Young@Heart

Stephen Walker

Overview

The Young@Heart Chorus is a vocal group from Northampton, MA, who have earned an international reputation for their unique interpretations of songs by Sonic Youth, the Ramones, and the Clash. However, this isn't a teenage garage band attacking the classic punk rock songbook -- the Young@Heart Chorus is comprised of 22 senior citizens whose average age is 80, and under director Bob Cilman they've gained a degree of fame for their enthusiastic a cappella renditions of well-known rock & roll tunes. Filmmaker Stephen Walker spent several weeks with the members of the Young@Heart Chorus as they rehearsed for their annual concert in Northampton, and Young@Heart is a documentary which offers a look at their rigorous rehearsal process, the background of several members, and their efforts to stay active and think positive, even as their friends succumb to old age. Produced for British television, Young@Heart was screened in competition at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/17/2009
UPC:	0024543527022
Original Release:	2007
Rating:	PG
Source:	20th Century Fox
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:48:00
Sales rank:	17,501

Special Features

Closed Caption; 10 deleted scenes; Young @ Heart Goes to Hollywood

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Stephen Walker

Narrator

Technical Credits

Sally George	Producer
Hannah Becherman	Executive Producer
Jane Villiers	Executive Producer

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Young @ Heart
1. Like No Other (Main Titles) [4:03]
2. Seven Weeks Away [4:15]
3. You Gotta Get the Rhythm [2:46]
4. Come On, Boys [4:03]
5. Six Weeks to Go [6:15]
6. Icing on the Cake [3:12]
7. Magnetic Charm [2:23]
8. Back in the Saddle [5:58]
9. Five Weeks to Go [5:24]
10. Still a Sexy Beast [5:41]
11. I Lov What I'm Doing [3:43]
12. Ten Days Later [4:38]
13. Making Good Time [4:10]
14. Pressing On [5:09]
15. This Is for Bob [5:42]
16. Happy Birthday! [1:36]
17. Up and Around [4:23]
18. Take Care of Yourself [3:31]
19. The Sweetest Guy [1:29]
20. Sold Out [3:43]
21. Sonic Seniors [5:06]
22. Act II [4:45]
23. Yes We Can! [8:12]
24. Curtain Call (End Titles) [3:36]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Young @ Heart
Play Movie
Language Selection
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Surround
Audio: English Dolby Surround
Audio: Spanish Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English
Subtitles: Spanish
Subtitles: French
Subtitles: None
Scene Selection
Special Features
Young @ Heart Goes to Hollywood
Deleted Scenes
Play All
Eileen's Philosophy of Life
Dora's Shoe Collection
Where We'll Never Grow Old
Fred's Eulogy
Eileen Cuddles With Director Stephen Walker
The Young @ Heart Band
Eileen - "Don't You Get Tired?"
"Road to Nowhwere" Music Video
"Stayin' Alive and "I Will Survive" Music Video
Lenny's "Purple Haze"
Trailers
Young @ Heart - Theatrical Trailer
Bonneville
Under the Same Moon

Editorial Reviews

The thought of a documentary about a choir of 80-year-olds performing songs by the Clash and Sonic Youth might be enough to send the average person running for an insulin injection, but for the most part Young@Heart director Stephen Walker keeps the sappiness to a minimum. Occasionally, Walker can't help playing up the inherent cuteness of the conceit, but those moments are more than tempered, however, by film's two most fascinating people -- Bob Cilman and Fred Knittle. Cilman, the dedicated middle-aged director of the choir, treats his senior singers not like helpless retirees, but like the members of the working ensemble he expects them to be. He is a taskmaster who wants things done right, sometimes showing a lack of patience that humanizes both him and his performers. If Cilman had been behind the camera instead of Walker, the movie might have avoided its occasional flights of greeting-card sentimentality. Fred Knittle, an 81-year-old who performs a mesmerizing version of Coldplay's "Fix You" during the film's climactic concert, towers over the film. He is a strong and engaging personality whose remarkable life spirit stands in stark contrast to his obviously declining physical state. As death comes to some of the group members, and we see how those still living react to those events, the movie audience understands that the majority of these people have long since accepted that mortality is close at hand. Knittle faces these cold hard truths with his modesty, his talent, and his appreciation for what he has in the here and now. He and his companions rage against the dying of the light by singing, and what could be more punk than that?