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Movies / On DVD / Series 7: The Contenders
Series 7: The Contenders

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Series 7: The Contenders (2001)

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Reviews Counted:79

Fresh:55

Rotten:24

Average Rating:6.5/10

Consensus: Boasting no big-name stars, Series 7 is surprisingly well-acted. Its timing is impeccable, with its dark humor casting shadows over the enjoyment and popularity of today's reality-TV shows.

Runtime: 87 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: 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... 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. [More]

Starring: Brooke Smith, Marylouise Burke, Glenn Fitzgerald, Michael Kaycheck

Starring: Brooke Smith, Marylouise Burke, Glenn Fitzgerald, Michael Kaycheck, Richard Venture, Merritt Wever, Donna Hanover, Angelina Phillips

Director: Daniel Minahan

Director: Daniel Minahan
Screenwriter: Daniel Minahan
Producer: Jason Kliot, Charles J. Rusbasan, Joana Vicente, Christine Vachon, Katie Roumel
Composer: Girls Against Boys
Studio: USA Films

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Series 7: The Contenders

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
12/15/03
Alexander Walker
Alexander Walker
This is London
N/R

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Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment Comment
12/16/02
Christopher Tookey
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/30/02
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/10/01
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Amidst the dry humour, the film is chilling, because it rings far too true.

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
09/10/01
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

Ends up straddling an uneasy divide between genuinely edgy artistry and bluntly indulgent bluster, leaving us uncertain whether it's the television show portrayed or the film itself that's the real turn-off.

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
06/07/01
Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode
Sight and Sound

It's unclear exactly what Minahan’s trying to say. If it’s just 'TV is crap,' then it’s hardly a revelation and this uncertainty, combined with no back-story or framing device, conspires to give the movie a sketchy, ill-conceived feel.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
06/01/01
Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Often funny, sometimes unsettling satire.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
05/21/01
Michael Thomson
Michael Thomson
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat

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Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

It really is the next logical step in reality TV . . . kill them all, and let the Nielsons sort 'em out.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
03/19/03
Brian Mckay
Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com

...takes an intriguing topic but essentially beats it to death over the course of about 90 minutes...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
02/25/03
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Frazzled and edgy, Smith invests Dawn with the required measure of world-weariness and, crucially, she never succumbs to the temptation to slide into flippant, mocking territory.

Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) | comment Comment
02/13/03
Tom Grealis
Tom Grealis
RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)

Absolutely relentless in its bashing of the American public and what we consider entertainment.

Full Review Source: Supercala.com | comment Comment
01/23/03
John Venable
John Venable
Supercala.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hot Button | comment Comment
01/07/03
David Poland
David Poland
Hot Button

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Film Threat

Kill-or-be-killed reality-TV satire is uneven -- and unforgettable.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
10/10/02
Mark Halverson
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
09/26/02
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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