56 Up
User Score
9.0 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 4 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4

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  1. VinceM
    Feb 18, 2013
    9
    This film is both good entertainment as well as a brief study in human development and how this small group of British 7 year olds faired for 56 years. There's a huge range from the lives of the wealthy and priviledged to those struggling with misfortunes and tragic beginnings. It's also an insightful commentary on various aspects of society the past forty years.
  2. lancekoz
    Mar 23, 2013
    9
    You may be familiar with this series from before, but I must say I am pleasantly surprised at how it has changed. It is clearer in picture and sound (that is to say, the archival footage seems improved), and better edited than in previous incarnations. So if you thought you saw enough at '35 Up' or '42 Up', it is less of a slog now. Though it is hard to be comprehensive about these life stories in short gulps every seven years, still it is fascinating and the sheer images of styles and settings thru the years is rewarding in its own way too. As a cursory summary for the participants, I must say that the people seem more satisfied and relaxed than before, and there is a level of happiness that just doesn't exist in the United States as far as I have encountered. I don't know if that has to do with the British lifestyle, or benefits the government has provided, or other cultural factors... but there seems to be a general feeling of gratitude with what life has brought them and very little sense of disaster or regret.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
83 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 19 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. Arizona Republic
    Reviewed by: Bill Goodykoontz
    Mar 28, 2013
    90
    What makes 56 Up, like the “Up” films before it, so remarkable is how it puts these stories together, giving us an ensemble of characters as interesting as any in a scripted drama.
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  2. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    Feb 15, 2013
    75
    In the end, that just might be the takeaway from the "Up" series, that a 28-year-old, say, has more in common with another 28-year-old than with his own incarnation at 70. Who knows? There are mysteries of life captured within the frames of this film that are eluding our grasp. We're still too close to it.
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  3. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    Feb 8, 2013
    88
    The attitude of many “UP” fans hovers between voyeurism and concern, between cherishing these people as distant friends and as extensions of ourselves. They’re canaries in the coal mine of human existence.
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