49 Up

Having followed the lives of the individuals from age 7, I was looking forward to the new episode where they have reached age 49. Will Tony still be married? Will Paul be happier? Will Jacqui still be in Scotland? Will Bruce and Nick still be saving/changing the world? Will John take part and will Charles and Peter come back in to the series? And what will Neil be up to? And Sue and Suzie and Lyn? I feel like I know all the characters well and almost as personal friends and I really want to know what they are all up to. Do they have grandchildren? Have any of them become sick? Heart disease and cancer often strike at around this age. The whole series is a fascinating study and the question John puts - "does it really prove anything" is a worthwhile question but it doesn't make the series any less rivetting.The comment was made by a number of them that they are "comfortable in their own skin now" and Neil's view on life and why we are here are two of the many things which make the movie worth watching. I thoroughly recommend this movie and the 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42 Ups.

I can't recall my introduction to the Up series, like the participants age is catching up with me. But I have followed the series religiously and was dismayed when rumors circulated that 42 Up would be the last installment. Recently, while reading news from Australia online, I was delighted to learn that Neil (Hughes) was to be a guest speaker at the Annual Conference of the Municipal Association of Victoria (Australia). At 50 he was still going strong, now a local councilor in Eden District in northern England. And the local Victorian government had invited him to speak because they viewed him as a model to those toying with the idea of politics and public life. I thought I would chase down the 42 Up DVD and reacquaint myself with the series,.....and there it was 49 Up!There is a voyeuristic aspect in viewing the Up series. But it is more than that; it is more than an obsessive recording of the lives of 14 individuals. As Roger Ebert notes in the accompanying interview of Michael Apted, many of us have grown up alongside these people and so the Up series is a chance for us to reflect on our own lives. I know of no other medium that allows such a personal examination of a single generation. A generation that, although it is the tail end of the baby boom, is none the less significant for the period it has covered. True, Apted is careful not to question too deeply about politics and world events, and this is as it should be. What is important (for the viewer to retain interest) is how the lives of these people progresses in terms of family, relationships, occupations etc - the stuff of everyday life. Whether political, economic, or world events influence their lives is less important; although in some cases this does occur and has been used by at least one participant to leverage a personal interest.Many, if not all, the participants seem to view their involvement as a stressful event every seven years, a poison pill. It seems from 49 Up that at least one and perhaps more may not return for 56 Up. This would be unfortunate as 49 Up showed that most had reached a comfortable plateau in their lives, and one imagines that in the next seven years many will become even more comfortable within themselves and relish the opportunity to reflect back on life. Others are sure to be less comfortable with that. One thing is certain, we (the viewers) should feel privileged that these individuals allow us the opportunity to invade their lives every seven years.

Perhaps I am especially sentimental about this series because the participants are my age, but when "49 Up" came to a close with scenes from the original film, "Seven Up," I found myself in tears.It has been suggested that the series was originally intended to illustrate that children born into various social classes were destined to follow a specific course in life. But time has revealed something very different: that money, class, and education are superficial differences, and that all of us are bound by our common human experience. Every one of the participants has dealt with some sort of adversity -- the death of parents, divorce, illness, depression, loss of a job -- but has persevered with the love and support of family and friends. We learn about their joys, too -- the arrival of grandchildren, a new love, a new career.Another reviewer commented that time has not been kind to most of the participants from a physical standpoint. No doubt a young person wrote that! Yes, many folks our age (including me) have put on some extra pounds, lost hair or gone grayer, or developed a few wrinkles. But I find their faces kinder and wiser and more beautiful, even more so when those who are married reaffirm their love for one another and talk about how their spouses have helped them through the hard times.One thing that impresses me is that all of the subjects are good people -- not perfect, not immune from taking a wrong turn once in a while, but trying hard to do the right thing in life. I am so proud of all of them and can hardly wait seven years to find out how they have fared since I saw them last.There are challenges ahead for Michael Apted and his crew. Clearly it is becoming more difficult for some of the participants to find their lives under scrutiny every seven years, for a couple of them suggested that "49 Up" will be their last film. At the same time, the sheer volume of footage will make it increasingly difficult to bring viewers up to date on each participant every seven years while including flashbacks from the previous films. (Even now, "49 Up" probably will not be as meaningful to those who have not seen the earlier films.)But the series is historic, of deep and timeless value, and one of the most moving documentaries I have ever seen. I hope it will continue, but if some of the participants find later that they can't continue, nonetheless, in the first seven films they have given us an incomparable gift.

I've been an avid watcher of these programmes, since day one.Really interesting and well portrayed, will be watching for the latest 56, as soon as it's available!

For those who watched it on CBC, you might consider purchasing this DVD. The complete running time of the documentary is 135 minutes. CBC's version ran 85 minutes without the commercials (over two nights). Roughly 40 minutes - approx 1/3rd of the documentary - was cut by the CBC to make it fit their timeslot. CBC completely removed the stories of Lynn (librarian), Suzy (upper middle class girl who was quite shy, now married with kids) and Nick (farmer's son who moved to USA to work as a university professor) and others were severely edited, including Bruce (teacher) and Paul (moved to Australia).

Amazing documentary, and I believe 56 Up is now available.

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