Florida) – See all my reviews When I said I had never seen this film, people gasped and told me they couldn't belive it. They said it was a ground-breaking film, a cinematic landmark etc etc.

Worth seeing for the soundtrack alone. So I rented it and watched it. What I saw was a group of unpleasant, self-obsessed, angst-ridden yuppies whom I liked not at all and cared about even less. We get a little light-relief once or twice with the Tom Beringer character but apart from that we are expected to spend a weekend with these people as they mull over the fact that one of the college friends has killed himself. A little sex thrown in for variety and Glenn Close chooses to have her hissy-fit in the shower so while we watch her acting we can also see her breasts. The piece ends suddenly, with little changed, nothing concluded and the audience thinking "So what?" We never find out why Alex killed himself but my theory is he realized that these people were the best he could do for friends so he threw in the towel. As for the soundtrack, a selection of fifteen or so different numbers of roughly the same period, well K-Tel have been doing that sort of thing for years. No need to put yourself through a movie like this to hear it. 30 of 53 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes Big Chill, The (1983) -- (Movie Clip) This Is One Of Those Times You will receive an email shortly to confirm your email address. Big Chill, The (1983) -- (Movie Clip) This Is One Of Those Times title details and video sharing options now playing Big Chill, The (1983) -- (Movie Clip) This Is One Of Those Times After the music-driven opening in which all learn of the death by suicide of a college friend, gathering for the funeral are Kevin Kline, Tom Berenger, Jeff Goldblum, Meg Tilly, Glenn Close, Mary Kay Place, Jobeth Williams, James Gillis the preacher, in Lawrence Kasdan's The Big Chill, 1983. View the TCMDb entry for The Big Chill (1983) share video Big Chill, The (1983) -- (Movie Clip) This Is One... After the musical opening credit sequence in which all learn...

Big Chill, The (1983) -- (Movie Clip) This Is One Of Those Times After the music-driven opening in which all learn of the death by suicide of a college friend, gathering for the funeral are Kevin Kline, Tom Berenger, Jeff Goldblum, Meg Tilly, Glenn Close, Mary Kay Place, Jobeth Williams, James Gillis the preacher, in Lawrence Kasdan's The Big Chill, 1983.> Big Chill, The - (Re-issue Trailer) A friend's death brings together a... Big Chill, The - (Re-issue Trailer) A friend's death brings together a group of former college activists in The Big Chill (1983) starring Glenn Close, William Hurt and Kevin Kline.> Big Chill, The (1983) -- (Movie Clip) Ain't... Dining the evening after the funeral of their suicide victim...

Big Chill, The (1983) -- (Movie Clip) Ain't Too Proud To Beg Dining the evening after the funeral of suicide victim friend Alex, friends (Glenn Close, Jobeth Williams, Tom Berenger, Mary Kay Place, Kevin Kline, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Meg Tilly) do the dishes to a Temptations' song, a popular scene from Lawerene Kasdan's The Big Chill, 1983.> Big Chill, The (1983) -- (Movie Clip) Cold World... Together after the funeral of a college friend, Mary Kay... Big Chill, The (1983) -- (Movie Clip) Cold World Out There Together after the funeral of a college friend, Mary Kay Place is a lawyer, Jeff Goldblum a writer, Tom Berenger a TV actor, Kevin Kline and Glenn Close their hosts, Jobeth Williams and druggie William Hurt their pals, in Lawrence Kasdan's The Big Chill, 1983.> Big Chill, The (1983) -- (Movie Clip) I'm... Arising the morning after the funeral of their college...

Big Chill, The (1983) -- (Movie Clip) I'm Still Evolving The morning after the funeral of their college friend, Jobeth Williams and Tom Berenger go shopping, Glenn Close and Mary Kay Place sort clothes, and William Hurt, as recreational drug enthusiast Nick, finds one of them new-fangled video cameras, in Lawrence Kasdan's The Big Chill, 1983.> Film | By Tyler Coates | September 27, 2013 Those of us who were born in the early ’80s (and even those a few years older than us) might know The Big Chill best because of its soundtrack. The film, released 30 years ago tomorrow, spawned two records (my parents, inexplicably, had two copies of both on vinyl), including songs by The Temptations, The Four Tops, Aretha Franklin, Three Dog Night, The Band, et al — songs were popular during the mid- to late ’60s, the time during which the characters in the film attended the University of Michigan together.

