Over the past month, my wife and I have been watching this series from the beginning thanks to the box set. Last night we got completely caught up by watching the latest installment, 49 Up. (search my previous blogs for a more comprehensive overview of the previous films, all conveniently located in a single filmblog). Simply put, one of the most moving and fascinating documentaries I have seen in years. While there is a lot of repetition from film to film (unavoidable really, when you have to recapsulate each of the subjects lives from age 7), it is still worthwhile to revisit the old familar clips, which more often than not, either get more meaningful over the years, or more revealing of each of the character's personalities, or make interesting contrasts with the changes that each of them go through. How Neil remarks quite innocently when he is seven and fourteen how he wishes to be a 'coach driver' and travel all over the countryside and tell the people on his bus what sights they are seeing, and to see him as an adult, and in an abstract way, this is precisely what he has become with his political work, and in a way, through this documentary. One of the more interesting segments of this most recent film I thought, was the discussion that Jackie has with the director about how she has been portrayed throughout the series, and the director's expectations of how he thought she would turn out. Also included on the disc is an interesting interview with the director where he discusses the series as a whole, the inevitable topic of death in future installments (either one of the subjects, or even possibly Apted himself), and the different reactions people have to the series, whether they have grown up with it over the years, or have digested the entire series in a short span of time thanks to the dvd collection (a topic I have mulled over quite often while watching it the past month). Next one is due sometime in 2011, looking forward to catching up with my old friends (and odd how you feel that way, even though I've known them now only about a month at the most)