Peter with his bandmates at 56. | FIRST RUN FEATURES
Michael Apted’s documentary “56 Up” is being released theatrically in the US, eight months after its premiere on British television’s ITV, the commercial broadcaster that produced it. The “Up” series, which began in 1964 with a group of seven-year-olds and has since tracked them at seven-year intervals as they grew into men and women, may be the second longest-lived “franchise” in film history after the James Bond movies. For viewers who’ve followed the films as they’ve come out every seven years, it’s arguably a form of interactive cinema — we age along with the subjects.
Notably, the subjects of “56 Up” refer to it as a TV program, rather than a film or simply a documentary. If “7 Up” were begun today, it would more likely be a reality TV concept instead of a film, although TV showrunners would undoubtedly grow impatient with the gap between seasons. But “56 Up” brings something valuable to the table, a dimension rarely seen on reality TV — a self-critical edge.
Several of Apted’s subjects decry the impact his films have had on their lives. In “28 Up,” Peter, then a teacher, delivered criticism aimed at the Thatcher government, for which he was attacked by the tabloid press. Infuriated, he dropped out of the “Up” project. He rejoins it with “56 Up,” but does so largely for self-promotional reasons. He and his wife are now members of a country/ folk band called the Good Intentions, and he hopes the film will give the group some publicity. (“56 Up” includes clips of them rehearsing, as well as a brief glimpse of a music video.) Peter seems secure that this time around he’s being represented on his own terms. He also refrains from saying anything politically provocative.
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