The film is about nostalgia, and was one of the first to incite the Baby Boomers to look fondly, if a bit narcissistically, at their own Good Old Days. One could argue that the film hasn’t held up well. Those of later generations, like my own, look down upon it. There’s the scene in High Fidelity when the record store dudes played by John Cusack, Jack Black, and Todd Louiso list their favorite songs about death; the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is dismissed immediately because of its inclusion in what is a classic scene from The Big Chill. It’s played on the organ at the end of the funeral for Alex, whose suicide has brought his college friends back together for the first time in years, and then the soundtrack transitions into the Stones recording itself, which plays while the funeral procession leaves the ceremony en route to the burial. It makes sense that The Big Chill is now seen as hokey: it is, after all, a movie that our parents loved. I was born just a few weeks before the movie was released, and one would think that I would not have the affection for it that I’ve had since I was a teenager.

After all, why should I care about the feelings and emotional turmoils of a group of people in their early 40s who have discovered, much to their dismay, that the ideals they had when they were young people slowly withered away once they realized that their progressive mentalities did not mesh with the real world? To be honest, I don’t care much about that predicament, and I care much less each time I watch the movie. But what I do love about The Big Chill is the screenplay written by Lawrence Kasdan and Barbara Benedek. Even for a modern character drama, the script relies very heavily on dialogue — it reads much more like a stage play than a film script. Backstories about the group of college friends are all revealed through conversation — onions peeled back throughout the film, slowly and steadily. We don’t see Alex, the friend who has killed himself (Kevin Costner, who was hired for the role, was cut from the film); rather than relying on flashbacks, director Kasdan tells us all we need to know about Alex through his friends.

He was, at various points in his life, an academic, an activist, a social worker; he was listless and uncertain of his way in life, a direct contrast to his peers, who seem to have all found places for themselves. He also had an affair with Sarah (played by Glenn Close, who nabbed an Oscar nomination) after she was married to Harold (Kevin Kline), which the couple both reveal, separately, to Meg (Mary Kay Place) and Nick (William Hurt), respectively. But the relationships between the old friends don’t only come to life on screen through the writing; the members of the ensemble cast all pull their weight and deliver stellar performances. From the first scene at the funeral, we sense the immediate spark between Karen (played by JoBeth Williams), who has turned into a suffocated housewife to her stodgy and boring husband, and Sam (Tom Berenger), the television actor who stars in a Magnum, P.I.-style series. Jeff Goldblum absolutely nails the smarmy sensibilities of People magazine writer Michael, who unabashedly flirts with Alex’s girlfriend, Chloe (Meg Tilly), the only outsider who manages to stay the weekend.

(In an early montage, Michael is seen unpacking a sleeve of condoms from his bag; again, this is a small detail that speaks volumes not just of the character but also Kasdan’s skill as a director.) While the nostalgic elements can be, at times, a bit insufferable, it’s the solid characterizations of the friends that save the film and add to its merits. Everyone is torn up over Alex’s suicide, particularly because no one saw it coming. Well, they did and they didn’t: he had the potential, of course, to achieve greatness, but he didn’t, and no one can quite figure out why. As is standard for any grieving process, there’s a lot of introspection surrounding how each character is affected by his death. This comes out especially in Nick’s character, and he’s the one of the group whose life most resembles Alex’s. A Vietnam vet and former psychiatrist, Nick is now a drug dealer, seemingly on the same path of passivity that led to Alex’s demise. But all of the characters want to blame themselves for his death; through the years, their strong friendships have softened — they have lost touch, thought less about each other as the relationships and problems in front of them have become their priorities.

That’s what is so honest about the film, and anyone who has gathered with old friends for a forced reunion like a funeral (or, less depressingly, a wedding) can relate to that realization. We assume, in those tender collegiate years, that the friends we have will be our closest for the rest of our lives. It rarely happens that way. People move on, move out, fall out of touch; it’s the great truth about life. And as comfortable as the friends are by the end of the weekend — after the awkwardness, the catharses, the emotional revelations have all passed — there’s the very subtle sense that, despite what they say as they part ways, they probably won’t ever get together like this again unless there’s a similarly unfortunate reason to do. I remember reading a piece about The Big Chill when it turned 15; in it, the writer wrote (and I’m paraphrasing), “If you’re 15, you won’t get The Big Chill.” As a precocious 15-year-old, I took offense. At 30, I understand what the writer meant, as well as the themes of the film, a bit more.

