Return of the Secaucus 7
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Actor: Carolyn Brooks, Cora Bennett, Gordon Clapp, Maggie Cousineau, Mark ArnottBrand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
Primary Contributor: MacDonald (II), Bruce
Primary Contributor: Renzi, Maggie
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 104 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-09-16
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of Return of the Secaucus 7
DVD Review: Great Film Then, Still Absorbing
Summary: 5 Stars
RETURN OF THE SECAUCUS SEVEN .... If you sort of enjoyed The Big Chill, then this is the "progenitor" of what The Big Chill SHOULD have been; the original recipe. Amazingly, this special, consistently-flowing, 1979-produced film, with engaging character development, does not seem extremely "dated" today, (with a refreshing absence of cell phone scenes, overplayed drug scenes, but including those "short-shorts" on the basketball & volleyball court scenes).
The production was quite advanced in its style of filming, you are mixed into the group dynamics via the unobtrusive and intimate camera work, devoid of the typical pretext, or presentation hoopla often used to force-feed viewers with some sort pre-packaged message, music, or mood set-up. Rather, simply, it's like you are a fly on the wall, and its director John Sayles lets his characters flourish in both humor and angst in a natural flow; it's almost as if the film was done in just one masterful take. Maybe it almost was. (It would be great to find out what those actors and actresses are up to now, my guess is that they largely took up interesting roles in real life decades later, not necessarily acting.) If any you are out there and link to this site, please chime in somewhere ! Director Sayles, who played one of the characters, (I won't reveal which one) went on toward critical acclaim and success in many later directorial projects.
I was fascinated with this film as originally shown with small audience draw in theaters nationally, and I tried to obtain a video copy about ten years later, as it was such a cult film, the video cost something like $40-50 to obtain then. Now, it's back into the "attainable" range. I still love this film, it is a pleasure to own the DVD, and I will enjoy it repeatedly every few years, now.
The coolest thing is, such perfection (IMHO) in filmmaking flew almost completely under the "popular" radar when it was new. If you came of age during the 70s and experienced at least a year or so of college, and got swept up in the pre-aids relationship pleasure/angst culture, (if not the politics), you'll love this "reunion" film. (Of course the reunion occurred at the end of the 70s, of characters originally meeting in the late 60s-early 70s maelstrom. Warning, filmed in peaceful rural Vermont, so don't get your heart set on scenes or glimpses of bygone New Jersey, though the characters will remind you of friends from the NE. Have a glass of wine, darken all the windows, set your phone on vibrate and enjoy getting lost in this timeless time capsule !
Brad Nottingham
DVD Review: Good start
Summary: 3 Stars
Independent filmmaker John Sayles' debut film, The Return Of The Secaucus 7, released in late 1979, is a film that is typical of the low budget feel of such films from that era- even such horror films like Last House On The Left or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Like those other films it is filled with inexperienced and mediocre acting, and unrealistic dialogue. Before this film was made, Sayles had been a screenwriter and script doctor for Roger Corman's cheapo horror films. This film, however, was the first that bore his own imprint and vision. Unfortunately, the excellence of his later films only points up the flaws of this first film, written and directed by Sayles on a low budget. Like many low budget indy films, this film is long on talk and short on action and visual razzle-dazzle, and was filmed at a New Hampshire lodge.
