56 Up: Way better than your class reunion

Overview

Genre: Documentary

Starring: Andrew Brackfield, Bruce Balden, Jacqueline Bassett, John Brisby, Symon Basterfield

Directed By: Michael Apted

Studio: First Run Features, ITV Studios

MPAA Rating: No MPAA Rating

Release Date: January 4, 2013 (US)

Length: 114 minutes

Directing

9.0

Plot

9.0

Acting

8.0

Cinematography

8.0

Total Score

8.5

8.5/ 10

Whoa

It's eight installments in and still going strong.

No

To paraphrase Casey Kasem as sampled on Negativland's brilliant 1991 "U2" single, these folks are from England and who gives a shit?

Bottom Line

“Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man.” – Francis Xavier That Jesuit motto is the foundation for Michael Apted’s Up series, the much-lauded English documentary that follows – beginning at age seven – the lives of 14 British school children. The project began in 1964 with 7 […]

Posted January 31, 2013 by whopperjaw

Full Review

“Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man.” – Francis Xavier

That Jesuit motto is the foundation for Michael Apted’s Up series, the much-lauded English documentary that follows – beginning at age seven – the lives of 14 British school children. The project began in 1964 with 7 Up, andoffers a new episode every seven years.

Depending on your perspective, it is either an honor or a dis to inspire an episode of The Simpsons (“Springfield Up,” Season 18, Episode 13). But it is certainly a mark of cultural resonance and recognition that the Up series was parodied by Groening and company. (In the episode, Eric Idle plays documentary filmmaker Declan Desmond.)

Even more than previous installments, Apted seems inclined to acknowledge his subjects’ self-consciousness. But this is not mere kvetching – it’s worth watching the principles reason through their (sometimes conflicting) feelings about participating in the series. (Thirteen of fourteen participants are still featured.)

Ostensibly an examination of the English class structure, 56 Up now touches on family, society, purpose, perseverance and much more. Although my own Anglophilia has partially fueled my desire to follow the series throughout the years, its acclaim is vast and its influence significant. 56 Up takes its place in a well-deserved legacy.

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56 Up: Way better than your class reunion

Whoa

No

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