Despite the self-reflective nature of the film, its sometimes-cheap sentimentality, and the fact that the soundtrack was, essentially, the Garden State soundtrack of 1983, I can’t help but love the film. At this point, for me, it brings out a double-layered sense of nostalgia. "The Big Chill" - "The Big Chill" cast: Then and now - Pictures - CBS News "The Big Chill" cast: Then and now "The Big Chill" "It's a cold world out there. Sometimes I feel like I'm getting a little frosty myself." Written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan, "The Big Chill" told the serio-comic tale of a group of friends from college reuniting to mourn the death - by suicide - of one of their circle. It showed Baby Boomers confronting not only mortality, but also the compromises they have made in their lives, and the loss of their youthful dreams and innocence upon entering middle age. A critical and popular favorite upon its debut in September 1983, "The Big Chill" featured an impressive cast and a memorable soundtrack of '60s pop hits. It was nominated for three Academy Awards , including Best Picture.

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan Credit: Columbia Pictures "You Can't Always Get What You Want" The suicide of Alex brings together a group of old housemates from the University of Michigan, who reestablish bonds after 15 years, and in the process of a weekend reevaluate the courses their lives have taken. Credit: Columbia Pictures "It's the Same Old Song" The film's soundtrack was rich with hits from the 1960s by The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Rolling Stones, Martha and The Vandellas, The Four Tops and others.

Harold: "There is no other music, not in my house." Michael: "There's been a lot of terrific music in the last ten years." Harold: "Like what?" Credit: Columbia Pictures Lawrence Kasdan After earning a masters degree in education from the University of Michigan, Lawrence Kasdan (left, behind camera) worked as an advertising copywriter in Los Angeles in the late '70s when his screenplays for "The Bodyguard" and "Continental Divide" drew the attention of George Lucas, who hired him to co-author the screenplay of the second "Star Wars" feature, "The Empire Strikes Back." Kasdan's freshman film as a director was 1981's "Body Heat." In addition to "The Big Chill" (for which he was nominated for an Oscar), Kasdan wrote and directed "Silverado"; "The Accidental Tourist" and "Grand Canyon" (both also receiving Academy Award nominations); "Wyatt Earp"; "Mumford"; "Dreamcatcher"; and "Darling Companion." He also scripted "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Return of the Jedi," and is set to write Episode VIII of the recently-revived "Star Wars" series.

Credit: Columbia Pictures JoBeth Williams After appearances in "Kramer vs. Kramer," "Stir Crazy" and "The Dogs of War," JoBeth Williams made a splash in the 1982 horror hit, "Poltergeist," as the mother of a girl snatched away by supernatural beasties. In "The Big Chill," Williams played Karen, a suburban housewife bored by her marriage to an ad exec (Don Galloway, left).

Credit: Columbia Pictures JoBeth Williams After "Big Chill," JoBeth Williams starred in the nuclear disaster TV movie, "The Day After"; as Marybeth Whitehead in "Baby M" (left); as the mother of an abducted child in "Adam"; and in "My Name Is Bill W." Other films include Kasdan's"Wyatt Earp," "Desert Bloom," "Fever Pitch," "The Big Year," and appearances in the TV series "Frasier," "The Client," "24," "The Nine," "Dexter," "Private Practice," "NCIS," and "Law & Order: L.A." She also earned an Oscar nomination as producer of the 1994 live action short subject, "On Hope." Credit: ABC JoBeth Williams Actress JoBeth Williams attends the SAG Foundation's 3rd Annual Poker Classic at the Gilmore Adobe on Aug. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles, Calif. Credit: Angela Weiss/Getty Images for Screen Actors Guild Foundation Tom Berenger After a stint on the TV soap opera "One Life to Live," Tom Berenger had roles in horror films ("The Sentinel," "Beyond the Door"), dramas ("Looking for Mr.

Goodbar," "The Dogs of War"), and the prequel "Butch and Sundance: The Early Years." In "The Big Chill," Berenger played Sam Weber, a TV actor whose reunion with Karen sparks a flirtatious rendezvous. Credit: Columbia Pictures Tom Berenger After "The Big Chill," Tom Berenger starred in "Eddie and the Cruisers," "Rustlers' Rhapsody," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Shoot to Kill," "Major League," "At Play in the Fields of the Lord," "Sniper," "Training Day," and "Inception." As Sgt. Barnes in Oliver Stone's 1986 Oscar-winner, "Platoon" (left), he received a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination, and won a Golden Globe. He also played Lt. Gen.

