Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980)
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80% of critics liked it
(15 reviews) -
72% of users liked it
(1,098 ratings)
College friends reunite for a New England summer weekend in this low-budget first feature by accomplished independent filmmaker John Sayles. A predecessor of the well-paced, character-driven films in Sayles' future, Secaucus Seven also looks ahead to the 1980s ensemble movies that it inspired,… More College friends reunite for a New England summer weekend in this low-budget first feature by accomplished independent filmmaker John Sayles. A predecessor of the well-paced, character-driven films in Sayles' future, Secaucus Seven also looks ahead to the 1980s ensemble movies that it inspired, most notably Lawrence Kasdan's The Big Chill, which arrived in theaters three years later. As each friend arrives at the house (or travels to the house), characterizations build, dialogue expands, and the house (and film) are full of people getting reacquainted and re-examining themselves and each other. Sayles builds the plot by testing the characters' connections: Will these former radicals accept the uptight boyfriend of the well-loved politico? What happens when a couple splits up? How does the educated set treat the local blue-collars? Many critics cited Secaucus Seven in their decade-end list of the best films of the 1980s. ~ Norm Schrager, Rovi
- Directed By
- John Sayles
- Written By
- John Sayles
- Genres
- Drama, Art House & International, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Sep 5, 1980 Wide
- Studio
- IFC Films
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, Variety
Preeiding the glitzy Big Chill by three years, John Sayles' first feature offers a poignant look at the reunion of 1960s activists; there's not much to look at this talking heads feature, which was shot for $40,000, but the dialogue is good.
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Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Granola theater on the cusp of the New Right
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Brent Simon, Shared Darkness
Stagy and at times unevenly acted, but full of discerning and engaging judgments about what it meant to be a childless thirtysomething couple -- or, egads, even single -- at the close of the 1970s.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The much praised film upon its release, a tribute to indie filmmaking, seems to have badly dated.
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Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
The sort of small-scale, sharply observed character drama Sayles' admirers know and love.
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Cast
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Bruce MacDonald
as Mike
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Maggie Renzi
as Katie
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Adam Le Fevre
as J.T.
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Maggie Cousineau
as Frances
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Gordon Clapp
as Chip
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Jean Passanante
as Irene
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Karen Trott
as Maura
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Mark Arnott
as Jeff
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David Strathairn
as Ron
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John Sayles
as Howie
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Carolyn Brooks
as Meg
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Nancy Mette
as Lee
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Betsy Julia Robinson
as Amy
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Marisa Smith
as Carol
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Steven Zaitz
as Singer
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Brian Johnson
as Norman
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Jeffrey Nelson
as The Man
- Adam LeFevre