7 Plus Seven (TV 1970)

Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born children after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Apted

Stars:

Bruce Balden, Jacqueline Bassett, Symon Basterfield

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Bruce Balden	...	Himself (as Bruce)
Jacqueline Bassett	...	Herself (as Jackie)
Symon Basterfield	...	Himself (as Symon)
Andrew Brackfield	...	Himself (as Andrew)
John Brisby	...	Himself (as John)
Peter Davies	...	Himself (as Peter)
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)
Susan Sullivan	...	Herself (as Susan)
Tony Walker	...	Himself (as Tony)

Storyline

Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born children after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.

---

Plot Keywords:

boarding school | actual animal killed | educational ambition | british youth | education | 

---

Genres:

Documentary | Biography

---

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 1970 (UK)

Also Known As:

14 Up

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

52 min

Color:

Black and White (Sepia) (archive footage) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in 28 Up (1984)

User Reviews

The kids at 14, what a difficult age.

Michael Apted must be congratulated for having (or perhaps stumbling upon) the vision for this study. Begin with 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 second film is a bit longer, and now has color in it, but still plays much like a home movie. Now we get to see, side by side, the same children at 7 and at 14. A very difficult age, 14 is. The shy ones are more shy, and the more assertive ones are starting to feel like they understand the world around them. We begin to see the very rough edges of children on the verge of young adulthood.

This and all the others through '42-UP' in 1998 are on the 5-disk DVD set just out. ("49 UP" has been made but is not yet available on DVD.) However, simply seeing the most recent film (42-UP or 49-UP) 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.