49 Up (2005) (TV)

Director:

Michael Apted

Release Date:

15 September 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Tagline:

The latest installment in the groundbreaking 7 Up series

Plot:

In 1964, to explore the adage "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man," World in Action filmed seven-year-olds...

Plot Keywords:

Number In Title

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Bruce Balden	...	Himself (as Bruce)
Jacqueline Bassett	...	Herself (as Jackie)
Symon Basterfield	...	Himself (as Simon)
Andrew Brackfield	...	Himself (as Andrew)
John Brisby	...	Himself (as John)
Suzanne Dewey	...	Herself (as Suzy)
Charles Furneaux	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Charles)
Nicholas Hitchon	...	Himself (as Nick)
Neil Hughes	...	Himself (as Neil)
Lynn Johnson	...	Herself (as Lynn)
Paul Kligerman	...	Himself (as Paul)
Susan Sullivan	...	Herself (as Sue)
Tony Walker	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Forty Nine Up (International: English title) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

180 min (2 parts)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:M

Company:

Granada Television

Trivia:

By the time this update was made, 12 of the original 14 children were still taking part, with Charles having dropped out at 21, and Peter at 28. Although John had dropped out at 42 he returned for this installment.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 50 Greatest Documentaries (2005) (TV)

Absolutely amazing

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.