“Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man.”
Starting in 1964 with Seven Up, The UP Series has explored this Jesuit maxim. The original concept was to interview 14 children from diverse backgrounds from all over England, asking them about their lives and their dreams for the future. Every seven years, renowned director Michael Apted, a researcher for Seven Up, has been back to talk to them, examining the progression of their lives.
From cab driver Tony to schoolmates Jackie, Lynn and Susan and the heart-breaking Neil, as they turn 49 more life-changing decisions and surprising developments are revealed.
An extraordinary look at the structure of life in the 20th century, The UP Series is, according to critic Roger Ebert, “an inspired, almost noble use of the film medium. Apted penetrates to the central mystery of life.”
OFFICIAL SELECTION: New York Film Festival
Watch a Scene from the Film
IN THIS SCENE: Meet Neil who has taken a path less traveled in life . . .
What the Critics are Saying
"Cinema's longest-running and most fascinating experiment! " - The New York Times
"Like time-lapse photography, with each face revealed at a new phase to create a chronicle of life, 42 years in the making." -
Good Morning America
"Riveting...grand!" - The New Yorker
"One of the supreme creations of documentary filmmaking. Riveting!" -
Salon.com
" ENTHRALLING! Apted has constructed a peerless, suspenseful work that develops character to a depth that would make Tolstoy jealous." - New York Post
"Easily one of the most fascinating sociological experiments in not just film history but history itself." - Premiere Magazine
"AN EVER-EVOLVING MASTERPIECE! A buoyant surprise, richer and more textured than its predecessors. More than a deeply satisfying movie; it’s a reminder of the wonder contained in ordinary lives. A stunningly comprehensive document of life in the late 20th century and at the turn of the millennium, 49 UP is more than a film. It’s an affirmation of life that feels like a gift." - Los Angeles Times
"Moving and ambitious in scale like nothing else in cinema." - Village Voice
"GRADE: A. 49 UP is a precious document, and must viewing." - Entertainment Weekly
"With nearly a half-century of footage at his disposal, Michael Apted has created a film that manages in a little over two hours to capture the leapfrogging of joy and loss that marks time's passage. A MUST SEE!" - O: The Oprah Magazine
"The Up Series is on my list of the ten greatest films of all time." - Roger Ebert
ENTHRALLING! Apted has constructed a peerless, suspenseful work that develops character to a depth that would make Tolstoy jealous." 
