A Small Circle of Friends (1980)

A Small Circle of Friends is a film released in 1980 by United Artists starring Brad Davis, Karen Allen, Shelley Long, Jameson Parker, Peter Mark, and an uncredited Craig Richard Nelson, who played Bell in The Paper Chase, another film set at Harvard. The film follows the life of three students (Davis, Allen, Parker) at Harvard University and Radcliffe College in the 1960s. The soundtrack features instrumental music composed by Jim Steinman.

Some outdoor riot sequences were filmed some 37 miles south of Cambridge at Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater, Massachusetts after Harvard declined to allow the filming on their campus. Other scenes were filmed at MIT and other local colleges.

As of 2010, it is Rob Cohen's only film as director not to be released by either Universal Studios or Columbia Pictures.

Synopsis

À la fin des années 1960, à l'université d'Harvard, les deux copains Leo et Nick tombent amoureux de la même étudiante, Jessica. Les trois amis naviguent dans le flou sentimental et au gré de divers évènements marquants de l'époque : révolution des mœurs, bouleversements sociaux politiques (mouvement hippie, guerre du Viêt Nam…) jusqu'au jour où le libertaire Leo parle de partir au Viêt Nam : Jessica, partagée entre ses deux amours, leur propose de vivre ensemble...

Actors