49 Up

The seventh film in the unique "Up Series" - documentaries made for Granada, the privately held British television corporation - that has followed a group of 14 ostensibly normal English subjects, of differing backgrounds, from age 7 to 49, issuing a follow-up film every 7 years. This latest installment is the best to date. It is well organized, presenting one person's life at a time rather than skipping around among them. Nearing age 50, these people have become highly thoughtful and articulate; they're all more interesting now than ever before. And the director, Michael Apted, has also vastly improved his skills at interviewing his subjects, which makes a great difference for the better. What impresses is how well nearly everyone has done in life.

The original thesis of the series is that kids grow up without much change from the way they were early on, a view put forward in the 16th Century Jesuit aphorism: "Give me the child until he is seven, and I will give you the man." But the life trajectories of a number of these individuals belie that view, suggesting instead that people often do change in response to life circumstances, a view supported in several 20th Century accounts of human development across the lifespan (e.g., the work of the Harvard psychologist Robert White and his contemporary, the psychoanalyst Erik Erikson).

The original thesis in the first film, "7 Up," also held that social class, or socioeconomic opportunity, had a controlling effect on development, a view that excludes the influence of both hereditary and learned aspects of individual psychological makeup and adaptation. Roger Ebert lists the "Up Series" among his top ten film productions of all time, and has said that the series represents "…an inspired, almost noble, use of the film medium." I heartily agree. My grades: 10/10 (A+) (Seen on 10/17/06)

I have recently watched all of the Up series, finishing with 49 Up this evening. While I have enjoyed the series and been fascinated by the people involved, I did agree with John somewhat that it's a bit like Big Brother or some other reality series.

Upon talking it over with my husband, however, I find that I have misjudged it. The series does have a lasting value that is not present in entertainment based reality TV shows. What does the series teach us? Tolerance and acceptance of our own fallible judgments. We see these people at 7 and we decide what they will be doing at 21 or 35. Inevitably we're wrong on some important level. What this shows us is that we can never truly know someone, especially someone we don't have an intimate family relationship with, because we never get more than a glimpse into their inner life.

At 7 I didn't like Tony. At 21 I didn't like Suzie. The only person I have admired from the beginning is Bruce. Now, at 49, I find them all interesting, individual people and I have a great deal of respect for each of them. They have made their lives something to be proud of. They bring value into the lives of their families and communities, but also to those of us who only see a tiny portion of their lives every 7 years.

This isn't reality TV. This is reality- this is life being lived by real people. I hope they will continue to do the program, despite the intrusion. I hope they will understand that they do bring something more into our lives than a couple hours entertainment.

Michael Apted returns again with his kids. This time is a 3 hour extravaganza. It seems this one is more about the kids. While it's wonderful to see everybody happy with their kids, the drama isn't always there. The problems are very much everyday problems that happens to everybody all the time.

I'm watching this after the events of the financial meltdown and the part with Tony is haunting.

Jackie comes after Michael Apted and he really comes off as one of the characters for the first time. It's a bit of behind the scenes moment which makes it absolutely riveting. She's breaking down the 4th wall a bit here.

For whatever reason, the participants are more forthcoming now. It seems that they're more open about the past. It's as if the facade don't need to stay up anymore. Nicholas can finally admit that his research has come to nothing, and gave some great insights into divorce.

It's as if most of them have past some kind of milestone. They are mostly content and looking forward to their children and grandchildren. Most of them are settled and trying to make sense of their past.

In 1963 14 British children, all age 7 but of varying classes, were interviewed about a variety of subjects. Thereafter they were interviewed every seven years. This is the seventh installment. By now only 12 are left (2 dropped out).

This may be deadly boring to some but I found it fascinating--you see the most recent interviews along with clips from all the previous shows. You literally see these people grow up before your eyes--you share their struggles, dreams and triumphs. This was originally done to trace something about social classes--but that seems to have been dropped. There's nothing extraordinary about these people--they're mostly plain, average men and women just doing their best to get through life. Sounds dull but I was spellbound throughout. I saw 28, 35 and 42 Up also and, in a strange way, seeing this was like having a class reunion! You get in touch with people you haven't seen in a number of years and catch up on them. I remember all of these people from the previous episodes and I loved seeing them again and how most have happy content lives. Not for everybody but I couldn't stop watching.

This should really be the last one. One woman makes it clear that she won't do another one and all of the participants comment on how the show negatively affected their lives. So maybe it's time to let them go.

Not for everybody but I give it a 10.

I grew up in England, and saw the first documentary there. I emigrated to Canada at 18, and have seen the rest of the series here. It has been both an opportunity to see how England and the English have changed, as well as seeing "old friends" every seven years. I grew up in a Navy family,we were not wealthy, but because my father was a Naval Officer, we were considered upper middle class, so I rode horses, went to the Continent on Holiday and and attended boarding school from age 10. I also attended a 1 room schoolhouse and changed primary schools with alarming rapidity, so I met many kids just like all the ones on 7-UP, I could even understand Nick's Yorkshire accent! My favorite is also Bruce, but I love Tony, Neil and Symon, and can totally empathise with Suzy! Funny how so many of the kids had broken childhoods, but became wonderful parents themselves. I am looking forward to catching up with them at 56!