本部纪录片是导演迈克尔·艾普特从1964年开始拍摄的纪录片系列的第三部。迈克尔·艾普特在1964年为英国BBC电视台拍摄了记录片《7 Up》，采访来自英国不同阶层的十四个七岁的小孩子，他们有的来自孤儿院有的是上层社会的小孩。此后每隔七年，艾普特都会重新采访当年的这些孩子，倾听他们的梦想，畅谈他们的生活。正值青春年华的孩子们，已经长到21岁。当年导演的初衷是批判英国社会阶层的不可改变性，穷人的孩子还是穷人，富人的孩子还是富人。在时隔数十年之后，这一点初得印证。可生命的无偿又岂会就此止步。 　　本部系列纪录片，跨越半个世纪，史无前例地记录了真人版的“人生七年”。

《人生七年》美国版延续了经典英国纪录片“人生七年”系列，导演追踪一群在经济、种族和社会多元化的7岁儿童。

迈克尔·艾普特从1964年开始拍摄纪录片系列的第一部，采访来自英国不同阶层的十四个七岁的小孩子，他们有的来自孤儿院，有的是上层社会的小孩。此后每隔七年，艾普特都会重新采访当年的这些孩子，倾听他们的梦想，畅谈他们的生活。

Born in the USSR: 21 Up is a 2005 British documentary, directed by Sergei Miroshnichenko. 　　Following in the tradition of the original UK Up Series, this documentary revisits a group of Russian children at seven-year intervals to track their development against a backdrop of social and political change. Following the success of the UK original, this film looks at life for a group of young people from the former Soviet Union. The adults here, all introduced to viewers at the age of seven and seen again at 14, were born in a country that no longer exists. Their stories provide an insight into the break-up of the former Soviet Union as well as a reflection of what life has become without Communism. 　　Since filming started 14 years ago, some of the youngsters have left the former USSR to go to Israel or the United States, some have stayed in their family home, but all have had their lives changed. Archival footage of them at the ages of seven and 14, and now new material at 21, shows life in a society that was once shut off from the world. 　　The documentary was followed by Born in the USSR: 28 Up in 2012.

US adaption of a classic UK documentary series called "Up". Part 1 from 1991 and part 2 from 1998 followed the same group of economically, racially and socially diverse kids growing up in America in the 90s. They are now 21.

这是一部让人叹为观止的伟大纪录片，是影像记录史上的奇迹，而且这个奇迹还在继续。成长系纪录片已经坚持了40年，从未间断过，每隔7年再次出品。1964年，著名导演迈克尔·艾普泰德Michael Apted还是刚入行没多久的小伙子，他决心拍摄一部反映英国人生活和西方人文的纪录片，于是他采访了一大批英国各地的7岁的小孩子，用摄像机记录下来他们的音容笑貌，采访他们谈及自己的生活现状和心中的愿望，最终选定了14个小朋友的影像集合出品1964年的“成长系列之7岁篇”。可这一发就不可停歇，每隔7年，迈克尔·艾普泰德就再次找到当年那14个孩子，记录下此时的他们，7年时间的人生历程，7年来的他们对人生变化和不同感悟。成长系列的14岁篇，21岁篇，28篇......一直到最近出品的49岁篇。看这部纪录片绝对有着不可思议的感觉，看岁月的流逝，看沧桑变化，看着14个小孩子变成中年人时，每个观众都会有自己的体会在心头。