4 ms·

Michael Apted has died

70 points by zeristor 6y ago

lordnacho 6y ago
The Up! Series is well worth watching. If you want to see how British people think about class, or if you are just curious about how people's lives evolved, how they interacted with events in history.
- gnfargbl 6y ago
  I think "if you want to see how British people thought about class fifty years ago" might be more accurate. There are still strong echoes, but the overall dynamics are different today. Take Tony (a participant in Up) and look at his experiences in the 1980s and 1990s. That's probably a good example of some of the changes that took place.
  - orzig 6y ago
    That’s precisely what is so amazing about it, relative to even a well-captured snapshot in time
    - bmsleight_ 6y ago
      Its such a great piece of history. Something that was not possible until this century, but an pure history. I feel sorry for the people involved who may not have been able to correct consent at 7 years old. But it show real human sprit - adoption to foster carer. Mental health to over coming mental health and real friendship. Best TV ever. No doubt.
telesilla 6y ago
That's awfully sad news. Up is an incredible monument to the the passage of time and how we grow and learn. I hope someone takes up the mantle to continue the series until all participants have departed this life.
someperson 6y ago
The Up Series is what I call "temporally ambitious". It was very impressive that Michael Apted started the series at age 23 and producing a new episode every 7 years until last year, when he was SEVENTY EIGHT years old. Another "temporally ambitious" series was George Lucas' Star Wars films, which used the real-life ageing of the actors to tell a multi-generational story that (whether you think it's highbrow or lowbrow) has massively influenced multiple generations. I wish more visionary film makers produce such "temporally ambitious" works. Even something as "simple" as taking a photo of yourself everyday for 60+ years and make a 60 second timelapse video yields impressive results. Most people are understandably focused on the present and near-future, but there are some visionary artists who build really cool things over a much longer timescales.
- jamesrcole 6y ago
  There’s the Before film trilogy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Before_trilogy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Before_trilogy Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013)
  - FemmeAndroid 6y ago
    And Boyhood (2014) by the same director.
  - gmanis 6y ago
    That is a beautiful set of movies. Highly recommended.
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 6y ago
  > Another "temporally ambitious" series was George Lucas' Star Wars films “temporally ambitious” implies some sort of forethought. With Star Wars it was just a series of profit maximizing attempts. George Lucas released Episode IV. Then he saw a bunch of demand and made V and VI. Then later made I-III since there was more money to be made. Disney bought the franchise and decided there was still more money and nostalgia is a powerful factor and made VII - IX using a lot of the same actors. In the same vein, I guess Indiana Jones is temporally ambitious as it shows an aging Harrison Ford. But unlike the other examples, I there really wasn’t an artistic vision. It was more financially ambitious which accidentally ended up looking like temporally ambitious.
someperson 6y ago
For those who are unfamiliar, here's the Wikipedia link to the Up series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_(film_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_(film_series)
vr46 6y ago
The Up Series is the most wonderful piece of work. Maybe I’m predisposed, but I watched Boyhood some years ago in the cinema and being able to see life happen is incredible. Apted didn’t start the series, he was a sideman on the first, 7 Up, and possibly 7+7, but it is very much his body of work. I wish he had been able to retain more of the people and also, as he said, had more women, but it stands alone atop the visual and motion picture database in my head. Unassailable.
- TheOtherHobbes 6y ago
  Possibly the best TV production of the 20th century. I wouldn't be surprised if it's still being discussed by historians centuries from now.
- JKCalhoun 6y ago
  Agree. There is a sublime melancholy to be had watching actual people's lives. The temporal nature of the series (as pointed out in these comments) inevitably leads to contemplating one's own mortality (to put a fine point on it). The "Up" particant's ambitious and youthful energy in some cases turns to cynicism and it hurts to recognize these things in yourself. Most eventually pair off and it is on to what is usually the next stage of life — parenthood. And some of the lost energy returns in the rearing of their children — balancing it with their relationship with their partner, their careers. Being just a decade or so behind these people gives me a sometimes sober preview of life to come, sometimes hopeful. Always though their "common" lives slowly reveal the plain beauty of a simple life lived honestly. For people new to the series, jump into the middle. The first of the series are more clinical — intended to explore classism in the U.K. But as the series goes on, the class-angle falls away and, as I say, the beauty of watching people go through what we all must go through becomes the more pointed aspect of the experiment.
orzig 6y ago
I’ve heard another similar documentary is “Fourteen's Good, Eighteen's Better”. It’s well known that events get coverage almost inversely proportional to how frequently they occur. But the day to day stories in these films tell us so much more about our culture than e.g. Tiger King. And in 28 years our children will find them just as exotic.
agumonkey 6y ago
Also directed 'Bring on the night' documentary when Sting started his solo career
FiddlerClamp 6y ago
Michael Apted directed two episodes of my favorite TV show, the wonderful sci-fi drama "My Life and Times." As someone else used the term, it was also 'temporally ambitious,' and I'm not surprised Apted was drawn to it, since it dealt with the same person in multiple time periods. In the show, which only ran for 6 episodes in 1991 before getting cancelled, an old man in 2036 reflected on various events in his life (we saw events from the 1970s to the then-future turn of the millennium). Apted directed the episode "Jessie," which I consider one of the finest half-hours of drama ever on television. You can see it on YouTube at: Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN4oe_JH4rw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN4oe_JH4rw Part 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eFczFwWAFE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eFczFwWAFE The other episodes are worth a look, too.