The film has often been compared to the 1983 Lawrence Kasdan film The Big Chill, but, like that film, there is a dearth of characterization that weighs this film down. The characters in The Return Of The Secaucus 7 are little more than stereotypes, or, at best, archetypes- some are teachers, two are speechwriters for a U.S. Senator- Irene Rosenblue (Jean Passanante) and Chip Hollister (Gordon Clapp), and another is a bad country singer-songwriter. The plot follows a group of pretentious thirtyish former college radicals who gather for a weekend reunion in a small New Hampshire town. Other than that, there is no plot, merely thinly connected scenes of gossip, flirtation, barbecues, Charades and Clue, volleyball, and basketball, nude male rock diving, and alcohol and drug consumption.... one wonders why more was not made of the great late summer landscape of New England? Surely panning over the White Mountains would not have been such a large cost? Is the film wholly devoid of good moments? No. The basketball scenes are well coordinated, and give a good sense of how men bond vs. the women's bonding over Clue, but such moments are too few in number. The Charades scenes are typical of the bad and unrealistic conversations the characters have. Instead of having real conversations that reveal depths, Sayles cuts far too quickly between scenes, in order to push the film forward, but at the expense of depth. With later classics such as Matewan and Lone Star, Sayles would reveal himself as a filmmaker capable of greatness, but this film gives few glances into that later flowering. That it was recently put on the list of important American films worth preservation is more a testament to its place as Sayles' initial film than any qualities the film, alone, has. Still, The Return Of The Secaucus 7 is an interesting film that, despite its flaws, is well worth seeing, if only for film historians who love discerning small traits that hold clues to later and greater art by the artist. For the rest of us, flip a coin, and you have the same shot at enjoying this film. That's still better than most Hollywood films these days. Sigh.
DVD Review: Terrible acting
Summary: 2 Stars
I wanted to like this film, but I shut it off after about 30 minutes. I found the characters unappealing, and the acting painful to watch. Definitley not what I was expecting, or hoping for. Say what you want, but The Big Chill is infinitely better.DVD Review: Interesting but not wonderful
Summary: 3 Stars
Return of the Secaucus 7 is an OK film probably best enjoyed by those who either remember the 1960's fondly or have a big interest in that time period and its aftermath since is likely to leave others a bit underwhelmed. I had difficulty caring greatly about the characters and their lives and the acting is a bit uneven. The movie was obviously shot on a shoestring budget and nothing in the storyline is really compelling enough to make up for the lack of a big studio production. I did enjoy unexpectedly seeing a young Gordon Clapp of NYPD Blue fame show up in this film. DVD Review: Disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
This is the first effort by John Sayles, who has gone on to produce a series of excellent films. Unfortunately, this is not one of them.
Plot Synopsis: A group of aging hippies get together for a weekend to relive their relatively meaningless youth.
The only people likely to enjoy this film are those who identify with the Movement of the late sixties.
Description of Return of the Secaucus 7
The visionary writer-director behind such films as Passion Fish, Lone Star and Sunshine State, Oscar?(r)nominee* John Sayles has been at the forefront of the independent film movement for more than twenty years. In this, his 'triumphant directorial debut (Los Angeles Times), Sayles delivers an utterly engaging (Time) look at seven friends who reunite ten years after their radical college days for a dramatic, poignant and revelatory weekend. Hailedby critics as delightful (The Washington Post), irresistible (The Boston Globe) and a minor miracle (The San Francisco Examiner), Return of the Secaucus 7 inspired the later hit film The Big Chill and heralded the arrival of a brilliant new force in independent cinema. *1996: Original Screenplay, Lone Star; 1992: Original Screenplay, Passion FishJohn Sayles began his commendable directing career with this terrific portrait of 1960s counterculture survivors, now teetering on the brink of turning 30. A homegrown movie all the way, Return of the Secaucus Seven was made for around $60,000 of Sayles's own money (earned writing horror pictures such as Piranha). An effortlessly funny and thoughtful ensemble piece, Secaucus unmistakably provided the template for the bigger-budgeted The Big Chill: old friends reunite for a weekend to sort through fond memories, old resentments, and new problems. Sayles, longtime producing partner Maggi Renzi, and then-unknown David Strathairn are among the actors. The marvelous back-and-forth patter of the characters and the sprightly pacing show Sayles already had a sure sense of what he wanted on screen, and his mastery of the running gag is in place (the name Dwight won't ever sound quite the same again). This is the definition of "low-budget classic," from an indie pioneer. --Robert Horton
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