28 Up (1985) (TV)

Director:

Michael Apted

Release Date:

February 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Plot:

Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects...

Plot Keywords:

Human Relationship | Fourth Part | Sequel | Independent Film | Number In Title

Awards:

3 wins & 2 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 (archive footage) (as John)
Peter Davies	...	Himself (as Peter)
Suzanne Dewey	...	Herself (as Suzi)
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 (as Tony)

Also Known As:

Twenty Eight Up (International: English title) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Latin

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG

Company:

Granada Television

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#17.1)" (2004)

At 28, each is hitting his or her stride in life.

Michael Apted must be congratulated for having (or perhaps stumbling upon) the vision for this study. Begin with 14 seven year olds in England, film them in a few interesting situations, and follow those same kids as they grow up. Every seven years. Because all of our lives transpire at roughly the same rates, we cannot actually observe children growing up. But this filmed approach is the next best thing.

In this film we get to see (most of) the same children at 7, 14, 21 and 28. Just as we saw a great difference from 14 to 21, again we see a great difference from 21 to 28. Having been in the working world for 5 or 6 years, most married and raising families, they no longer look and act like the searchers we saw in earlier films. Except for Neil, who at 7 seemed to be the brightest and most expressive, to a 28-year-old that never knows if he will be homeless the next month. As dramatic, in the opposite direction, was Suzy who went from a disenchanted dropout to a happy wife and mother. Still, in each subject we can identify characteristics that have stayed with them as they grew up.

We still see how the "process" has influenced the "product." To a good degree, who they are at 28 is a product of having been in the "UP" series every 7 years, and the internal pressure to be worthy for the world to see them.

This and all the others through '42-UP' in 1998 are on the 5-disk DVD set just out. ("49 UP" has been made but is not yet available on DVD.) However, simply seeing the most recent film (42-UP or 49-UP) is pretty good, because each film contains snippets of each of the former ones, allowing us to see how each child developed in 7-year increments.

Just a marvelous study of growing up.