Up at 70: The Landmark Documentary Series Reaches a New Milestone

Michael Apted’s landmark British documentary series, Up, traces the lives of 14 children—10 boys and four girls—from varied socio-economic backgrounds, beginning when they were seven years old. Each film opens with the slightly ominous line, “Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man.”

Released at seven-year intervals, the series follows the participants from bright-eyed, restless seven-year-olds to lanky teenagers, jaded 21-year-olds—and every stage in between.

Suzy at ages seven and 21.

“I left school when I was 16 and went to Paris,” Suzanne Dewey says at 21. “And I’m very very cynical about [marriage]”).

Across the series, the participants attend university, marry, build careers, raise families, travel, relocate, divorce, grieve, and—in some cases—die. The trailer above introduces 63 Up.

I learned last night that 70 Up, the series’ next and final film, will be released tomorrow. Following Michael Apted’s death in 2021, Asif Kapadia directed this installment. The series can be deeply emotional, showing children we once knew struggle with mental illness or become trapped in unhappy marriages. It also reveals quiet resilience: as the years pass, the participants seem to become more fully themselves. Many appeared notably happier at 56 and 63 than in earlier films, an encouraging reminder that later life can bring peace and self-understanding.

Will you be watching 70 Up? Its release this week is cause for excitement.

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