James Longstreet in the 1993 historical drama, "Gettysburg." Berenger won an Emmy for the 2012 miniseries, "Hatfields & McCoys." Credit: Orion Pictures Tom Berenger Actor Tom Berenger poses during a photocall for the TV show "Hatfields and McCoys," at the 53rd Monte-Carlo Television Festival in Monaco, June 12, 2013. Credit: VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images Glenn Close Following roles in the TV films "Too Far to Go" and an adaptation of "The Elephant Man," and a Tony Award nomination for the musical, "Barnum," Glenn Close received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her first feature, "The World According to Garp," as feminist author and activist Jenny Fields. Close was nominated for a second Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "The Big Chill," playing the married Sarah, who harbors the secret of a long-ago affair with Alex.

Credit: Columbia Pictures Glenn Close In addition to "Garp" and "Big Chill," Glenn Close has received Oscar nominations for "Fatal Attraction" (left), "The Natural," "Dangerous Liaisons," and "Albert Nobbs." She has won three Emmy Awards - for the TV series "Damages," the miniseries "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story" - and received 11 other nominations. Close has also won three Tonys, for "The Real Thing," "Death and the Maiden," and "Sunset Boulevard." Credit: Paramount Pictures Glenn Close Actress Glenn Close attends the 18th Annual Nantucket Film Fesitval on June 29, 2013, in Nantucket, Mass.

Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for The Nantucket Film Festival Jeff Goldblum Jeff Goldblum's first film credit was as Freak #1 in the Charles Bronson vigilante flick, "Death Wish." He appeared in Robert Altman's "California Split" and "Nashville," Woody Allen's "Annie Hall," Joan Micklin Silver's "Between the Lines," Paul Mazursky's "Next Stop, Greenwich Village," "Remember My Name," "Thank God It's Friday," Philip Kaufman's 1978 remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," and "Threshold." In "The Big Chill," Goldblum played a writer for People Magazine who says his one editorial dictate is to write stories short enough to be read in the bathroom. "I'm tired of having all my work read in the can," he says. "People read Dostoyevsky in the can," someone offers. "Yes, but they can't finish it." Credit: Columbia Pictures Jeff Goldblum Jeff Goldblum later starred in David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of "The Fly" (left, with Geena Davis), as a scientist undergoing a gruesome transformation following a botched experiment.

He was also featured in "The Right Stuff," "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension," "Into the Night," Lawrence Kasdan's "Silverado," "Jurassic Park" and its sequel, "The Lost World," "Independence Day," "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," "Morning Glory" and "The Switch." Goldblum was nominated for an Oscar for the 1996 short film, "Little Surprises." Credit: 20th Century Fox Jeff Goldblum Actor Jeff Goldblum attends a "Grace" Preview Performance Fan Meet-And-Greet at the Cort Theatre, Sept. 13, 2012, in New York. Credit: Rob Kim/Getty Images William Hurt After TV roles on "Kojak" and in the 1978 TV movie "Verna: USO Girl," William Hurt made his feature film debut in Ken Russell's phantasmagorical "Altered States" (1980).

He then starred opposite Sigourney Weaver in the thriller "Eyewitness," and with Kathleen Turner in the erotically-charged murder mystery "Body Heat." In "The Big Chill" Hurt played Nick, a drug-abusing Vietnam vet who suffers from impotence, and who is the most cynical of the group: "Wise up, folks. We're all alone out there, and tomorrow we're going out there again." Credit: Columbia Pictures William Hurt Post-"Big Chill," William Hurt won an Academy Award for Best Actor playing a homosexual prisoner who weaves cinematic tales of passion and danger in "Kiss of the Spider Woman," opposite Raul Julia (left).

