The Big Chill (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Big Chill | |
|---|---|
 originalmovie poster |
|
| Directed by | Lawrence Kasdan |
| Produced by | Michael Shamberg |
| Written by | Lawrence Kasdan Barbara Benedek |
| Starring | Kevin Kline Jeff Goldblum Tom Berenger Glenn Close JoBeth Williams William Hurt Meg Tilly Mary Kay Place |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | September 30, 1983 |
| Running time | 105 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Big Chill is a 1983 film which tells the story of several University of Michigan college friends who reunite after many years for the funeral of one of their number, who committed suicide. It stars Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, JoBeth Williams, and Don Galloway.
The movie was written by Barbara Benedek and Lawrence Kasdan, and was directed by Kasdan. It was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Glenn Close), Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
Kevin Costner has the role of Alex, the dead man, who was originally shot in many flashback scenes, but eventually, all of those scenes were cut (although Costner is briefly "seen" as the corpse being dressed for the funeral under the main titles). Lawrence Kasdan felt so guilty for cutting Costner from the film that he cast him again in Silverado, helping to launch Costner's career.
The movie was filmed in historic Beaufort, South Carolina, and was shot at the same antebellum home used as a location for The Great Santini, starring Robert Duvall and Blythe Danner.
[edit] Trivia
- The music in the film directly relates to what is happening, or happens on screen. Eg, at the beginning, the friends phone each other with news while I Heard It Through The Grapevine plays. Shortly after, You Can't Always Get What You Want plays, with lyrics 'I saw her today at the reception, with a glass of wine in her hand'. Moments later, we see a reception in which people are drinking wine.
- The child of Harold (Kevin Kline) and Sarah (Glenn Close) in the bath scene at the beginning of the film is played by the child of the director, Lawrence Kasdan.
- Kevin Kline and Jeff Goldblum were also in Silverado, Kasdan's next movie, that also included Kevin Costner, Brian Dennehy, John Cleese, Danny Glover and Linda Hunt.
- The Big Chill influenced the creation of the television series Thirtysomething.
- At a free screening at the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on April 20, 2006, Lawrence Kasdan denied having seen "The Return of the Secaucus 7" before working on "The Big Chill", though he praised it very highly.
- Actor Tom Berenger married a woman he met while filming this movie in Beaufort, S.C., and still lives there.
- The soundtrack album, featuring a collection of 1960s pop and Motown classics, was among the best selling albums of the year.
- This movie is thought to have introduced the phrase "My biological clock is ticking" to popular parlance.
- Kevin Kline hums a part of the theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark before heading up to the attic to catch the bat. Lawrence Kasdan co-wrote Raiders with Philip Kaufman and George Lucas.
- The website angryalien.com made a remake of The Big Chill in their 30 second Bunny Theater.
- Comedy troupe Stella (Comedy Group) parodied "The Big Chill" in their short entitled "College Reunion"
[edit] See also
Soundtracks: The Big Chill, The Big Chill: More Songs from the Original Soundtrack and The Big Chill Deluxe Edition
