The Big Chill is a 1983 film which tells the story of several University of Michigan college friends who gather together again for the funeral of one of their number, after not having seen one another for years. 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 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.
• The main cast members lived together for a few weeks before filming began. The night before filming began they all stayed in character.
• Flashback scenes with Kevin Costner as Alex were filmed, but cut. He is still visible as the body being dressed at the beginning of the film.
• As he fights off the bat, Harold hums the theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark, a movie also written by Lawrence Kasdan.
• Director Lawrence Kasdan's wife, Meg Kasdan, plays the airline stewardess flirting with Sam Weber at the beginning of the film. His two sons also have roles: Jon Kasdan plays Harold and Sarah's son in the bathtub, and Jacob Kasdan plays the boy seeking Sam's autograph at the wake.
• The main house in the film is in Beaufort, South Carolina. It is the same house where The The Great Santini was shot. Lawerence Kasdan liked The Great Santini so much, he decided to shoot his film in the same house.
• The name of Harold's " Running Dog" shoe-store chain is a play on the Maoist phrase, " the running dogs of capitalism" .
• The Characters were based on people Lawrence Kasden lived with in the Eugene V. Debs co-op in Ann Arbor, Michigan while attending the University of Michigan. Co-ops are co-ed housing in which the residents share household duties like cooking. This explains why the characters are so comfortable sharing the house, cooking, and so attached to the Michigan football game.
• Kevin Kline met future wife Phoebe Cates when she auditioned for the part of Chloe that went to Meg Tilly
• The soundtrack of the movie consisted of many 1960s era pop songs. Because of the success of the soundtrack, dozens of TV commercials used music from the same period.

Other Movies You Might Like at Amazon.com

• The Big Chill - 15th Anniversary: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ~ Various Artists
• The Big Chill - Deluxe Edition Various Artists
• When Harry Met Sally
• The Graduate

• Actors: Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place
• Directors: Lawrence Kasdan
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Widescreen, NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Rated:
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• DVD Release Date: January 26, 1999
• Run Time: 161 minutes

• Karen's hair during her scene on the dock with Sam.
• The fog completely disappears after Harold's brief close-up shot when he and Nick are jogging through town.
• When Nick and Harold are jogging, Nick's mic lead is visible running down into his back pocket.
• The position of Harold's and Sarah's left arms after she and Harold talk to Nick on the front steps after the wake.
• When the cast is eating their first dinner a crewmember is visible through the window on the right.
• As the characters clean up following the dinner, the turkey platter is simultaneously on the kitchen table and the dining room table.