He was also nominated for performances in "Children of a Lesser God," "Broadcast News," and "A History of Violence." Hurt also starred in "Gorky Park," "The Accidental Tourist," "I Love You to Death," "Alice," "The Doctor," "Until the End of the World," "Jane Eyre," "Michael," "Dark City," "One True Thing," "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence," "The Village," "Syriana," "Into the Wild," "Vantage Point," "The Host," and the TV series "Damages" with Glenn Close. Credit: Island Alive William Hurt Actor William Hurt arrives at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 15, 2012, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images Kevin Kline Kevin Kline won two Tony Awards, for the musicals "On the Twentieth Century" and "The Pirates of Penzance," before making his feature film debut opposite Meryl Streep in "Sophie's Choice." He also recreated his performance as The Pirate King in the screen version of "Penzance." In "The Big Chill," Kline played Harold, a businessman married to Sarah, who places a high value on public appearances (especially with regards to the local police). Credit: Columbia Pictures Kevin Kline Following "The Big Chill," Kevin Kline reteamed with Lawrence Kasdan for five features: "Silverado," "Grand Canyon," "I Love You to Death," "French Kiss," and "Darling Companion." He also starred in "Cry Freedom," "Soapdish," "Chaplin," "Dave," "Princess Caraboo," "The Ice Storm," "In and Out," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Wild, Wild West," "The Pink Panther," "A Prairie Home Companion," "As You Like It," and "The Last of Robin Hood" (in which he plays Errol Flynn).

Kline won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as Otto, the slightly unbalanced member of a gang of thieves, in the 1989 comedy, "A Fish Called Wanda," in which he placed John Cleese in a rather uncomfortable position (left). Credit: MGM Kevin Kline Kasey the dog and actor Kevin Kline attend the Los Angeles premiere of Lawrence Kasdan's "Darling Companion," at the Egyptian Theatre on April 17, 2012, in Hollywood, Calif. Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Mary Kay Place In the 1970s Mary Kay Place turned up on such TV shows as "All in the Family," "MASH," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and an Emmy Award-winning turn on "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," before making appearances in the films "Bound for Glory," Martin Scorsese's "New York, New York," "Starting Over," "Private Benjamin," and "Waltz Across Texas." In "The Big Chill," Place played Meg, a former public defender who changed her legal practice to the corporate world.

With a ticking biological clock, she wants to have a baby, and seeks to recruit one of her former college friends as the lucky father. Credit: Columbia Pictures Mary Kay Place Mary Kay Place's other film credits include "Explorers," "Citizen Ruth," "The Rainmaker," "Being John Malkovich" (left, with John Cusack), "Girl, Interrupted," "Sweet Home Alabama," and "It's Complicated." Her TV credits include "The History of White People in America," "thirtysomething," "Armistead Mauphin's Tales of the City," "My So-Called Life," "Chicago Hope," "The West Wing," "Big Love," "The New Normal," and various voices on "King of the Hill." Credit: Gramercy Pictures Mary Kay Place Actress Mary Kay Place arrives at HBO's "Big Love" Season 5 premiere at the Directors Guild of America, Jan. 12, 2011, in Los Angeles, Calif. Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images Meg Tilly Making her debut as a dancer in the 1980 film, "Fame," Meg Tilly starred in "One Dark Night," "Tex" (based on the S.E.

Hinton novel), and the horror sequel "Psycho II" as the object of Norman Bates' curious attention. In "The Big Chill" Tilly played Chloe, the much younger girlfriend of Alex. Sarah (on Alex): "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." 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?" Credit: Columbia Pictures Meg Tilly Meg Tilly was a Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee for the film version of the play "Agnes of God" (left, with Jane Fonda), as a young nun found with a dead infant.

Her other credits include the films "Masquerade," "Valmont," "Impulse," "The Two Jakes," "Body Snatchers" and "Sleep With Me," and the TV series "Winnetka Road," "Caprica," and "Bomb Girls." Credit: Columbia PIctures Meg Tilly Actress Meg Tilly poses at a photocall for "Bomb Girls" during the 52nd Monte Carlo TV Festival on June 14, 2012, in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Kevin Costner After small roles in an assortment of films (including as "Frat Boy #1" in the Michael Keaton comedy "Night Shift"), Kevin Costner played Alex, the college friend whose suicide triggered the reunion of the "The Big Chill." Costner filmed a flashback scene - a '60s Thanksgiving dinner with the entire cast - which was to end the film, but director Lawrence Kasdan cut it. All that remains of Costner is bits representing the body of Alex being dressed for his funeral, shown during the opening credits.

Credit: Columbia Pictures Kevin Costner Costner's terrible luck - being cut from "The Big Chill" - was mitigated by being cast in a plum role in Kasdan's next feature, "Silverado," and as lead in Kasdan's "Wyatt Earp." From left: Danny Glover, Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner, director Lawrence Kasdan and Linda Hunt on the set of "Silverado." Costner's later films included the Oscar-nominated "JFK" and "Field of Dreams," "The Untouchables," "Bull Durham," "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," "The Bodyguard," "A Perfect World," "Tin Cup," "Waterworld," "Message in a Bottle," "For Love of the Game," "Open Range," "Thirteen Days," "The Guardian," "Man of Steel," and the TV mini-series, "Hatfields & McCoys." Costner was nominated for three Oscars for the 1991 western "Dances With Wolves," and won two - for Best Director and Best Picture.

