"Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man"
So runs the motto of "The Up Series" - a documentary that follows the lives of 14 children at 7 year intervals.
Beginning in Britain in 1964, the films documents the lives and attitudes of the children - a mixed group from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds, at 7, 14, 21, and every 7 years thereafter. It's an ongoing project still in production. In the first film we are introduced to the characters, 3 wealthy boys who claim in turn - "I read the Financial Times" to "I read the Observer and the Financial Times" and so on, a young man from the Yorkshire Dales who resents being asked if he has a girlfriend (and in no uncertain terms tells the interviewer), and 10 others of mixed class and backgrounds. The stage is set. Each of them is observed in their own environment, is interviewed about various things, and the story continues. Especially notable is the change in attitudes not only of the subjects, but of society and the filmmaker.
Very worthwhile. You can rent it at Bird Dog Video.