Tom Berenger Archives - chimesfreedom

On September 28, 1983, Columbia Pictures released The Big Chill. The film, directed by Lawrence Kasdan, featured baby boomer college friends reuniting around fifteen years after school for the funeral of a friend who committed suicide. The film perfectly encompassed the baby-boomer anxiety about selling out in life and a loss of innocence.

And of course, there was the humor. And the movie featured the great soundtrack with such performers as Marvin Gaye, Creedance Clearwater Revival, and Aretha Franklin.

The move taught me an important lesson that had little to do with the lost idealism or the friendship of the characters. I learned how great it can be not to know anything about a movie before you see it.

When I was in college, I went to a shopping mall with friends and we decided to see a movie. As we debated what to see, none of us had yet seen any advertisements for The Big Chill. I only knew that my sister had seen it and liked it, but I had no idea about the story or the actors.

Well, we decided to see The Big Chill based on my sister’s vague recommendation. By the time the movie got to the scene with the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” I was hooked.

For the time period, with MTV only about two years old, the movie seemed like something new and refreshing, using rock music to explore the 1980s nostalgia for the 1960s. I do not know if I would have loved the movie so much had I known what to expect. So I learned the best way to see a movie is without expectations. Now, before I see a movie I try to learn only as much as I need in order to decide whether or not I want to see it.

Thus, in case you have not seen the The Big Chill, I will not say much more about the plot. Many have fond memories of the movie, which had a great ensemble cast of Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, and JoBeth Williams.

Much later, we would read that the dead friend Alex, who we never see in the film, was originally played by a young Kevin Costner. In this reunion video, you may hear more about a deleted flashback scene featuring Costner.

Critics are somewhat divided on the film. I understand how looking back at the movie through today’s lens, one may see too many clichés.

But for the time, seeing the movie through my own innocence, it helped connect me a tiny bit to thinking about how I might one day look back on my own life. And today, I find myself older than the characters in the film looking back nostalgically at where I was when I first saw The Big Chill during my own college years.

What is your favorite scene in The Big Chill? Leave your two cents in the comments.

The Man Behind the Organ in “Like a Rolling Stone”

The Groundbreaking Rock and Roll Movie, “The T.A.M.I. Show”

History and the “Hatfields & McCoys” (Review)

“Horizon: An American Saga” Trailer

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Ain’t No Valley Low Enough

“All You Need Is Love” Worldwide Broadcast

(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

If you missed the History Channel’s first showing of Hatfields & McCoys, starring Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton, make sure to catch it in another showing or on-demand or on video or online. The three-part miniseries, which also features an excellent almost unrecognizable performance by Tom Berenger, tells a compelling American story. Like the best miniseries, it may take you awhile to get drawn into the story as you get to know the characters in the early going. But I found that by the second episode I could not stop watching and could not wait for the third chapter.

Chimesfreedom has discussed the use of violence in movies, and one of the impressive aspects of Hatfields & McCoys is that it tells a violent story in a realistic way. Unlike many movies, the miniseries — directed by Kevin Reynolds and written by Ted Mann and Ronald Parker — portrays the tragic consequences of violence without ever manipulating the viewer into rooting for people to be killed.

I was not alone in enjoying the miniseries, which became the second-most watched entertainment program on basic cable ever (first is last year’s MTV Video Music Awards). There are a number of theories about why the miniseries did so well, including the attraction of a big-name star like Kevin Costner. But at least part of the reason is that the series is a compelling human historical story done well.

How accurate is the miniseries? Various historians indicate that the miniseries got a lot of the story right, with some adjustments for dramatic license. For example, some note that the feud had a lot to do with economics because the Hatfields were doing so well with their lumber business while the McCoys were struggling. The miniseries hints at that aspect with a few scenes devoted to the dispute over land that was part of the Hatfield’s lumber business, but much of the miniseries focuses on the Civil War and romantic roots of the feud. One big difference from the true story is that the movie was not filmed in West Virginia and Kentucky but in Romania, which had more undeveloped wild space. Also, some descendants of the Hatfields and McCoys have pointed out changes to the real story. Still, the miniseries is an excellent combination of history, fine acting, and a compelling story. Below is a short summary of the real-life story, featuring images of the real-life main characters.

Conclusion? If you like history, family drama, Civil War era stories, and have a little patience to get wrapped up in a compelling story, check out the Hatfields & McCoys.

Why do you think Hatfields & McCoys was such a hit? Leave your two cents in the comments.