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The Complete Up Series

Box Set

Tony Walker (Actor), Andrew Brackfield (Actor), Michael Apted (Director) Rated:
NR
Format: DVD
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 91 ratings
Additional DVD options Edition Discs
Price
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DVD
July 2, 2013 		—
1
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$223.37 $38.12

Product Description

Product Description

Peabody Award winning series! This seven disc collector's edition includes all eight films: Seven UP, 7 Plus Seven, 21 UP, 28 UP, 35 UP, 42 UP, 49 UP, and 56 UP.

"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 enigmatic Neil, as they turn 56 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, "an inspired, almost noble use of the film medium. Apted penetrates to the central mystery of life."

Bonus Features Include:
Exclusive Interview: Roger Ebert talks with Michael Apted
Audio Commentary by Michael Apted (on 42 UP)
Photo Gallery for each film
Michael Apted Biography

Review

CRITIC'S PICK! Remarkable, poignant, fascinating. An analogous project in print or even still photographs wouldn't be as powerful, because what gives the "Up" series its punch is not so much its longevity or the human spectacle it offers, but that these are moving images of touchingly vibrant lives at certain moments in time and space. The more you watch, the more the movies transform from mirrors into memory machines, ones that inevitably summon reflections of your own life. --Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

Awe-inducing. Apted has created a series of films as profound as they are straightforward: here is a chronicle of real human souls evolving in real time, a longitudinal study unique to the medium of moving images - and a documentary masterpiece. With each passing calendar leap, the experience of watching has only become more soul-stirring. Grade: A. --Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

To see '56 Up' is to be reunited with an old friend. Make that 13 old friends, together again for a documentary project the likes of which the world has never seen...a matchless portrait of our time. A singular film...such a privilege to be able to watch Apted's project as it continues to unfold. --Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Product details

  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 1.07 Pounds
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Michael Apted
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, Black & White, Color, NTSC, Widescreen, Box set
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 14 hours and 8 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ July 2, 2013
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Tony Walker, Andrew Brackfield, Lynn Johnson, Bruce Balden
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ First Run Features
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00CD6VY6S
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 91 ratings

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
91 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

R. Harris
5.0 out of 5 stars Product review for complete Up Series, 56 Up has a minor audio problem
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2013
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The complete Up Series (7 Up to 56 Up). First Run Features did a great job in the transfer of all eight films and their soundtracks except for the audio for 56 Up. I heard a minor, random snapping sound on my copy so I ordered the 56 Up single disc version which is a different run and has different art on the disc. The replacement also had the same sound over the entire film. Someone told me they also heard the popping sound on their disc that they rented from Netflicks. I didn't see 56 Up in the theaters but I'm thinking the snapping might have been on the original soundtrack. If you notice the problem on your copy I figured out that the snapping sound is only on the left side so if you move all the sound to the right side speakers, the snapping sound entirely goes away. Overall, because of the minor problems with 56 Up, I give the complete series 4 3/4 stars and 3 stars for 56 Up by itself. I would say this should not stop anyone from watching/buying the complete set, I still highly recommend the series.

The new and complete 7 Up to 56 Up series has the eight films on seven-discs (7 Up and 7+7 on the first disc) and they come in a nice, one-inch thick hard case. Six of the discs are a new run and match each other and only the 49 Up disc is different, which is from the 2006 single disc release. Special features include: a 29 minute interview with Roger Ebert and the director Michael Apted which was filmed in Roger's studio in 2006, audio commentary on 42 Up by Apted, photo galleries, filmmakers biography and a few random trailers (none of the trailers are on the Up series). It would have been nice if they had added an insert to this set but the cover art is very nice looking and on the back there is a very brief but detailed account of the series. Unfortunately, there are no subtitles for any of the films and English is the only audio option. 7-42 Up are filmed in full frame and 42-56 Up were filmed using digital cameras. 49 & 56 Up are widescreen format. 7 Up is the only all black and white episode.

The 7 Up series is a fascinating study of human nature. My favorite episode is 21 Up because they really start to make good use of close ups and we begin to go deeper into their young adult lives. Suzy and Neil are the most fascinating to me and those two alone could have held my attention for the entire series. If you have never seen any of the episodes, you should consider watching them with some time in between each one. I would suggest watching one a week over 8 weeks and when doing so, think about how those who have been fans of these time capsules since the mid sixties have had to wait 7 years in between each new episode. The more time you have between each one, the more powerful they become.

