In 1964 14 children were interviewed for a documentary, "7UP". All of these children were seven years old and from completely different backgrounds, a snapshot of children all over Britain. The basic premise was to examine the Jesuit theory: "Give me a the child until he is 7, and I will show you the man." Is a person's fate sealed at birth?

Every seven years after that acclaimed director Michael Apted [THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH and COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER] returned to those children to chart their progress through life. In so doing, Apted has created the longest running real-life documentary ever made. "42 UP" is the latest installment. Of the original 14 subjects, 11 remain.

Now half way through their lives, how close are they to realizing their dreams and ambitions? This enthralling film gives viewers an understanding not only of the lives of these people, but of British life as a whole in the late 1990's.

What has happened to East End schoolmates Jackie, Lynn and Susan, to the physicist Nick, the lawyer Andrew, the ex-foster child Symon? How have the shy teacher Bruce, the cab-driver Tony, the Aussie emigre Paul and of course, the heartbreaking Neil developed?

As the series matures into mid-life, like its subjects, its begins to confront the grand questions. What is love? What is character? What is success?

"The UP documentary series strikes me as an inspired, almost noble use of the film medium."—Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times
(Click here for Roger Ebert's article on the Up series)

"Watching the fragile bundles of hopes and dreams as they weather the intervening decades remains an endlessly fascinating exercise."—New York Magazine

"42 UP is clearly the most remarkable non-fiction film project in the history of the medium."—Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

"Wondrous, astonishing!"—The New Yorker

"* * * * (4 our of 4 stars)! A Masterpiece!"—New York Post