Seven Up! (1964) (TV)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Paul Almond

Release Date:

5 May 1964 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary | Short | Biography

Plot:

A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects...

Plot Keywords:

Interview | Children | Poor Child | Group Of Children | Social Issues

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Derek Cooper	...	Narrator (voice)
Wilfrid Thomas	...	Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bruce Balden	...	Himself (as Bruce)
Jacqueline Bassett	...	Herself (as Jackie)
Symon Basterfield	...	Himself (as Simon)
Andrew Brackfield	...	Himself (as Andrew)
John Brisby	...	Himself (as John)
Suzanne Dewey	...	Herself (as Suzy)
Charles Furneaux	...	Himself (as Charles)
Nicholas Hitchon	...	Himself (as Nicholas)
Neil Hughes	...	Himself (as Neil)
Lynn Johnson	...	Herself (as Lindsay)
Paul Kligerman	...	Himself (as Paul)
Michelle	...	Herself
Susan Sullivan	...	Herself (as Susan)
Tony Walker	...	Himself (as Tony)

Also Known As:

7 Up! (International: English title) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

39 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Latin

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Granada Television

Quotes:

Susan Sullivan: What would you do if you had lots of money, about, um, two pound?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 50 Greatest Documentaries (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

What Would I Do

Only two movies in and I'm drawn in completely

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.