Product Description

710 total minutes, color & b/w * Six Disc Collector's Edition Includes all Seven Films: Seven UP, 7 Plus Seven, 21 UP, 28 UP, 35 UP, 42 UP, 49 UP DVD Bonus Features: * Exclusive Interview: Roger Ebert talks with Michael Apted * Audio Commentary by Michael Apted (on 42 UP) * Photo Gallery for each film * Apted Biography
"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 astonishing, unforgettable look at the structure of life in the 20th century, The UP Series is, according to critic Roger Ebert,

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13184 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-09-18
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 6
• Running time: 710 minutes

Review
"One of the towering achievementsin the history of documentary film." --- Philadelphia Inquirer

Review
"Wonderous, Astonishing!" --- The New Yorker

Review
"an inspired, almost noble use of the film medium. Apted penetrates to the central mystery of life." "One of the most rewarding and uplifting films I've ever seen. It makes you feel better about the human race." - --London Sunday Times

Customer Reviews

Absolutely brilliant, but...
***SPOILER ALERT***

There is no doubt that this series is one of the most important ever committed to film. Following the lives of a dozen Brits from the age of 7 through 49, the series is both fascinating and heartbreaking. It's impossible to watch the series and not engage in a guessing game, wondering where in life each will be come the next film in the series. It's also impossible to watch the series and not identify with the participants, seeing yourself in each of them. Few films have had the sociological impact of the Up Series.

However, while watching each of the films back-to-back, an uncomfortable feeling began to settle in. Despite director Michael Apted's insightful approach, at times he seems to ignore the fact that a documentarian's role is to serve as an impartial medium and that his opinion has no place in the telling of the story.

Apted often conducts his interviews with those from working-class backgrounds, and are still living in working-class environs, with the assumption that they must be miserable. Presumably, this is due to his own set of experiences. Though Apted was raised in a lower-income section of London, he managed to secure a scholarship to attend City of London School and then studied law and history at Cambridge University. His attitude at times appears to say, 'I succeeded, so why can't you?' Several times he asks these working-class participants if they aren't capable of more than what they are currently doing, not recognizing that several of them are either quite content in their lives or simply haven't had the opportunities or means to build better lives for themselves. He seems unable, or unwilling, to recognize the other riches in their lives, such as family, friends and community involvement, and often dismisses these achievements rather than celebrating them.

The most flagrant examples of Apted's prejudice takes place in "35 Up" in his interview with Tony, and in "49 Up" in his interview with Jackie. In the interview with Tony, Apted comments that everything Tony has ever attempted in his life has been a failure, ignoring Tony's stunning achievements, especially in consideration of his working-class roots. (At the time of "35 Up," Tony had realized his dream of being a professional jockey, an actor, he owned his own business, owned his own home, and had been married for 13 years with 3 children. Hardly what anyone would call a failure.) At times Apted appears unable to recognize that the courage required to attempt new ventures is success in itself regardless of the outcome.

In his interview with Jackie in "49 Up," Apted asks Jackie whether her son is similar to her at his age. When Jackie says that he is, Apted asks Jackie if that is a worry, implying that Jackie's life is less than admirable. Justifiably, Jackie becomes upset by the question prompting her to respond with, "I never said that he picked up all of my traits, only my best traits."

Even with its flaws, the Up Series is a fascinating study of class structure and human evolution. Highly recommended.

No,it's really 10 stars !
God,this is a great DVD set..
I put this together through the years originally on VHS,now on DVD.

I can remember so vividly sitting there watching this in black and white
the very first show. I was mesmerized.
And then before I knew it,another 7 years had past,and well you know the
rest. I never ever forgot them,even waiting seven years in between.

In earlier years before the Internet,we had no place to go to buy this stuff.Your local stores sure didn't carry this kind of merchandise.
I thought of it so often and with each 7 years passing,I became
more convinced than ever that I was seeing a once in a lifetime viewing.

There were shows that were similar,the Loud Family,etc.

But this was something special. I paid an arm and a leg for each show
as I was lucky enough to finally start my collection of the series.
In some cases I paid close to the current price of the set for a VHS used
copy ! Buying this set on DVD was a dream come true.

The human beings in this series are just like you and me..
Their weaknesses and their strengths are all on display.
It is facinating to see them age through the years,but how very much in personality they remain from the start of the series.

I can't imagine how different this will be for viewers to see this all at
one time when it took me from meeting them at 7 and now them being 49 !
I have waited along time to get this far with them and will be there for as long as they are continuing with the series.
I was disappointed when someone would drop out,I had my favorites.

My favorite from the first time I saw the series was Neil.

After seeing the series,I will bet alot of you will be able to see why.

It is an experience to remember. It's their lives. I have gone on the journey with them.

The Phenomenon that is Up
Michael Apted's Up series is everything good everyone has ever said about it. It's a completely mesmerizing experience, following these 14 people from childhood to middle age (so far). It's sociology, psychology and soap opera rolled into one great series. Having not seen any of the films in the theater, and experiencing them in real time, I can only reflect on what it is like to watch all 7 in a space of three weeks.

Since Michael Apted must be well along in years (his subjects, seven at the time of the first movie, are hitting 50 this year); I just hope that someone will continue the series through the subjects' lives after Apted cannot.

Apted originally began the series as a study of class limitations in England; obviously in 1964 there was no way to know what was coming--the sexual revolution, feminism, youth culture, etc. By picking children born in 1957, he inadvertently chose a group that missed the '60s, and came of age in the post-Vietnam world. Interestingly, the children he chose have (mostly) stayed within the lines of the British class structure they were born into, and have (mostly) made the best and the most of the cards they were dealt.

The result is a transcendent experience for the viewer: we learn that what cynics call "living lives of quiet desperation" is really living lives of quiet nobility.