U
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MPAA Rating is the rating given by the Motion Picture Association of America. Please note this is a voluntary rating, so some films (many times older films or obscure foreign films) are not rated.
G - General Audiences
PG - Parental Guidance Suggested
PG13 - Parental Guidance Suggested for those under 13 years of age
R - Restricted (those under 18 not admitted without parent or guardian)
NC-17 (X) - No one under 18 admitted.
USCCB Rating is the rating given by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Please note that some films are not rated simply because the Bishop’s Conference has not reviewed them.
A-I: General Patronage
A-II: Adults and Adolescents
A-III: Adults
L: Limited Adult Audience, problematic content
O: Morally Offensive
Fr. John’s Ratings
★★★★★ - Masterpiece. This film has to show aspects of cinematic excellence that are above and beyond the ordinary and even beyond the “excellent” classification. Because a true masterpiece can be determined only through its ability to endure through the passage of time, no film is even considered for this rating until at least ten years have passed from the date of its initial release.
★★★★ - Excellent
★★★ - Very Good
★★ - Fair
★ - Poor
“Up” Series, The (1964 - 2019) ★★★★★
Length: about 40 to 150 minutes per film, total of nine films. MPAA Rating: Not rated. USCCB Rating: Not rated. Director: Paul Almond (first film only) and Michael Apted (all other films in the series).
It started simply enough as a documentary profiling several English children from a variety of backgrounds. Since all the children were seven years old, the film, made in 1964, was entitled 7-Up, a cute and “hip” nod to the popular soft drink.
But it didn’t end there. Director Michael Apted caught up with these children seven years later, making a documentary to chart their progress into the teen years. Suddenly, a surreal and wholly unique cinematic journey was born, with Apted making a documentary once every seven years, following these very same individuals (now adults) through the joys and sorrows of life, the title of each documentary following the current age of the participants. The series has currently reached the quite astonishing 63-Up which premiered in 2019. Since then, Apted has died, and it is not known if the series will continue.
The result is a dramatic and mind-bending journey through time, with hairstyles, clothing styles, and even film stock changing through the years. The participants experience first loves, broken dreams, devastating losses, and new hopes for the future. Some participants are eager to talk, while others disappear and refuse to participate. Still others find the once-every-seven-years visit of the cameras to be a burden, but a burden that is increasingly easier to carry as a growing appreciation for the whole venture matures over time. In any event, this is, quite clearly, one of the most bizarre and yet one of the most blazingly unique series of documentaries ever committed to film. Viewing these films means watching human lives (real human lives) develop, unfold, and mature before our very eyes – over a period of a half a century. The end result is a masterpiece – and we are enriched by the mystery of life itself.