Seven Up! (TV 1964)

A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. Director Michael Apted plans to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to ... See full summary »

Director:

Paul Almond

Stars:

Douglas Keay, Bruce Balden, Jacqueline Bassett

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Douglas Keay	...	Himself - 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 Murphy	...	Herself (as Michelle)
Susan Sullivan	...	Herself (as Susan)
Tony Walker	...	Himself (as Tony)

Storyline

A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. Director Michael Apted plans to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to determine how their lives and attitudes have changed.

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Plot Keywords:

children | thinking about the future | discipline | boyfriend girlfriend relationship | london zoo | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Short | Biography

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

5 May 1964 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

39 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Neil Hughes: When I get married I don't want to have any children because they're always doing naughty things and making the house untidy.

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Crazy Credits

Voice-over during final credits: "If you want to see what happens to these children, look in at Granada Television on Tuesday, May the second ... in the year 2000."

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Connections

Followed by 35 Up (1991)

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Soundtracks

"What Would I Do"
Written by Stanley Alexander
Performed by The Monotones

User Reviews

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.