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Seven Up! (1964) (TV)

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10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Only two movies in and I'm drawn in completely, 8 July 2005

Author: metalgoth (metalgoth@gawab.com) from Pennsylvania

I've read about this series elsewhere and was always curious to see it. Thanks to an internet movie rental chain I've now seen 7 Up and 7 + 7, and the rest of the series is queued up and ready to ship. I can't wait.

Viewers who are not used to the various English accents will likely be struggling to understand what some of the kids are saying in the first movie, 7 Up, but it's a short film, and deserves repeated viewing. My vague memories of previous reviews of this series suggest that this may be the most lighthearted of the series. While it is fascinating for many reasons, it is also vastly enjoyable just for the experience of the 7 year-olds' high spirits and humor.

It's jarring when you get your first look at 7 + 7, which revisits most of the kids 7 years later. Their individuality, only hinted at in the first movie, is obvious in these now-14 year-olds. As a parent I feel that familiar combination of the sadness at the loss of the child and anticipation of the future adult. Here we run through this in a matter of minutes.

As it stands now, the series goes as far as 42 Up, somehow turning these frolicking little kids into my peers in the space of a few hours. (I've always been a sucker for special effects.) This series is unlike anything that came before it, and while a quick scan of titles suggests that it's been imitated since, I'm waiting to see what happens to this particular group.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
A great start to a brilliant series, 24 May 1999
Author: Ness-8 from Melbourne, Australia

I first saw this about five years ago, and I couldn't wait to see the 7+7, 14, 21, 28 and 35, and am eagerly awaiting 42 up. It gets you in, it will make you want to know how these kids will turn out. I'm a lucky one, who didn't have to wait seven years for each of these episodes to come out.

If you have any interest in human behaviour, whether it be in kids or adults; if you wonder if what you thought you would be at seven, or fourteen is actually what you turn out to be; then you should watch this, and the rest of the series.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Mesmerising, 13 March 2006
Author: CGA_Soupdragon from Stockholm

49 up was screened here i two episodes. Recent meetings with the participants were interwoven with flashbacks from the earlier interviews at ages 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42. So beautifully put together. No sensationalism. No hopping about. Each interview subject was able to unfurl their lives in a steady pace that kept me enthralled throughout.

It's a breathtaking idea that grew out of an interest in finding out what happened to the original group after another 7 years when the children had become 14. The producers have kept in touch and most of the subjects have been more or less willing to be interviewed in the subsequent years.

This series of interviews, especially seen in the light of the fact that I am nearly as old as the people involved in this project, gave me so much. Seeing people live their lives, suffering set-backs, dealing with life's many stumbling blocks, gaining unexpected insights into themselves and their loved ones makes for a very gripping and fulfilling experience.

Absolutely marvelous. A gem.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Good start to long-running series..., 29 October 2007

Author: postmanwhoalwaysringstwice from usa

"Seven Up!" is the forty minute documentary from 1964 that stands as a prologue for the most forward thinking documentary series of all-time. The film brings together a group of surprisingly articulate seven-year-olds from a variety of backgrounds in England. Through a number of questions posed to each of the children, the audience gets the opportunity to get to know the world through these children's eyes, and often presumably through the parent's eyes and therefore only quoted through these children. Personalities more than perspectives ring through the strongest in this first film, and the glimpse at the education system circa 1964 is intriguing. Unfortunately, as "characters" that will ultimately be seen for another forty years to come, the thick accents of some of them make for a rough start. All in all this is important cinema regardless.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Incredibly Moving, 24 February 2002

Author: Fleaberhopper from Puerto Rico

This is a series that should be watched by everybody. It is remarkable to see the kids grow, and deal with life like everyone has to. As far as documentaries go, this series should be awarded a special Academy Award because it is one of the best ever made.

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6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
The first in a ground-breaking series that is one of a kind., 17 February 2006
Author: TxMike from Houston, Tx, USA, Earth

Michael Apted must be congratulated for having (or perhaps stumbling upon) the vision for this study. Take 14 seven year olds in England, film them in a few interesting situations, and follow those same kids as they grow up. Every seven years. Because all of our lives transpire at roughly the same rates, we cannot actually observe children growing up. But this filmed approach is the next best thing.

This first film is rather short, and in black and white plays about like an amateur home movie. We still get to see and hear these children, their opinions, their likes and dislikes, their ambitions. And, while it is interesting, you can get the same thing at any elementary school playground. What is really interesting, and groundbreaking, is the following these children as they grow up.

For that, one must see the next installments. The best way, for the uninitiated, is the 5-disk DVD set just out, which has all 6 films up through "42 UP" in 1998. ("49 UP" has been made but is not yet available on DVD.) However, simply seeing the most recent film is pretty good, because each film contains snippets of each of the former ones, allowing us to see how each child developed in 7-year increments.

