42: Forty Two Up
First Run Features | Release Date: November 17, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
86
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
22
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
This is an amazing record of a group of lives -- and probably more resonant than anyone could have imagined when the project began. Read full review
100
New York PostJonathan Foreman
The latest episode of this ongoing masterpiece of reality TV -- which every seven years revisits a group of English people first interviewed as 7-year-olds in 1964 -- is every bit as enthralling as the earlier ones.
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The latest installment is packed with surprises and emotion for people who've seen earlier stages of the project, but even newcomers will be fascinated by the vivid glimpses it provides of everything from love and family to political action and the pervasiveness of class distinctions in British life. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
This series should be sealed in a time capsule. It is on my list of the 10 greatest films of all time, and is a noble use of the medium. Read full review
100
Miami HeraldPhoebe Flowers
A truly great and deceptively simple work, redefining the power of film.
91
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
An empathetic portrait of humanity on a house-by-house, heart-by-heart basis.
90
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
The 7Up series is thus one of the rare documentaries to have had a positive practical effect on the life of at least one of its subjects. Read full review
90
TimeRichard Corliss
Apted...has the storytelling skills to weave a powerful and poignant snapshot of some decent folks who have become, collectively, Britain's first family. Read full review
90
L.A. WeeklyHazel-Dawn Dumpert
That nothing more monumental than an everyday life has occurred to any of the subjects is perhaps the film's most compelling aspect. Read full review
90
Film.comHenry Cabot Beck
Perhaps the most remarkable documentary project ever undertaken, and certainly the longest, is Michael Apted's Up series, which he began shooting for the BBC in 1962. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Time is truly on Apted's side because the passing of time not surprisingly brings a richer, deeper perspective with each new segment. Read full review
90
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
When this hugely ambitious project began, it was a longitudinal study of class divisions among English schoolchildren. But time and persistence have turned it into much more. Read full review
88
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
42 Up is filled with truth and poignancy as these people reflect on their first half of their lives, their goals, ambitions, and how they, for the most part, succeeded in reinventing them. Read full review
88
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Offers a welcome continuation of what has proven a fascinating journey both for the film's 11 subjects (three of the 14 opted out of the project this go-round) and its audience.
88
San Francisco ExaminerG. Allen Johnson
The only film sequels in history that just keep getting better.
88
Boston GlobeJay Carr
A miracle of data retrieval as the grown schoolchildren are measured against their footage from the earlier films. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
Difficult to weigh and rate precisely because it deals with real life and real people. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
I love this series; it's possibly the most exciting use of the documentary medium ever. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Intending to study the degree to which social class would determine the subjects' destinies, the series actually documents something more filmable--the degree to which the subjects believed social class would determine their destinies and the degree to which they believe it has. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Where this still vital series was once about what sets us apart, it now seems to be turning towards the things that, in the end, render us all equal. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
A living artifact that does what movies do best: exist in time. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
It would be tempting to describe the Up movies as a miracle in the history of nonfiction filmmaking, if they didn't also represent one of the cinema's most singularly squandered opportunities. Read full review
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