Credit: Columbia Pictures Kevin Costner Prince Albert II of Monaco's wife Princess Charlene (left) poses with actor Kevin Costner before the Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2013 Versace collection show, on Jan. 20, 2013, in Paris. Credit: FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images Reunion Thirty years after "The Big Chill" premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, a special 30th anniversary screening was held at the 2013 edition of the festival, with many cast members and creatives in attendance. From left: Producer Michael Shamberg, writer/director Lawrence Kasdan, music consultant Meg Kasdan, actors Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, Meg Tilly, Mary Kay Place, JoBeth Williams, Tom Berenger and co-writer Barbara Benedek arrive at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre on September 5, 2013 in Toronto, Canada. Credit: Alberto E.

Rodriguez Glenn Close Actress Glenn Close arrives at "The Big Chill" 30th Anniversary screening during the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre on September 5, 2013 in Toronto, Canada. "I think it's a pretty timeless story that everybody goes through," said Close. "There's certain times in your life that you will always look back and say, 'That was the best time of my life,' and college for a lot of people is that." Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Reunion Actresses Glenn Close, Mary Kay Place and JoBeth Williams arrive at "The Big Chill" 30th Anniversary screening during the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre on September 5, 2013 in Toronto, Canada. Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images JoBeth Williams Actress JoBeth Williams arrives at "The Big Chill" 30th Anniversary screening during the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre on September 5, 2013 in Toronto, Canada. Credit: Alberto E.

Rodriguez/Getty Images Lawrence Kasdan Writer/director Lawrence Kasdan arrives at "The Big Chill" 30th Anniversary screening during the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre on September 5, 2013 in Toronto, Canada. Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Reunion From left: Actors Glenn Close, Mary Kay Place, Kevin Kline, Meg Tilly, Tom Berenger and JoBeth Williams arrive at "The Big Chill" 30th Anniversary screening during the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre on September 5, 2013 in Toronto, Canada. "I remember when I first saw it screened," Klein recalled on Thursday, "it felt like a home movie because we had such a great time doing it. And I thought, 'This is a great record, I'm glad we had this of such a wonderful time,' but I thought nobody will see it. That's why I'm not a studio executive!" Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images The Cast The cast of "The Big Chill." By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan Credit: Columbia Pictures Download movie The Big Chill. Watch The Big Chill online.

Download The Big Chill in HD, DVD, Divx and ipod quality. Download free movie The Big Chill preview. Kevin Costner Alex (scenes deleted) 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. 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.

The Big Chill Remind Me The Big Chill When it was first released in 1983, The Big Chill drew decidedly mixed reactions despite its commercial success. Some saw it as an insightful portrait of a generation lost between youthful idealism and middle-aged disillusionment, while others found it glib and self-conscious. True, it doesn't always hold up well with today's younger audiences, who don't always relate to the time period and the dilemmas that are the film's focus. But it was nonetheless a box office hit and it garnered three Academy Award nominations - for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress (Glenn Close) - and a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen. The Big Chill definitely tapped into the prevailing zeitgeist. The story of a group of former 1960s college radicals, now following divergent paths in life, who are reunited over the course of a weekend after the suicide of one of their group, struck a chord with baby boomers (a theme that was also explored in John Sayles's Return of the Secaucus 7, 1980).

Producer-director-writer Lawrence Kasdan, 34-years-old when he made the movie, summed up the picture's theme and appeal in defining the meaning of the title: "The Big Chill deals with members of my generation who have discovered that not everything they wanted is possible, that not every ideal they believed in has stayed in the forefront of their intentions. The Big Chill is about a cooling process that takes place for every generation when they move from the outward-directed, more idealistic concerns of their youth to a kind of self-absorption, a self-interest which places their personal desires above those of the society or even an ideal." In Kasdan's self-described "comedy of values," audiences of a certain age and background found some truths about their own past and present lives in the film, and if the harsher realities seemed to be downplayed and glossed over, the central concept was well developed through the strength of a witty script by Kasdan and Barbara Benedek and the fine ensemble work of a cast of actors who were among the most popular and accomplished working in film at the time.

