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Life Starts at 49

49 Up (First Run Features, $29.95)

The comforting conclusion to be drawn from the British documentary 49 Up is that people do eventually find their place in the world, regardless of the trials they face. Director Michael Apted's Up series has been documenting the same diverse group of Brits every seven years, starting when they were age seven in 1964. The group runs from working-class Londoners, like cab-driver Tony (who now travels with his family to their vacation home on the coast of Spain) to the privileged barrister John (who vacations where he pleases and is active in a Bulgarian charity he started). At 49, members of the group are almost unanimously ambivalent about appearing in the Up series. But the ones still taking part seem to have found some kind of peace in their lives.

Extras: Minimal. Bonus material consists primarily of film critic Roger Ebert's ponderous 30-minute interview of director Michael Apted. Also: a text (!) biography documenting Apted's prolific film career and a photo gallery of 49 Up's subjects.

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