Seven Up!
Seven Up!
| 05 May 1964 (USA)
Seven Up! Trailers

A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. The filmmakers plan to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to track how their lives and attitudes change as they age.

Reviews
Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.
Hulkeasexo it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.
Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
KissEnglishPasto ..........................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA...and ORLANDO, FLDefined as a documentary, this seems, to me at least, closer to a reality TV show in its focus, execution and style. Certainly, for a project conceived and initiated about half a century ago, it was, undoubtedly, way ahead of its time.The basic premise, in a nutshell, was to select a small group of kids that represented a cross-section of British society in the early 60's. The children were all to be the same age: 7. All of them would be interviewed and filmed answering the same set of questions and participating in the same activities every seven years. This every seven year "snapshot" would continue until the subjects were well into middle age.At the beginning, the producers state their primary intention as "thusly allowing the viewer to watch the development of a group of children from varied backgrounds and distinct social "classes", and draw their own conclusions"....Is it just me, or does anyone else hear strains of John Lennon's "Working Class Hero" faintly in the background? All in all, I must admit this UK doc really brings out the latent voyeur in you...(or at least in me, perhaps!) Directed by Michael Apted, what I found to be of most interest, to be brutally honest, were the inherent biases and preconceptions of the interviewers/producers/director as evidenced by both their choice of questions and subtle differences in the handling/presentation of the screen dynamic of the interviews themselves...Or perhaps the inherent biases and preconceptions are really mine?!? My suggestion: Watch Seven Up/Seven Plus Seven and decide for yourself. 9*.....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!
Sean Lamberger First in a long line of documentaries, which check-in every seven years with the same group of children to see how their lives have unfolded. Our first meeting is very short, as these things go, which should be expected since the subjects are just seven years old and there isn't a lot of back-story to investigate. There's already a lot of developmental divergence among the youngsters, though, which is intentional on the part of the filmmakers. Of course, the great experiment is noting how much crossover there is between classes over the decades. How much upward mobility is really available for that sweet cattle rancher's child from Scotland, versus the son of a financial analyst who already boasts of his investments in the stock market? Or for the boys, as opposed to the fairer sex? For now, we hear a lot of their parents' opinions filtered through their offspring and some interesting - if not vital - notes about a typical day in their life. Seven is a great age for thinking; beyond the point of simple observation but not yet jaded or corrupted by one's experiences and surroundings. Thus, we get a lot of honest, unashamed opinions on some heavy matters, and some very raw answers that we'd never hear from an adult. It's all just the tip of the iceberg, really. Like the subjects themselves, this is just a sketch of a greater picture yet to come. It does serve as a firm foundation for looking back, for comparing and for contrasting, and that's sure to make for an excellent long game.
SnoopyStyle The guiding principal is the quote "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man." The filmmakers hope to follow these kids to see a glimpse of England in the year 2000. They follow a group of kids from varied background, and ask some probing questions.I think most of the questions are over their head. While it's cute to ask these kids about girlfriends and love, the answers are basically meaningless. There's some interesting takes on fighting, the class system and blacks. We get limited information about their family life. Every once in awhile, they answer a question by giving a glimpse into their real lives. We need better answers by adults rather than answers from 7 year olds.In the end, this is just setting up the rest of the series. The filmmakers get a lot of quotes that will be replay in the films to come. It's a baseline. At this point, we're just having a bit of fun watching cute kids talking without comprehension.This is the first of an incredible series. Looking back, there are a lot of questions that the filmmakers didn't ask. If the film is taken as a stand alone, it is just a high class version of Kids say the Darndest the Things. But it is a good setup and we have to start somewhere. For that I'll give it a 7/10. If I have one minor change, they need to put the kids' names on the screen. It would make it easier to watch.
runamokprods The 'Up Series' represents one of the most fascinating and unusual uses of film in cinema history - a documentary life-long chronicle of the lives of 14 people starting at 7 years old, revisiting them every seven years through age 49 (so far). While I could quibble, wishing for a bit more depth here and there (especially with the women, where there's a bit too much emphasis on love and marriage at the expense of all else), it's really an astounding, moving, frightening and uplifting document. There's no way to watch this remarkable series of films without reflecting deeply on one's own life, and how you have changed (and stayed the same) over your own lifetime. While Michael Aped deserves every bit of credit he's received for this amazing piece of cultural anthropology, it's important to note this first film, 7 Up,was actually directed by Paul Almond, and Apted was a that point a researcher for the project.
Similar Movies to Seven Up!
You May Also Like