Product Details

• Actors: Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline
• Directors: Lawrence Kasdan
• Writers: Lawrence Kasdan, Barbara Benedek
• Producers: Lawrence Kasdan, Barrie M. Osborne, Marcia Nasatir, Michael Shamberg
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home E
• VHS Release Date: June 4, 1996
• Run Time: 105 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (135 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302797624
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,588 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Lawrence Kasdan's 1983 big-budget variation on John Sayles's The Return of the Secaucus Seven finds a cluster of old college radicals--who have since gone on to sundry professions and various degrees of materialism--reuniting over the death of a friend. Both playful and thoughtful, the film represents Kasdan (Body Heat) at his most astute. The attractive cast meshes perfectly into a group of characters for which a former closeness is out of synch with their current lives, yet their warmth is enviable and inviting. The script may be a bit too glib, with many one-liners, but it is still a perfectly designed story with telling irony and no little passion. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is the film that lent it's name to a generation., January 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Big Chill (15th Anniversary Collector's Edition) (DVD)

THE BIG CHILL is one of those films (like AMERICAN GRAFITTI) that people of a certain age will watch and experience a sense of generational identification. The film is an enjoyable (if somewhat surface) treatment of a generation's coming to terms with the compromise and loss of its youthful ideals. The real treats of the movie are the performances of its ensemble cast and the soundtrack, which is filled with great Motown (and other) hits of the era. This DVD is the best video version yet of this film. The colors are warm and autumnal and the soundtrack is crisp (it practically begs to be pumped up during the songs). This is a special edition which contains deleted scenes (which, unfortunately, do not include the scenes with Kevin Costner) as well as a 55-minute documentary on the making of the film. This features current interviews with the cast and crew reflecting on their experiences making the film and what it has come to mean to them. For those who have a wide-screen TV, this film is enhanced for the 16:9 screen ratio. All in all, this is a first-rate presentation of a fine film.

42 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Boom Boom...Boo Hoo, October 9, 2003

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Big Chill (15th Anniversary Collector's Edition) (DVD)

Since this film first appeared about 20 years ago, it has become a favorite of those who comprise what is referred to as the "Baby Boomer" generation" but its appeal is by no means limited to that age group. So many of its themes (e.g. nostalgia, disenchantment, sexual frustration, egocentricity) are common to all generations. As is often the case, a reunion of friends occurs because of a death, in this case Alex whose corpse is being formally dressed for burial as the film begins. (It is Kevin Costner's body but his head is concealed, with the balance of Costner's appearance lying on a cutting room floor.) Sarah and Harold Cooper (Glenn Close and Kevin Kline) serve as unofficial hostess and host. After the burial, their friends return with them to their home where accommodations are provided. Their extended celebration of both Alex and themselves begins, during which Kasdan (who also wrote the screenplay) carefully reveals the strengths and weaknesses of each central character. The Coopers seem to be the strongest, happily married and prosperous but also generous and caring. Nick (William Hurt) is a confused and self-absorbed veteran (in some respects a survivor) of the Viet Nam war. The group includes one celebrity, Sam (Tom Berenger) who stars in a television series. Karen has always been in love with Sam. Now a somewhat unhappily married woman, she struggles with her conflict of emotions (obligations to husband and children juxtaposed with her enduring attraction to Sam). Mary Kay Place is a successful attorney who yearns for parenthood but not necessarily marriage. For me, the most interesting character is Michael (Jeff Goldblum) who comes across as a smarmy, almost desperate social misfit. Although claiming to be secure as a journalist with People magazine, he is obviously desperate to be accepted, to make favorable impressions, and if nothing else, taken seriously. His vulnerabilities are almost palpable.

Kasdan and his associates have created in this film an especially effective portrayal of certain values during the period in which the action (such as it is) occurs. For example, most of the characters are almost wholly preoccupied with what they want but do not have. There is a strong element of codependency among them as they struggle to absorb and digest the reality of Alex's death. They are mutually devoted but, at the same time, several seem (to me) to be asking the same question once posed by Peggy Lee: "Is this all there is?"

Much of the appeal of this film is explained by how seamlessly Kasdan coordinates the plot with the soundtrack which continues to be a bestseller. For example, it is an especially appropriate touch that he includes the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" early on during the funeral service for Alex. Other selections on the soundtrack include "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" (Marvin Gaye), "My Girl" (The Tempations), "Good Lovin'" (Rascals), "The Tracks Of My Tears" (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles), "Joy To The World" (Three Dog Night), "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" (Temptations), "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (Aretha Franklin), "I Second That Emotion" (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles), "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" (Procol Harum), and "Tell Him" (Exciters).

30 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Get CHILLED Again ... But DVD is Whiter Shade of Pale, November 9, 1999

By 

Matt Howe "outloud98" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Big Chill (15th Anniversary Collector's Edition) (DVD)

I saw THE BIG CHILL in high school. I loved it. Strange, considering my age, but it helped me imagine my high school friends and I getting together at age 30 and having a good time. I just watched it again this weekend on DVD, and still consider it a good movie. Don't let the big budget and big names fool you. It's a small film about interesting characters. The only "action" is when Sam tries to jump into Nick's car "J.T. Lancer"-style. Mostly, it's character study. And Mr. Kasdan cast an incredible group of actors. It's a good film.

Now ... for the DVD ... I think the picture is good. For instance, this is the first time I noticed the mint-green walls of the church in the opening scene. But, the rest of the DVD pales in comparison to others on the market now. Like another reviewer said, the "Trailer" included is for SILVERADO (? ). Where's the BIG CHILL trailer ? The documentary is very well done -- lots of current interviews with cast members (Glenn Close reveals a lot). The cut scenes are interesting too. ** BUT where are the flashback scenes filmed in Atlanta of the cast in their 60's clothes ? I thought for sure we'd get to see those! Nowhere to be found ... Disappointing.