Just a marvelous study of growing up.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Fantastic documentary that grabs hold and doesn't let go., 27 December 2006

Author: MovieWiz66 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

One of the most fascinating films that I have ever witnessed. It is so interesting to see children of 7 grow up right before your eyes. After watching the 42UP,I feel as if I know most of these people. I found most of the subjects very likable,with the exception of the snooty John. He is one of those type of guys that you just yearn to slap the snug smirk off of his face..lol. If you haven't seen this...make this a must-see on your list of films. Especially on your list of documentaries to watch. A great idea,great film and a great cross-section of British society. I was totally engrossed from the first minute to the last. I hope they keep making these as long as the participants are alive. Very interesting to see how much some change,yet some stay the same. My favorite individual was Neil..the homeless wanderer. Although he is beset by mental problems,he is super intelligent and ya get the feeling that of all the people profiled..he just may be the smartest of all. I can relate to Neil.

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49 Up Interview with Michael Apted, 9 October 2007

Author: chucklezone from San Francisco

I was interested to hear an interview with Michael Apted. I learned that the children selected at age 7 were those who were articulate and able to communicate clearly. The heads of various schools were asked to select their brightest and best for the project. As a social commentary, it is very interesting to see how they have developed over the years. Also, the various opinions and levels of participation from those around them, for example wives and husbands. By their very participation and reflection during the filming the participants have been altered. Clearly one participant felt quite misrepresented and wanted to set the record straight. In that sense, the film makers are not passive observers and some bias is inevitable. Despite this, it is a convincing personal commentary on more than 4 decades of British life.

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5 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Preparatory, 9 November 2006
Author: tedg (tedg@FilmsFolded.com) from Virginia Beach

I get most all of my films by recommendation and this is universally the most recommended to me of those I haven't seen. The series I mean. I suppose it wouldn't make any sense at all to see them out of order so as with everyone, we all start here.

To do that, we have to place ourselves in several other worlds. I'm an American. Though I spent a few years in school in the UK, We came home when I was five and I have few memories. For Americans, England — at least the pre-Thatcher England — was a sort of fairy- tale place where privilege was sprinkled here and there and strongly supported on the backs of the relatively poor remainder because by such tax they helped define what it meant to be British.

There aren't many blanket statements that can be made of the US — and this is less true now — but it is still true that Americans define themselves in large measure against this tradition. The idea of class immobility seems a perversion of nature.

Naturally, that's at the center of how this experiment starts. I'm sure the filmmakers never intended to follow these children as markers (more than representatives) of the collapse of privilege. Not the injustice and wealth, but the willingness which Brits poured into protecting a country (twice!) against barbarians so that their rich could continue pulling the traditions along.

So start here, fellow voyager. This first installment is completely without merit except in how it sets the starting point for a voyage through the transformation of an old two-class system to a "modern" two-class one, seemingly only for the amusement of the rest of the world.

Perhaps it would have been more interesting to have selected all girls.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

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0 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Implicit Ideology, 12 October 2007

Author: gentendo from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The filmmaker's ideological argument is one that is pervasive throughout the film: "Give me the child until he is 7 and I will give you the man." Set in London England, the director exposes this argument by interviewing an average group of elementary school children. His questions include a variety of topics that allow the viewer to become better acquainted with the thoughts and desires of what these children hope to become. The mere fact that his subject is elementary school children demonstrates his ability to fulfill one of the rules of documentary film-making: giving a voice to the voiceless. These children under normal circumstances would not have a voice in the world at such a young age. They are not celebrities; they are just like any other child—ingenuously funny, naïve, and inquisitive. Most of them aspire to become great things (i.e. astronauts, teachers); however, the director seems to implicitly suggest that given the immaturity of their present beliefs as seven-year-old children, those dreams they wish to fulfill are idealistically unattainable. How? Because given his argument, he suggests that because these particular children are "fully developed" and still immature at the age of seven, he presupposes that the nation of England ought to greatly fear the rising generation and what skills they will lack in the world. The last line of the film implicitly demonstrates this, "We have now seen a look at what the nation of England is in store for and what potential there lies within." Observing how the audience and myself was laughing at the naivety of these children (as I'm sure was intended to show how ignorant they are) I personally felt it was unfair for the director to cast such judgment on them because I don't believe a child is fully developed at the age of seven. One cannot presuppose such a threat to a nation based off what a child's inclinations and aspirations are at such a young age. Why? Because there are many factors that can and do contribute in refining a child's behavior into something better through a space of time and development. The director seemed to suggest that such a space for developing would not be necessary to determine who they would become in the future, namely, bums.

There are several filmic techniques that the director used to support his argument. First, he asked specific questions that he knew would exploit the children through their own responses: "What do you do after you get home from school?" to which most of the children responded, "Watch TV!" The implication here of course suggests that their lack of diligence and acquiescence to passivity and mind-numbing entertainment would cause them to become slaves inside of Plato's cave—something not fit for a future nation to thrive on. Second, he captures on film moments of the children fighting with each other. This is more of an explicit ideology of showing that violence and aggression reign supreme amongst such a young crowd as this. The implicit ideology seems to suggest that if these children are fighting with their hands and feet now, how will they fight in the future?—with guns, knives? Overall, I felt this documentary was promoting activism on behalf of the parents—how to discipline your children better! I felt this was rather ridiculous because they are only children—there's still plenty of time for them to grow and develop into more responsible beings.

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