Return of the Secaucus Seven (1981)

Synopsis: After spending several years writing B-movie scripts (PIRANHA, LADY IN RED) for Roger Corman's New World Pictures, John Sayles directed his debut feature, THE RETURN OF THE SECAUCUS SEVEN, on a budget of $60,000. Because the budget... After spending several years writing B-movie scripts (PIRANHA, LADY IN RED) for Roger Corman's New World Pictures, John Sayles directed his debut feature, THE RETURN OF THE SECAUCUS SEVEN, on a budget of $60,000. Because the budget dictated that the film employ few technical frills, Sayles decided to create an ensemble piece, like Robert Altman's NASHVILLE, so that the characters' interweaving stories would carry the film along. Sayles's debut deals with seven friends who were political activists in the 1960s. Reunited in their mid-30s for a weekend gathering, the friends reveal their struggles with love, art, money, political commitment, and everyday life. Sayles made the film as an audition piece, not realizing that the film would become a hit in art houses. The success of the film inspired THE BIG CHILL, which also depicts the reunion of a group of former 1960s radicals, though Sayles points out that the characters in that film are much more upwardly mobile. Made before the establishment of Robert Redford's Sundance Institute, Sayles's first film demonstrated the viability of independent filmmaking in the 1980s. [More]

Starring: Bruce MacDonald, Maggie Renzi, Mark Arnott, Gordon Clapp

Starring: Bruce MacDonald, Maggie Renzi, Mark Arnott, Gordon Clapp, Adam LeFevre, David Strathairn, John Sayles

Director: John Sayles

Director: John Sayles

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