The actors took part in a month-long rehearsal process with the director in Los Angeles and then Atlanta and the Tidalholm estate in Beaufort, SC, where it was shot, giving each one the chance to develop a solid character while also fostering the group dynamic needed for a story about a group of friends with a long history and complicated relationships. One night while rehearsing at the house used as the central location, something clicked. Kasdan recalled, "It happened kind of spontaneously...everyone was in costume and we decided it might be great if we all cooked a meal. That way they'd have to split up the tasks and approximate a group of close friends putting together a dinner. I chose to leave at that point...and for five hours they remained in character without any authority figure, without any director to tell them if they were behaving or reacting in the correct way according to the writer's or director's ideas...It became a very intense experience and they all came out of it exhausted and drained...But that happened at a crucial, crystalizing moment and it turned eight individual actors into an ensemble." Each of the actors had their own interpretation of what The Big Chill was really about.

Tom Berenger commented that the film "is about that period in life when you're beginning to realize you have limitations, that you will never accomplish certain goals and dreams…Suddenly, you know you're not a kid anymore." For William Hurt, "the basic theme of The Big Chill is the reconstruction of hope." Mary Kay Place offered the observation, "When you're in college, you think you can do anything, be anything, accomplish anything...Then suddenly you reach a point where you're settled into what you're going to be and once you realize it, everything stops. Then the questions begin." The sense of the era evoked in the story is boosted by a soundtrack of about 20 songs from the characters' collective past. "The '60s were an explosion, an incredibly varied explosion of pop music," Kasdan noted. "It's not just background to these people. These songs mean something very real and different to each of these characters.

It's a strong, strong reference for them -- a sense memory of that time." Meg Kasdan, the director's wife, sifted through hundreds of tunes before narrowing it down to the ones used in the film, popular numbers by such performers as Creedence Clearwater Revival ("Bad Moon Rising"), The Beach Boys ("Wouldn't It Be Nice"), The Temptations ("Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "My Girl"), Marvin Gaye ("I Heard It Through the Grapevine"), Percy Sledge ("When a Man Loves a Woman"), The Steve Miller Band ("Quicksilver Girl") and others. One song used to great ironic effect is The Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want." At the end of the wrenchingly sad funeral of their friend, one of them gets up to perform the song, the deceased's favorite, on a church organ. The combination of the appropriateness of the title to the suicidal friend's lost hope and the comical effect of hearing it played that way brings a welcome smile to the group's faces, and the Stones version swells onto the soundtrack as they leave the church to head off to their momentous weekend reunion.

The Big Chill also benefited greatly from Kasdan's enviable reputation in the industry at the time. He was already well-known for his scriptwriting work on The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Continental Divide (1981), and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which was paid homage in The Big Chill (Kevin Kline hums the adventure movie's theme music while doing battle with a bat that flew into the house). And two years earlier, Kasdan made a big splash with his directorial debut, the sexy neo-noir thriller Body Heat (1981), so there was much expectation for this, his second movie. Kevin Costner was supposed to have played a key role in the picture as the suicidal Alex, seen in flashback scenes to the group's college days at the University of Michigan. But Kasdan decided to cut these scenes, and all that survives of Costner are brief close-ups of parts of his corpse being dressed for the funeral. Kasdan made it up to the actor, however, by later giving him important roles in the westerns Silverado (1985) and Wyatt Earp (1994).

As noted earlier, The Big Chill generated much discussion among critics who lived through the same era as the film's characters. Isidore Silver, in an article for the magazine Society, wrote "the movie affirms a sneaking suspicion I have always harbored that the sixties generation was better at proclaiming than at achieving such values as sensitivity, mutual caring, and emotional closeness. In short, if The Big Chill somehow represents an important truth about that generation (and I think it does), it demonstrates that many quondam radicals were as boring as their immediate predecessors (my generation), and remain so in the 1980s. The movie is replete with embarrassing examples of unfulfilled aspirations, misremembrances of the past, and simple ennui." Pauline Kael expressed a similar opinion believing the movie would be despised by "anyone who believes himself to have been a revolutionary or a deeply committed radical during his student demonstration days." On the other hand, she acknowledged the film as an entertainment: "There are pleasures to be had from this kind of wise-cracking contemporary movie that you can't get from anything else." And most reviewers had nothing but praise for the film's script and acting ensemble.

