# Has anyone seen the film 35-up? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2002, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601 "2002-07-24T17:14:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rsvp9146](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rsvp9146](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsvp9146)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2002, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/1 "2002-07-24T17:14:49Z")
I saw this really good british film the other day called 35-up. Basically it’s an interesting concept, following a bunch of Britons, throughout their lives, at 7 year intervals. (apparently there were previous films 28-up, 21-up etc…) ANyway one of the people in the film really got to me, and I was wondering if anyone happened toknow what’s become of Neil in the film. He was the homeless man. I hope he’s found some peace. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2002, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/2 "2002-07-24T17:39:21Z")
Yes, it is part of a series of made for TV movies. The first film was _Seven Up_, and they went on from there. The most recent was _42 Up_ in 1998. I haven’t seen any of these, but “Neil, on the margin at 28 and 35, has a glorious story of friendship at 42.” So I guess that’s something good. We’ll just have to see what happens by the time _49 Up_ comes along. ---
**Author:** ![rsvp9146](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rsvp9146](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsvp9146)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2002, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/3 "2002-07-24T18:12:01Z")
I wasnt aware there was a 42-up. I guess I’ll have to check that out. It’s really an amazing film, I suggest everyone check it out. It really points out how (at least in Britain) how suscess is sometimes limited by class structure. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2002, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/4 "2002-07-24T18:35:07Z")
I’ve only seen 42-up… it contains flashback clips to the previous episodes so I got a feelng of the progression. The person I found most interesting was the Yorkshire farm boy who at age 42, is now a professor of Physics at the University of Wisconsin. Another one which touched me was the boy who wanted to be a jockey, achieved his dream at a young age, then had to retire, I can’t recall why, maybe injuries. Now he’s a cab driver, but pretty sucessful, nice family. The rich kids seemed to be truly miserable as adults. ---
**Author:** ![rsvp9146](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rsvp9146](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsvp9146)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2002, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/5 "2002-07-24T18:56:10Z")
Hello Again, what happened to Neil, the homless man? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2002, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/6 "2002-07-24T19:45:03Z")
Neil and Bruce (who had become an inner city schoolteacher) had become very close friends. After Bruce got married (I think he was 40 at the time) Neil came to stay with him and his wife, and really sort of got his life together. If I am recalling correctly he had gone into politics! ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2002, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/7 "2002-07-24T20:52:51Z")
I’ve seen all of these from _21 Up_ to _42 Up._ The first two entries in the series, _7_ and _14_, are not available on home video due to some weird legal thing. This is, in my opinion, one of the most important entries in the history of world cinema. Totally unique (if you disregard the copycat projects that have sprung up over the last fifteen years), and as objective as it’s possible to be in the documentary format. It’s particularly noteworthy now, since we get to see forty-two years of these people’s lives compressed into a few hours of viewing. Oh, and one nitpick: Bruce was primarily a schoolteacher overseas, in a third-world country I don’t remember now, before he got married. But otherwise, yes, he does play a large part in rescuing Neil from his slow spiral into oblivion. I can’t wait for _49 Up_ in 2007. But that does bring up one issue: As amazingly valuable a film series as this is, and as moving and enlightening as it is to see these people’s lives taking shape, I can’t deny that the experience must be totally disruptive and invasive for the participants. A number of them have dropped out over the years, and while I’m disappointed I don’t blame them at all. I can’t imagine how I would cope with this; it would be like trying to lose weight and get one’s life in shape for a high-school reunion every seven years until the day one died. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Frink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Mr.Frink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Frink)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/8 "2002-07-25T06:14:02Z")
Someone in this thread mentioned that this was a made-for-tv series, and I don’t think that’s entirely accurate. The first program (and maybe the second) were TV documentaries, but the rest have had full-fledged theater releases. In fact, I saw _42 Up_ at my friendly local art house. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cervaise \* > \*\*Oh, and one nitpick: Bruce was primarily a schoolteacher overseas, in a third-world country I don’t remember now, before he got married. \*\* And to nitpick your nitpick…I also am under the impression that Bruce primarily taught inner city kids–mostly children of recent immigrants. We see him in this position in _28 Up_. It was through working with these children that inspired him to teach in a 3rd-World country–the homeland of his students back in England. But the film gives the impression that this was only a short term job–a year…perhaps two at the most. And like you, \*\* rsvp9146\*\*, Neil was the person that most affected me. We saw him go from a slightly depressed teen, to an increasingly hopeless and lost man. At one point he was homeless & wandering…I really thought he might not be alive for the next installment. But the most amazing thing happens in _42 Up_. I’d almost rather not tell you–it will ruin the surprise. But if you must know, I’ll continue… Neil does in fact, get into politics. Amazingly, he is elected to a city council seat in Tottenham! Between this and his budding friendship with Bruce, Neil seems to be much more at peace with himself. It’s really great to see how his life has turned around. So you must see _42 Up_. Not only is it available on tape (and DVD?), but it’s also occasionally shown on PBS. Another interesting tidbit about this project is that it’s directed by Michael Apted, who has been involved since the beginning. Apted also directed the last James Bond movie–“_The World Is Not Enough_”! _And for those of you wondering what the fuss is about–check out [Roger Eberts review of **42-Up**](http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_reviews/2000/04/041402.html)_ ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/9 "2002-07-25T16:50:15Z")
