Search - A Small Circle of Friends on DVD

A warm, evocative look at the campus 60's

01/16/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A story set in the 1960's of the imagination, A Small Circle of Friends by the use of a young and almost self conscious cast manages to convey the wonder,possibilities and awkwardness of the time.While giving an idealized view of Ivy League life of the period a viewer familiar with the time will still find so much that is achingly real. In a word the show is evocative. There is a scene were Jameson Parker stands in the rain reading aloud the names of men killed in Vietnam as apparantly uncaring crowds pass by. Been there-done that and seeing it again brought back the feelings. That is the strength of this movie. It may not be great art but it is good cinema. It lets you look back and see and it punches the right buttons. It is well worth the watching."

A Picaresque and Romantic View of the Late Sixties

Golddie | Southern California | 12/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this film! Small Circle captures the essence of the late sixties' imagination and possibilities; it embraces the era's sense of romance while examining its explosive political and cultural turmoil. The film focuses on the relationships of three young people as they go through four years at Harvard, circa 1967-1971, the peak of sixties' awareness and excesses. While there may be some weaknesses in the filmmaker's attempts to cover as much as possible from the sixties in terms of issues (an aspect of the film I particularly adore but others do not), the depth of the three friends' love and commitment to each other ties everything together. Brad Davis' intense energy is alive even in this early film of his--his talent is sorely missed."

TOUCHY TABOO TOPICS........

Golddie | 02/23/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This one's fairly well-hidden, after all when I originally saw it a few conservative [ahem!] audience members walked out in disgust just as Brad Davis, Karen Allan and Jameson Parker decided to become 'close' friends - nothing shocking, but slightly too much back then and probably today. [Yes, it does somewhat touch on the world of the bi-sexual, or is it just experimentation? It is also a rather good movie about EMOTIONAL CONTACT between three young people.]It covers THAT radical period in our history [Viet-Nam and all of that!] - students exploring and discovering various 'things'. Don't ever mix love and politics I guess!BUT it's more of a memory play - along the lines of a modern 'Our Town'. These are also great minor performances in the movie - the conservative guy who turns radical with deadly results.MISS Brad Davis spontaneous talent - gone too soon - something of the Dean quality there and Dean would probably have approved of this movie.Also equally stellar? Mr. Parker and Ms. Allen for just daring to be so bold!Bravo![Then there's also the somewhat period but 'based on fact' - "Jules and Jim" - not forgetting "Sunday, Bloody Sunday"]"