SERIES 7: THE CONTENDERS consists of six episodes of a fictional television game show called The Contenders. On the show, non-actors are given handguns, quickly explained the very basic rules (kill the other contestants) and told to "play," with a goal of winning by staying alive. Ultraviolent and psychologically disturbing, .. Read more
| Starring | Brooke Smith, Glenn Fitzgerald, Michael Kaycheck, Marylouise Burke |
|---|---|
| Director | Daniel Minahan |
| Genres | Drama |
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SERIES 7: THE CONTENDERS consists of six episodes of a fictional television game show called The Contenders. On the show, non-actors are given handguns, quickly explained the very basic rules (kill the other contestants) and told to "play," with a goal of winning by staying alive. Ultraviolent and psychologically disturbing, the film unrolls in the frenetic style of network television, never pausing for reflection. Written and directed by Daniel Minahan (cowriter of the screenplay for 1996's I SHOT ANDY WARHOL), SERIES 7 makes a timely comment on the rising popularity of actual television reality games shows.
It's the ultimate game show. The contestants are chosen in a random drawing, handed a weapon, and instructed to watch their backs. Then, the entertainment begins. The prescient SERIES 7 skewers American popular culture with wit and style. Conceived long before the phenomenal success of the television program, SURVIVOR, and the subsequent deluge of "unscripted entertainment," the film takes the idea a step further. The manipulation of lives in SERIES 7 is in bold face. The film is shot on digital video in a hand held, breakneck style, with a hysterically solicitous voice over narration and bold, jarring graphics pumping up the drama of every frame. Using unknown actors, the audience accepts the characters as ordinary citizens. These actors generate tremendous sympathy, even as they commit desperate and brutal acts. Brooke Smith is particularly engaging as Dawn, the pregnant reigning champion. But Minahan reminds his audience again and again that all of the images they're seeing have been filtered, and even what seems to be the direct presentation of an actual event, cannot, in the end, be trusted.
| Starring | Brooke Smith, Glenn Fitzgerald, Michael Kaycheck, Marylouise Burke, Richard Venture, Merritt Wever, Donna Hanover, Angelina Phillips |
|---|---|
| Director | Daniel Minahan |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 24 mins |
| Certificate |  |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | Production year: 2001 To Rent: DVD: not available |
"...[Smith] plumbs the tenderness and humor in her character's desperate situation....[The film's] power can't be denied..."
- 5
- 0
Disappointing
I have longed to see this film since its release at the cinema, went to see it but had already completed its run (of 1 week) and ended up watching Bridget Jones... read more »
[Highly rated reviewer]
- 0
- 0
Not the most original of ideas
Perhaps this film would have seemed more cutting-edge and clever if I had seen it when it had been originally released, as the reality genre seems to satirise ... read more »
- 1
- 0
A Surprising Huge Thumbs Up!!!
I had glanced over a couple of reviews late last year when this flick hit the cinemas... although it was getting 4 out 5's etc... it still didnt appeal... i... read more »
- 3
- 1
Lacklustre
Series 7 had a good concept following the recent overkill of reality TV gameshows on contemporary Western networks but the delivery was weak and lacklustre. ... read more »
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