I would say that the 7 Up Series is one of the 10 all-time best dvd sets to ever be produced and is a must own for anyone who has a serious home video library. I can't see how anyone would go wrong in buying the set for $37.99 offered by Amazon, that's only $4.75 per episode. When this goes out of print (and it will go oop) the price of this set will skyrocket like it has in the past. So stop thinking about it and buy it. You will be glad you did. And if you can afford it, please buy an extra copy for you local library, school or a friend.
24 people found this helpful
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Kat Ashe
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent sociological study
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2023
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Having lived myself in the U.K. From the late 60s to1990, I’ve personally observed British class divisions. The series isn’t perfect, but is a window into the evolution of class over a number of decades port WWII.
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Joan F. Ellis
4.0 out of 5 stars A Rare Accomplishment
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2014
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Following a group of kids from age seven to middle-age must have seemed impossible at the outset, but here it is. The only downside is that the pace we live at today - the speed of our speech, our attention span now measured in seconds, makes the series feel leisurely. We have forgotten the pace of life and of entertainment in the days before technology began to feed us everything at warp speed.
3 people found this helpful
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ElizabelleV
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars for the participants
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2014
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They have been admirable and generous to share their personal lives for a lifetime with such an immense audience and for that alone, the series deserves all the stars. They called it in the 1960's "a glance at Britain's future", and if it was so, she has many reason to be proud today. Out of the 14 people interviewed, all of them seem to have turned out to be honest people with decent values, doing their utmost in their own set of circumstances or challenges. And if by any chance you would find parts of the series redundant, then I would say that just looking at the first episode is worth the buy because the 7 yr old children each have such enjoyable individual personalities. Their unfiltered, colorful replies are fun and precious and make us realize just how much of our true selves we lose as we get older and start being too self-critical.
But if you have read a few bad reviews about Michael Apted's interview style, I must say that there is some truth to them. The man has no tact, no diplomacy, no psychology and is often disrespectful towards his subjects although not necessarily consciously. And he missed out on what we could have discovered more if his set of questions had not remained so narrowminded. Luckily, two people admitted that they kept on participating only for the publicity it was providing to either their charity or music band... but it was after all through these projects that we had the chance to see their humanity. Despite this, the participants were patient and tolerant, and were quite nice to return every 7 years. The documentary, seeing a person grow from 7 to 56 within just a few hours view, is a unique experience.
4 people found this helpful
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naudilyn
5.0 out of 5 stars Great transactions! As far as the series goes it ...
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2015
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Great transactions! As far as the series goes it is a fantastic portrayal of the lives of individuals as they develop from childhood through adulthood. Obviously there are some constraints on the episodes that leave a lot to be desired. For example, even though the episodes are 2 to 2 1/2 hours long you still feel like you're just scratching the surface of understanding each of these individuals and all of the changes they've gone through during their development. Also, the lack of ethnic diversity is unfortunate, but it also likely reflects the era and the context within which these episodes were begun. Perhaps my biggest disappointment with this series though is that the questions sometimes seem leading, such that it almost seems like the documentarian asks questions in such a way as to prove his hypothesis correct. However, overall I very much enjoyed the series and I think it is insightful and does a very good job of portraying the major milestones in the human lifespan - I would definitely recommend the series to anyone interested in watching development unfold over the course of a lifetime!
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Elizabeth Calderon
3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as I Anticipated
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2014
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I had just seen the movie, Boyhood, and thought I would enjoy this documentary series. But it turns out, I couldn't quite understand the British accents and there were no subtitles! I didn't even see all the disks. Just parts of the first 2. Since I couldn't understand the children, it was hard to keep tabs on the children as they grew older. (Disclaimer: I usually enjoy documentaries.)
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Top reviews from other countries

Henry Slofstra
5.0 out of 5 stars An exceptional rewarding and uplifting viewing experience.
Reviewed in Canada on September 15, 2013
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Viewing this is not what I expected, and it's been a more profound experience than I imagined. I expected something that would be a bit more clinical and analytical, visiting the same folks every 7 years, and eventually coming up with some insights about the class system, education and perhaps some homilies about life happiness. But the shows are not academically ambitious in that sense, and yet succeed far beyond what I imagined. The format is uncannily simple. Apsted has interviewed the same subjects every seven years from childhood, and asks them very basic and simple questions about the opposite sex, their work or education, and their aspirations. (To be precise, Apsted worked on the first film, but was not the interviewer then.) There are 14 different subjects, although a few of them have been intermittent in their involvement, and they are drawn from every walk of life in English society, an orphan home, working class district, and upper class boarding school. I was surprised to learn that the original 7 up documentary was a one shot deal. Then 'seven plus seven' was made as a sort of 'where are they now' catch-up of the original series. If the subjects are a bit of a muddle after the first episode, don't be concerned; the characters will sort themselves out as the series progresses, and there are many flashbacks to prior episodes. This can be slightly repetitive in watching the series in one block, but one has to remember that the original episodes were constructed and viewed seven years apart, so the flashbacks would be important to the original television audience. Apsted has also made many fine movies over the years, but it seems that he has kept with the project because its stock and value have increased as time wore on. In the 2006 interview with Ebert he insightfully states that the series is really about 'life itself'. It's almost scary how 'real' these lives become in watching the entire series over the course of a couple of weeks; you have to remind yourself that you don't actually know these people. Introspection into one's own life is inevitable as a result. After watching any given episode, you wonder, and in fact, can't wait, to see how life turns out in seven years. There are more pleasant surprises than disappointments. I think I was concerned that the viewing experience was going to be dreary, but in fact, it has been the exact opposite. And finally, this is not 'reality television' as we have come to know it. There is so little in the way of effort to sensationalize and excite that it becomes something else: interesting, moving and profound.
So, one question is the rather high price for the entire box. It's entirely worth it. For one thing, once we have finished seeing it, this box will be on loan to friends and family for some time. Almost everyone we know wants to see it. In my opinion, the price is well justified. Watch Roger Ebert's 2006 interview of Apsted on youtube, if you still have any doubts.
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J S Roberts
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best documentaries I've had the pleasure of watching
Reviewed in Canada on January 16, 2016
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One of the best documentaries I've had the pleasure of watching, if not the very best! One of a kind! No trouble viewing the dvds in Canada (region free).
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Jean
5.0 out of 5 stars Truly excellent!
Reviewed in Canada on July 4, 2016
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This is a fascinating series following the lives of these kids into adulthood, then into their senior years. Truly excellent!
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a customer
5.0 out of 5 stars great documentary
Reviewed in Canada on March 15, 2019
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great documentary
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