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The Big Chill
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The Big Chill (1983) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 43 | slideshow) Videos (see all 2)
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.
The Big Chill (1983) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   12,866 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 3% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Lawrence Kasdan (written by) &
Barbara Benedek (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Big Chill on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
28 September 1983 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
The story of eight old friends searching for something they lost, and finding that all they needed was each other. more
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. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(14 articles)
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User Reviews:
Ensemble Acting at it's Best more (141 total)

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
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Der große Frust (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Les copains d'abord (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
A nagy borzongás (Hungary) [hu]
Gensyn med vennerne (Denmark) [da]
Ha-Haverrim Shel Alex (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
I megali anatrihila (Greece) [el]
Il grande freddo (Italy) [it]
Människor emellan (Sweden) [sv]
O Reencontro (Brazil) [pt]
Os Amigos de Alex (Portugal) [pt]
Reencuentro (Spain) [es]
Sisärengas (Finland) [fi]
Wielki chlód (Poland) [pl]
more
Runtime:
105 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Lawrence Kasdan wrote the parts of Karen and Sarah specifically for JoBeth Williams and Glenn Close respectively, however both actresses initially wanted to play the role of Meg as both felt that they better related to that character over the ones chosen by Kasdan. more
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: When Nick and Harold are jogging, Nick's mic lead is visible running down into his back pocket. more
Quotes:
Sam Weber: Nothing's more important than sex!
Michael: Oh yeah, have you ever gone a week without a rationalization?
more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman more

FAQ

How does it end?
more
20 out of 24 people found the following review useful.
Ensemble Acting at it's Best, 3 February 2001
9/10
Author: gbheron from Washington, DC

"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.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Big Chill (1983)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Exact Quote shawawa
Worst Movie ever? art_vandelay3-1
SEQUEL??? RRPounder
Kevin Costner Jphilip
Well made, but nauseating Toronto1973
This movie is one big cliche turd.... Nebraska999
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