The Greatest Documentary Ever? 49 Up, Now Solidly Middle Aged, Comes to PBS

"Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man," the Jesuits say. And the latest installment of the documentary series that opens with that quote and proves the ancient point will be shown on PBS October 9th.

49 Up is the seventh installment of a documentary series that began 42 years ago. The series first captured the personalities of a group of British children at age 7 and has revisited them every seven years since. Michael Apted's series is a cinematic version of the best kind of scientific study, those that follow groups of people through decades and examine what caused certain outcomes among them. The difference is that you get to know these people and draw your own conclusions about their life's paths.

My lasting impression of 35 Up and 42 Up was how much of a seven year old's personality survives to adulthood. At the time I saw 35 Up, I didn't have children, but I remember thinking that the film showed that parents don't have a lot of time to correct their screwups (now I know better -- I just blame my children's periods of bad behavior on my wife's genetic contribution, not parenting).

What's apparently surprising in this edition of the series is that some of the group do change, even in adulthood -- good news for all of us in the middle decades of life.

A. O. Scott writes in The New York Times that "... now that they have settled into middle age — discovering that the thinning of hair and the thickening of midsections respect no rank or station — their lives reveal less about the British class system than about marriage, family relations and the slow turns of the life cycle." Scott does note that there is somewhat less drama in the latest edition: "Forty-nine, it seems, is not an age for hatching big plans or foreseeing major changes, but rather a time for taking stock, getting comfortable and keeping an eye on the next generation."

The series continues to garner tremendous reviews. Roger Ebert: "Michael Apted's "Up" series remains one of the great imaginative leaps in film." The NYT's Scott: "... one of the most remarkable experiments in the history of cinema." And it's one of the highest rated movies ever at RottenTomatoes.com.

The broadcast is scheduled for 9pm on Tuesday, October 9th, but you can check your local schedule here.