28 Up

In 1963, Michael Apted was a researcher who helped prepare a program called "7 Up" for England's Granada television network. At a time when it seemed as if the British class system was finally in its death throes, the program sought to present the future of England by interviewing 14 seven-year-old children from different backgrounds. Apted went on to become a noted film director, but along the way he kept up with these children as they grew, filming them at seven-year intervals as they entered adulthood. 28 UP mixes interviews of those 14 children, now 28 years old, with footage of them at 7, 14 and 21. It's a brilliant premise, and Apted does it justice.

Wit...