Young@Heart (2007)

A documentary on a chorus of senior citizens from Massachusetts who cover songs by Jimi Hendrix, Coldplay, Sonic Youth, and other unexpected musicians.

Directors:

Stephen Walker, Sally George

Stars:

Joe Benoit, Helen Boston, Louise Canady

10 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joe Benoit	...	Himself - aged 83
Helen Boston	...	Herself - aged 76
Louise Canady	...	Herself - aged 77
Elaine Fligman	...	Herself - aged 83
Jean Florio	...	Herself - aged 83
Len Fontaine	...	Himself - aged 86
Stan Goldman	...	Himself - aged 76
Jeanne Hatch	...	Herself - aged 79
Eileen Hall	...	Herself - aged 92
Donald Jones	...	Himself - aged 76
Fred Knittle	...	Himself - aged 80
Norma Landry	...	Herself - aged 78
John Larareo	...	Himself - aged 74
Patricia Larese	...	Herself - aged 75
Miriam Leader	...	Herself - aged 87

Storyline

Documents the true story of the final weeks of rehearsal for the Young at Heart Chorus in Northampton, MA, whose average age is 81, and many of whom must overcome health adversities to participate. Their music is unexpected, going against the stereotype of their age group, performing songs, for example, by James Brown, and Sonic Youth. Although they have toured Europe and sang for royalty, this account focuses on preparing new songs, not an easy endeavor, for a concert in their home town, which succeeds in spite of several real heart breaking events.

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Plot Keywords:

chorus | massachusetts | body part in title | ampersand in title | rock music | 

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Taglines:

You're Never Too Old To Rock.

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild language and thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Channel 4 [UK] Fox Searchlight [United States]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 May 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Young at Heart

Filming Locations:

Aerostat Promotions, Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$50,937, 13 April 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,964,040, 21 September 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures,Walker George Films,Channel 4 Television Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min (European Film Market)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Scenes in the "Golden Years" music video were filmed at two Massachusetts landmarks: the Holyoke Merry-Go-Round and Six Flags New England.

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Quotes

Fred Knittle: We went from continent to continent, til I became incontinent and then we didn't go any further.

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Crazy Credits

The end of the credits in the original European version of the movie featured a brief clip of Eileen Hall chatting with the production crew: "I feel sorry for you two - you with that camera and you with that thing, always bobbing up and down. Don't you get tired? Yeah, I bet you do." That clip was cut from the U.S. release and re-appeared as bonus material on the U.S. DVD release.

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Connections

Remade as Young at Heart

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Soundtracks

Harmonica Man
Written & Performed by Dave Bronze / Josh Phillips
Published by Bruton Music Ltd.

User Reviews

Young at Heart makes you believe it!

The premise for this movie sounds a little cloying and frankly wasn't a big draw for me, but I've just seen Young at Heart and I believe! This energetic bunch of septua-, octo- & nona- genarians dive into rock, punk, disco and more, and you'll be surprised what a goldmine they find. Seemingly wacky choices for music to be sung by a choir of oldsters (I Wanna Be Sedated, Golden Years, I Feel Good, Stayin' Alive, etc.), these familiar "youth" oriented songs become revelatory in their hands. Watching them cope with the aging process while making time to rehearse rock is amazing, and it's great fun to get to know all of them in the process. Now I believe that you can be 90 and still be young at heart.