Vincent Canby of The New York Times proclaimed The Big Chill "sweet, sharp, melancholy" and wrote "the performances represent ensemble playing of an order Hollywood films seldom have time for, with the screenplay providing each character with at least one big scene. If the actors were less consistent and the writing less fine the scheme would be tiresome. In The Big Chill, it's part of the fun." Director: Lawrence Kasdan Producers: Lawrence Kasdan, Marcia Nasatir, Michael Shamberg Screenplay: Lawrence Kasdan, Barbara Benedek Cinematography: John Bailey Production Design: Ida Random Original Music: Yuji Nomi Cast: Kevin Kline (Harold), Glenn Close (Sarah), William Hurt (Nick), Mary Kay Place (Meg), Tom Berenger (Sam), JoBeth Williams (Karen), Jeff Goldblum (Michael), Meg Tilly (Chloe). C-105m. Letterboxed. Casablanca, The Hunger, Almost Famous | San Diego Reader San Diego Reader Casablanca, The Hunger, Almost Famous 1 Teresa Oyos Community activist diva I have to go to a classic first.

Casablanca , with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, is simply the best movie ever made! It makes me sigh every time I see it. Play it again, Sam!Next is a contemporary vampire tale from none other than Tony Scott. The Hunger is the sexiest movie ever made! I love the scene with Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon in bed with the curtains blowing in the wind. David Bowie also stars. And finally, from Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas is a story about the joys and hardships of three generations of an immigrant family in Mi Familia. Jimmy Smits and Edward James Olmos star. My family took up the whole row at the theater when it first came out. Perfect for those holiday family get-togethers. Terry Alexander Quality assurance nurse, UCSD HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center Lawrence Kasdan's The Big Chill brings a group of old college friends together for a funeral. I know everyone in it and all the characters feel like they are my friends. I love the interaction among Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Mary Kay Place, and others.

I like Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical Almost Famous for many of the same reasons I like The Big Chill . It's also very real and is the best coming-of-age movie I've seen. And finally, a film from this year, Judd Apatow's Knocked Up, which concerns an unwanted pregnancy and the two unlikely people it brings together. It's outrageously funny. And Seth Rogan is hot. You've got to see his bare butt! I wish he were my friend. Lauren Way Phlebotomist, UCSD HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center Come holiday time, nothing's better than to gather the merry band of miscreants that have become my family and celebrate with films celebrating us. Mifune , the third film of the Dogme 95 Manifesto, utilizes bare-bones filmmaking to make the strained relationship between Kresten, his challenged brother, and the live-in caregiver all the more painful and sublime.In Kikujirô, a cantankerous neighbor (Takeshi Kitano) escorts young Masao on a journey to reunite with his mother.

Along the way they encounter bikers, Yakuza, and a "Scary Man." There are moments of absurdity and fear, but ultimately a general sense of all being right with the world. Genghis Blues, the documentary about a blind blues musician traveling to Tuva (just outside Outer Mongolia) to compete in the national throat-singing competition, assembles an unlikely troupe for a fantastical journey that can't help but make you try to kargyraa on your own. The Big Chill - Film Calendar - The Austin Chronicle write a letter Excerpted from original review: The cooled embers of idealistic passions, the sudden “face-to-face” with mortality, the illumination of the present by the rekindled hearth of the past – this is just some of the terrain explored in The Big Chill. A group of old college friends who shared a house together during the late 1960s are reunited at the funeral of one of their former housemates who has inexplicably committed suicide.

For over a decade they had drifted apart, but the weekend they spend together in the funeral's aftermath catalyzes each character's individual reassessment of his or her present circumstances and chosen path in light of the optimism and assuredness of their reglimpsed youth. Each member of the well-chosen cast not only creates a distinct character with unique and memorable resonances but also meshes these separate personalities to form as satisfying an example of ensemble acting as we are likely to see for quite some time to come. This comfortable ensemble quality ironically accounts for one of the film's minor miscalculations: the ease with which the group falls back into their old patterns of trust and familiarity after an awkwardly long period of separation is narratively convenient, but not really probable. Also, these fictive representatives of the Sixties have for the most part achieved more personal and professional success than is generally common. So their weekend preoccupation with the dashed hopes of their youth and the rationalizations of their maturity sometimes appears a luxurious commodity. Among the film's other delights is its extraordinary soundtrack. READ MORE

Question: What event brings a group of old friends together in the 1983 film "The Big Chill"?
Answer: Funeral