![The Up Series (Seven Up / 7 Plus Seven / 21 Up / 28 Up / 35 Up / 42 Up / 49 Up) [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51MUl1d3sXL._SX300_SY300_QL70_ML2_.jpg)
![The Firm [Blu-ray]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81UZcdv7NGL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
As some others have commented here, the answer to the question "is this really worthwhile for the money? etc" is "yes," at least assuming that you are willing to commit the time to watching it, which you really should. The description and other reviews have already covered the main idea and many of the highlights. I'll just add a bit from my perspective, for what it may be worth to anyone, with the points in no particular order.
35 UP does in fact seem rather lackluster compared to the others, as I believe someone mentioned. Not sure why. Maybe that age is just typically less interesting in the average life? Maybe in part because it lacks both not only Charles, who dropped out at 21 (and it must be said that I would also pay a lot to find out why he doesn't do the series anymore), but also Symon (called the heart & soul of 14, at least, on the commentary track on 42, when he returns) and, sadly, Peter (who on the same commentary, it is revealed, was basically bullied out by the rigid and overzealous press after some comments he made on 28 that were not to their liking). It is helpful (if not exactly always nice) to see John again, and since he doesn't appear in 42 and didn't appear in 28, either, this is the one chance to get some continuity in terms of his presence. So these absences may create some of that effect, but like in some other parts of the series, it is well worth going through the somewhat slower parts to continue on with the whole effort.
Features: It seems a very unfortunate thing that there are no subtitles -- not even English captions -- on any of the discs. To go to all the trouble to produce and market them and to leave out this one feature, especially in light of the facts that
(1) the series is internationally popular (at least according to several comments Apted makes on the commentary to 42)
(2) the subpar sound quality on the earlier films,
(3) the combination of particular English accents and the fact that children are speaking them on the earlier films, and perhaps most notably
(4) the existence of transcripts for the material already (as Apted comments on 42).
I can see no reason why English captions, at least, if not also subtitles in other languages, were left off, as that seems to be a feature even on much less important run of the mill films released on DVD. The result is that you do really have to be committed to some ongoing vagueness in the early going in order to get the more rewarding material later.
49 UP and beyond: Some have said they hope there will be no more installments because it's boring by this point but it's really difficult to come out with that feeling, I think, if you are really willing to accept the premise and character of the project. Actually the original premise -- to uncover and emphasize the (presumably ugly) importance of the class system in Britain in particular and its effect on people from a very early age -- is often confounded along the way for various reasons, and as has been noted, the real objective turns out to be just the projection over time of the whole maturation process of a human being, which by no means ends upon arrival at adulthood around 20 or so. It's all about that projection; whether these people are in any way "typical" or not is really not very relevant, and whether some stages of their lives are less exciting or not is also not so relevant, even if it can affect the viewer's enjoyment of certain parts of the film. It may also help to view them in this release all together, as Apted himself recommends in his commentary, and to remember if you feel there is too much repetition that of course they were viewed 7 years apart all throughout the history of the project, otherwise.
In the end you really have to admire the work of Apted and his crew on this, and as he frequently points out, the willingness on the part of the various subjects to open themselves up -- sometimes in remarkably revealing ways that leave them quite vulnerable -- to him and the cameras and thus the whole world beyond that. Roger Ebert's description of it as noble and a courageous use of the medium rings very true after you see it. And if there are some parts that are slower or some complaints about the final package, well that's also how life is and is no reason to diminish the overall success of this very ambitious work.
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