> [@](#): > > And to nitpick your nitpick…I also am under the impression that Bruce primarily taught inner city kids–mostly children of recent immigrants. We see him in this position in 28 Up. It was through working with these children that inspired him to teach in a 3rd-World country–the homeland of his students back in England. But the film gives the impression that this was only a short term job–a year…perhaps two at the most. When you say it this way, it triggers a vague recognition. (I haven’t seen the films since the last installment played my local art house back in '99.) I think you may well be right about this; mea culpa. I need to see the movies again to be sure. Hell, I just plain need to see the movies again, period. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/10 "2007-01-16T23:56:29Z")
Sorry to bump this thread from so long ago. I tried to search but the three letter word rule prevented me. _49 Up_ must have been filmed by now. Has anyone seen it? I saw a repeat of _42 Up_ last week which set me wondering. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/11 "2007-01-17T00:04:29Z")
I’ve got 7-up and 14-up on my netflix list, so I think they are available. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/12 "2007-01-17T00:11:41Z")
Yes, _49 Up_, has been filmed. In Canada it was shown on CBC two or three months ago. Unfortunately, it was on late at night, and I fell asleep and didn’t see the whole thing. As I recall, Bruce, the inner school teacher no longer teaches at an inner school. He now teaches at a public school (aka private school) removed from the inner city. Otherwise he seemed to be doing well in his family life with two quite small children. I didn’t manage to see much about Neil, who I was curious about as well. From what I could gather he is no longer homeless, and is much less fragile. He had run for office once outside of the London area, and lost, and I believe (though I could be entirely wrong) was running for city council in another area. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/13 "2007-01-17T00:17:58Z")
Seven Up and 14 Up are definitely available on Netflix. Just saw 'em a few months back. I’ve gone as far as 21 Up and will probably continue to watch. It’s a pretty amazing project, and most of the participants have stayed with the program, though a few have dropped out. I remember that 28 Up aired when I was a kid living in England and it was a big deal for some people. I don’t remember seeing it. Nick is a favorite, simply because he was such a shy and sweet child, and probably came closest to doing what he wanted to do as a child. (He wanted to be an astronaut. Engineers are like astronauts, aren’t they?) He also turned out to be quite a dishy fellow. Agree that the rich kids were rather insufferable, though I did like how Charles rebelled a little by _not_ attending Oxbridge. Suzy apparently cheers up, but she’s a mopey little cow in the first three. Seems to be a sad little girl, really. The Wikipedia entry has a really good synopsis of the episodes and what happens to each child, [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21_Up). ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/14 "2007-01-17T00:20:51Z")
Thanks, **PastAllReason**. I’m hoping that the recent rebroadcasting of the _42 Up_ programme means that the newest edition is soon to be shown. Neil’s situation had improved slightly by 42 from what it had been at 28 and 35. I hope life has continued to be more kind to him. Do you remember if any of the participants had declined to be interviewed? Apart from John and Charles, I mean. They did not take part in _42 Up_. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/15 "2007-01-17T01:52:21Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] I’ve seen all of these from _21 Up_ to _42 Up._ The first two entries in the series, _7_ and _14_, are not available on home video due to some weird legal thing. [/QUOTE] Yes they are. My wife and I just saw 7up and 14up on DVD and we got them from Netflix. You can buy the whole set here: [7up!](http://www.amazon.com/Up-Seven-Plus-21-28/dp/B0002S64SC/sr=8-1/qid=1168998608/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-9439791-5700949?ie=UTF8&s=dvd) ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/16 "2007-01-17T02:35:00Z")
[Here](http://www.eden.gov.uk/main.asp?page=2526&tblMemberID=21) is **Neil** ’s District Councillor page on the Eden District (Cumbria) web site, showing his interests and committee involvements. I’m seen all in the series as far as **42 Up** , and have just added **49 Up** to my Netflix queue thanks to the reminder provided by this thread. I’ve met **John** , and he’s no longer anywhere nearly as insufferable as his early appearances in the “Up” series show him to have been. He’s heavily involved in charitable work relating to Bulgaria (his mother’s country of birth). ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/17 "2007-01-17T03:56:11Z")
I just watched 49-Up a few months ago - they were showing it at the Musicbox Theater here in Chicago. I haven’t seen any of the previous ones but it was still very interesting nonetheless. Nick’s story was my favorite (the farm boy that grew up to be a nuclear phyicist). It’s a fascinating project. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/18 "2007-01-17T04:13:47Z")
I’ve looked at the first three films in this series and are planning on seeing the rest. It’s very interesting to see how the children are growing and whether or not they are fulfilling their dreams. ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/19 "2007-01-17T04:38:09Z")
I bought the whole series (7 through 42) on DVD for my wife for Christmas. She had seen a couple of the earlier films, and I hadn’t seen any. The set is a 5-DVD set (7 Up and 14 Up both fit on the first DVD) and watched them for five nights in a row. My wife is a researcher, so was fascinated by this unscientific longitudinal study. It’s interesting that the first two programs talk about the young children representing the British leaders of 2000. One surprise for me was the level of insight shown by many of the participants. Of course, those represent the nuggets. As a journalist, I’m keenly aware of how much interview time must be sifted in some cases to find those nuggets. Fascinating to watch John and Andrew and Charles (who, like the three girls, were seated in the same order each time to make it easy to watch). Charles stared to distance himself by clothing and attitude fairly early on, showing up in jeans rather than a suit. He also exhibited a more complex view of the upper class instead of the stout defense offered by John, and, to a lesser degree, by Andrew. It was no surprise that Charles turned journalist and dropped out. ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601/20 "2007-01-17T04:41:55Z")
Forgot to mention that in the later episodes, several of the last names of the participants were revealed, and by now enough biographical information has been revealed about a number of them that they could be fairly easily tracked down, [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-the-film-35-up/120601.md?page=2)