To mark the thirtieth anniversary of The Big Chill's world premiere at the Festival, we are delighted to present a sparkling 4K restoration of Lawrence Kasdan's generation-defining film, and an extended Q&A with the cast and crew — including Kasdan, actors Glenn Close and Meg Tilly, and screenwriter Barbara Benedek.
The world premiere of Lawrence Kasdan's The Big Chill in 1983 was a landmark event for the Festival, rocketing our popularity to new heights with audiences and industry, and fostering a tradition for star-studded Gala Presentations to come.
To mark the thirtieth anniversary of that premiere, we are delighted to present a sparkling 4K restoration of The Big Chill — itself a landmark film for which Toronto was just the beginning. After winning the People's Choice Award at the Festival, it would go on to herald a new wave of intelligent, baby boomer-driven American cinema.
Original 1983 note:
Writer/director Lawrence Kasdan has helped create some of the most popular and successful screen entertainment in recent years. The author of Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and the powerful drama Body Heat, which also marked Kasdan's directorial debut, has emerged as one of the most imaginative talents working in Hollywood today.
The Big Chill unites a unique ensemble of some of the fastest-rising young stars in a provocative "comedy of values." The characters are old college friends, members of the sixties generation who marched against Vietnam and felt the future was theirs. Members of the baby-boom generation who entered the adult world as idealistic non-conformists, they are now, for the most part, members of the establishment — businessmen, journalists, television stars, doctors, lawyers, husbands and wives. Suddenly and unexpectedly, this group of old friends is reunited at the funeral of one of their friends who has committed suicide. Stunned by the loss, each comes to the reunion with a deep need to re-establish the bond of caring they once shared. Kasdan's film emerges as a bittersweet testimony to a confused generation, one that has survived the passions of youth and grown through painful self-awareness and love into adulthood. The eight actors and actresses who bring this insightful piece to life are some of the brightest, emerging talents in film today. Tom Berenger (Looking for Mr. Goodbar), Glenn Close (The World According to Garp), Jeff Goldblum (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), William Hurt (Body Heat, Altered States), Kevin Kline (Sophie's Choice), Mary Kay Place (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman), Meg Tilly (Psycho II), and JoBeth Williams (Poltergeist) combine to form an impressive ensemble that gives The Big Chill the intensity and warmth that it demands.
Screenings
Princess of Wales