70 points by zeristor 6y ago

The Up! Series is well worth watching. If you want to see how British people think about class, or if you are just curious about how people's lives evolved, how they interacted with events in history.

gnfargbl 6y ago
I think "if you want to see how British people thought about class fifty years ago" might be more accurate. There are still strong echoes, but the overall dynamics are different today. Take Tony (a participant in Up) and look at his experiences in the 1980s and 1990s. That's probably a good example of some of the changes that took place.
- orzig 6y ago
  That’s precisely what is so amazing about it, relative to even a well-captured snapshot in time
  - bmsleight_ 6y ago
    Its such a great piece of history. Something that was not possible until this century, but an pure history. I feel sorry for the people involved who may not have been able to correct consent at 7 years old. But it show real human sprit - adoption to foster carer. Mental health to over coming mental health and real friendship. Best TV ever. No doubt.

telesilla 6y ago

That's awfully sad news. Up is an incredible monument to the the passage of time and how we grow and learn. I hope someone takes up the mantle to continue the series until all participants have departed this life.

someperson 6y ago

The Up Series is what I call "temporally ambitious". It was very impressive that Michael Apted started the series at age 23 and producing a new episode every 7 years until last year, when he was SEVENTY EIGHT years old. Another "temporally ambitious" series was George Lucas' Star Wars films, which used the real-life ageing of the actors to tell a multi-generational story that (whether you think it's highbrow or lowbrow) has massively influenced multiple generations. I wish more visionary film makers produce such "temporally ambitious" works. Even something as "simple" as taking a photo of yourself everyday for 60+ years and make a 60 second timelapse video yields impressive results. Most people are understandably focused on the present and near-future, but there are some visionary artists who build really cool things over a much longer timescales.

jamesrcole 6y ago
There’s the Before film trilogy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Before_trilogy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Before_trilogy Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013)
- FemmeAndroid 6y ago
  And Boyhood (2014) by the same director.
- gmanis 6y ago
  That is a beautiful set of movies. Highly recommended.
RcouF1uZ4gsC 6y ago
> Another "temporally ambitious" series was George Lucas' Star Wars films “temporally ambitious” implies some sort of forethought. With Star Wars it was just a series of profit maximizing attempts. George Lucas released Episode IV. Then he saw a bunch of demand and made V and VI. Then later made I-III since there was more money to be made. Disney bought the franchise and decided there was still more money and nostalgia is a powerful factor and made VII - IX using a lot of the same actors. In the same vein, I guess Indiana Jones is temporally ambitious as it shows an aging Harrison Ford. But unlike the other examples, I there really wasn’t an artistic vision. It was more financially ambitious which accidentally ended up looking like temporally ambitious.

someperson 6y ago

For those who are unfamiliar, here's the Wikipedia link to the Up series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_(film_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_(film_series)

vr46 6y ago

The Up Series is the most wonderful piece of work. Maybe I’m predisposed, but I watched Boyhood some years ago in the cinema and being able to see life happen is incredible. Apted didn’t start the series, he was a sideman on the first, 7 Up, and possibly 7+7, but it is very much his body of work. I wish he had been able to retain more of the people and also, as he said, had more women, but it stands alone atop the visual and motion picture database in my head. Unassailable.

TheOtherHobbes 6y ago
Possibly the best TV production of the 20th century. I wouldn't be surprised if it's still being discussed by historians centuries from now.
JKCalhoun 6y ago
Agree. There is a sublime melancholy to be had watching actual people's lives. The temporal nature of the series (as pointed out in these comments) inevitably leads to contemplating one's own mortality (to put a fine point on it). The "Up" particant's ambitious and youthful energy in some cases turns to cynicism and it hurts to recognize these things in yourself. Most eventually pair off and it is on to what is usually the next stage of life — parenthood. And some of the lost energy returns in the rearing of their children — balancing it with their relationship with their partner, their careers. Being just a decade or so behind these people gives me a sometimes sober preview of life to come, sometimes hopeful. Always though their "common" lives slowly reveal the plain beauty of a simple life lived honestly. For people new to the series, jump into the middle. The first of the series are more clinical — intended to explore classism in the U.K. But as the series goes on, the class-angle falls away and, as I say, the beauty of watching people go through what we all must go through becomes the more pointed aspect of the experiment.

orzig 6y ago

I’ve heard another similar documentary is “Fourteen's Good, Eighteen's Better”. It’s well known that events get coverage almost inversely proportional to how frequently they occur. But the day to day stories in these films tell us so much more about our culture than e.g. Tiger King. And in 28 years our children will find them just as exotic.

agumonkey 6y ago

Also directed 'Bring on the night' documentary when Sting started his solo career

FiddlerClamp 6y ago

Michael Apted directed two episodes of my favorite TV show, the wonderful sci-fi drama "My Life and Times." As someone else used the term, it was also 'temporally ambitious,' and I'm not surprised Apted was drawn to it, since it dealt with the same person in multiple time periods. In the show, which only ran for 6 episodes in 1991 before getting cancelled, an old man in 2036 reflected on various events in his life (we saw events from the 1970s to the then-future turn of the millennium). Apted directed the episode "Jessie," which I consider one of the finest half-hours of drama ever on television. You can see it on YouTube at: Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN4oe_JH4rw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN4oe_JH4rw Part 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eFczFwWAFE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eFczFwWAFE The other episodes are worth a look, too.