"The Big Chill" cast: Then and now
Written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan, "The Big Chill" told the serio-comic tale of a group of friends from college reuniting to mourn the death - by suicide - of one of their circle. It showed Baby Boomers confronting not only mortality, but also the compromises they have made in their lives, and the loss of their youthful dreams and innocence upon entering middle age.
A critical and popular favorite upon its debut in September 1983, "The Big Chill" featured an impressive cast and a memorable soundtrack of '60s pop hits. It was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan
"You Can't Always Get What You Want"
"It's the Same Old Song"
Harold: "There is no other music, not in my house."
Michael: "There's been a lot of terrific music in the last ten years."
Harold: "Like what?"
Lawrence Kasdan
In addition to "The Big Chill" (for which he was nominated for an Oscar), Kasdan wrote and directed "Silverado"; "The Accidental Tourist" and "Grand Canyon" (both also receiving Academy Award nominations); "Wyatt Earp"; "Mumford"; "Dreamcatcher"; and "Darling Companion."
He also scripted "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Return of the Jedi," and is set to write Episode VIII of the recently-revived "Star Wars" series.
JoBeth Williams
In "The Big Chill," Williams played Karen, a suburban housewife bored by her marriage to an ad exec (Don Galloway, left).
JoBeth Williams
She also earned an Oscar nomination as producer of the 1994 live action short subject, "On Hope."
JoBeth Williams
Tom Berenger
In "The Big Chill," Berenger played Sam Weber, a TV actor whose reunion with Karen sparks a flirtatious rendezvous.
Tom Berenger
As Sgt. Barnes in Oliver Stone's 1986 Oscar-winner, "Platoon" (left), he received a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination, and won a Golden Globe. He also played Lt. Gen. James Longstreet in the 1993 historical drama, "Gettysburg."
Berenger won an Emmy for the 2012 miniseries, "Hatfields & McCoys."
Tom Berenger
Glenn Close
Close was nominated for a second Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "The Big Chill," playing the married Sarah, who harbors the secret of a long-ago affair with Alex.
Glenn Close
She has won three Emmy Awards - for the TV series "Damages," the miniseries "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story" - and received 11 other nominations. Close has also won three Tonys, for "The Real Thing," "Death and the Maiden," and "Sunset Boulevard."
Glenn Close
Jeff Goldblum
In "The Big Chill," Goldblum played a writer for People Magazine who says his one editorial dictate is to write stories short enough to be read in the bathroom.
"I'm tired of having all my work read in the can," he says.
"People read Dostoyevsky in the can," someone offers.
"Yes, but they can't finish it."
Jeff Goldblum
Goldblum was nominated for an Oscar for the 1996 short film, "Little Surprises."
Jeff Goldblum
William Hurt
In "The Big Chill" Hurt played Nick, a drug-abusing Vietnam vet who suffers from impotence, and who is the most cynical of the group:
"Wise up, folks. We're all alone out there, and tomorrow we're going out there again."
William Hurt
Hurt also starred in "Gorky Park," "The Accidental Tourist," "I Love You to Death," "Alice," "The Doctor," "Until the End of the World," "Jane Eyre," "Michael," "Dark City," "One True Thing," "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence," "The Village," "Syriana," "Into the Wild," "Vantage Point," "The Host," and the TV series "Damages" with Glenn Close.
William Hurt
Kevin Kline
In "The Big Chill," Kline played Harold, a businessman married to Sarah, who places a high value on public appearances (especially with regards to the local police).
Kevin Kline
He also starred in "Cry Freedom," "Soapdish," "Chaplin," "Dave," "Princess Caraboo," "The Ice Storm," "In and Out," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Wild, Wild West," "The Pink Panther," "A Prairie Home Companion," "As You Like It," and "The Last of Robin Hood" (in which he plays Errol Flynn).
Kline won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as Otto, the slightly unbalanced member of a gang of thieves, in the 1989 comedy, "A Fish Called Wanda," in which he placed John Cleese in a rather uncomfortable position (left).
Kevin Kline
Mary Kay Place
In "The Big Chill," Place played Meg, a former public defender who changed her legal practice to the corporate world. With a ticking biological clock, she wants to have a baby, and seeks to recruit one of her former college friends as the lucky father.
Mary Kay Place
Mary Kay Place
Meg Tilly
In "The Big Chill" Tilly played Chloe, the much younger girlfriend of Alex.
Sarah (on Alex): "I know he wasn't happy. That doesn't tell you much. I'd no idea how bad it was. I think he purposely wanted to cut off from all of us because he was so unhappy with where he was at."
Karen: "Is that true, Chloe? Did you feel that?"
Chloe: "I don't know. We had some good times. I haven't met that many happy people in my life, how do they act?"
Meg Tilly
Her other credits include the films "Masquerade," "Valmont," "Impulse," "The Two Jakes," "Body Snatchers" and "Sleep With Me," and the TV series "Winnetka Road," "Caprica," and "Bomb Girls."
Meg Tilly
Kevin Costner
Costner filmed a flashback scene - a '60s Thanksgiving dinner with the entire cast - which was to end the film, but director Lawrence Kasdan cut it. All that remains of Costner is bits representing the body of Alex being dressed for his funeral, shown during the opening credits.
Kevin Costner
From left: Danny Glover, Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner, director Lawrence Kasdan and Linda Hunt on the set of "Silverado."
Costner's later films included the Oscar-nominated "JFK" and "Field of Dreams," "The Untouchables," "Bull Durham," "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," "The Bodyguard," "A Perfect World," "Tin Cup," "Waterworld," "Message in a Bottle," "For Love of the Game," "Open Range," "Thirteen Days," "The Guardian," "Man of Steel," and the TV mini-series, "Hatfields & McCoys."
Costner was nominated for three Oscars for the 1991 western "Dances With Wolves," and won two - for Best Director and Best Picture.
Kevin Costner
Reunion
From left: Producer Michael Shamberg, writer/director Lawrence Kasdan, music consultant Meg Kasdan, actors Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, Meg Tilly, Mary Kay Place, JoBeth Williams, Tom Berenger and co-writer Barbara Benedek arrive at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre on September 5, 2013 in Toronto, Canada.
Glenn Close
"I think it's a pretty timeless story that everybody goes through," said Close. "There's certain times in your life that you will always look back and say, 'That was the best time of my life,' and college for a lot of people is that."
Reunion
JoBeth Williams
Lawrence Kasdan
Reunion
"I remember when I first saw it screened," Klein recalled on Thursday, "it felt like a home movie because we had such a great time doing it. And I thought, 'This is a great record, I'm glad we had this of such a wonderful time,' but I thought nobody will see it. That's why I'm not a studio executive!"
The Cast
By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan