All Michael Apted Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

Michael Apted was best known for directing the Up series, documentary films that tracked the personal lives of 14 British people across six decades, from childhood into retirement age. Apted took over directorial duties after the first installment, 1964’s 7 Up, and released a new installment every seven years without fail, up to 2019’s 63 Up. Roger Ebert called the project “an inspired, even noble, use of the film medium.”

Beyond the social intimacy of his documentaries, Apted navigated the studio corridors respectably, specializing in dramas and thrillers. Coal Miner’s Daughter, Gorillas in the Mist, Enigma, and Amazing Grace represent some of the best of this work, and Apted even entered blockbuster territory with the James Bond entry The World is Not Enough and took a crack at Narnia with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

And now we look Michael Apted’s movies ranked by Tomatometer.

#24

Incident at Oglala (1992)
100%

#24

Adjusted Score: 100.819%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Michael Apted's documentary examines the 1975 slaying of two FBI agents in Oglala, SD, which resulted in the arrest and... [More]

Starring: Robert Redford, Leonard Peltier, John Trudell, Arthur Chobanian

Directed By: Michael Apted

#23

28 Up (1985)
100%

#23

Adjusted Score: 100.136%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: While working on the BBC television documentary series The World in Action in 1963, director Michael Apted, in collaboration with... [More]

Starring: Bruce Balden, Jacqueline Bassett, Symon Basterfield, Andrew Brackfield

Directed By: Michael Apted

#22

56 Up (2013)
99%

#22

Adjusted Score: 100.978%

Critics Consensus: Director Michael Apted continues to utilize cinema as a window into the lives of everyday people, and in the reflection of this documentary we can glimpse our own aging humanity.

Synopsis: "Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man." Starting in 1964 with Seven... [More]

Starring:

Directed By: Michael Apted, Paul Almond

#21

63 Up (2019)
98%

#21

Adjusted Score: 99.596%

Critics Consensus: 63 Up continues a groundbreaking documentary series with another gently eye-opening look at the human experience.

Synopsis: The latest instalment of the groundbreaking, award-winning documentary series from director Michael Apted (Gorky Park, Gorillas in the Mist) returns... [More]

Starring: Bruce Balden, Jacqueline Bassett, Symon Basterfield, Andrew Brackfield

Directed By: Michael Apted

#20

49 Up (2006)
97%

#20

Adjusted Score: 98.54%

Critics Consensus: The latest installment in this remarkable series, 49 Up is a satisfying continuation of Michael Apted's singular sociological and cinematic experiment.

Synopsis: "49 Up" is the seventh film in a series of landmark documentaries that began 42 years ago when UK-based Granada's... [More]

Starring: Bruce Balden, Jacqueline Bassett, Symon Basterfield, Andrew Brackfield

Directed By: Michael Apted

#19

35 Up (1991)
94%

#19

Adjusted Score: 94.484%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: In 1963, director Michael Apted and then-partner Paul Almond chronicled the lives of 14 seven-year-olds for British television; they returned... [More]

Starring: Andrew, Jacqueline Bassett, Bruce Balden, Tony

Directed By: Michael Apted

#18

Me & Isaac Newton (2000)
90%

#18

Adjusted Score: 37.49%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Director Michael Apted's Inspirations (1997), which explored the nature of creative talent, laid the groundwork for this film in which... [More]

Starring: Gertrude Elion, Ashok Gadgil, Michio Kaku, Maja Mataric

Directed By: Michael Apted

#17

42 Up (1999)
89%

#17

Adjusted Score: 89.79%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Michael Apted's renowned series tests the maxim by returning every seven years to 14 British children originally profiled in 7... [More]

Starring: Jacqueline Bassett, Symon Basterfield, Bruce Balden

Directed By: Michael Apted

#16

Thunderheart (1992)
89%

#16

Adjusted Score: 89.646%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Actor Robert De Niro started a production company to make films just like this one: stories which were unpopular with... [More]

Starring: Val Kilmer, Sam Shepard, Graham Greene (II), Fred Ward

Directed By: Michael Apted

#15

Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
86%

#15

Adjusted Score: 87.295%

Critics Consensus: Like a classic traditional country song, Coal Miner's Daughter draws on time-tested formula -- and undeniable talent -- to tell a solidly affecting story.

Synopsis: Loretta Lynn was one of the first female superstars in country music and remains a defining presence within the genre;... [More]

Starring: Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, Beverly D'Angelo, Levon Helm

Directed By: Michael Apted

#14

Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey (1988)
83%

#14

Adjusted Score: 83.575%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Gorillas in the Mist is based on the autobiographical 1983 book by naturalist Dian Fossey. Before the book could be... [More]

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Bryan Brown, Julie Harris, John Omirah Miluwi

Directed By: Michael Apted

#13

Class Action (1991)
76%

#13

Adjusted Score: 77.183%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A veteran attorney and his ambitious young daughter, also an attorney, find themselves facing off in court in this melodrama.... [More]

Starring: Gene Hackman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Colin Friels, Joanna Merlin

Directed By: Michael Apted

#12

Gorky Park (1983)
77%

#12

Adjusted Score: 78.681%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: In the dead of a Moscow winter, three bodies are found in Gorky Park. Police Inspector Renko (William Hurt) is... [More]

Starring: William Hurt, Lee Marvin, Brian Dennehy, Joanna Pacula

Directed By: Michael Apted

#11

Continental Divide (1981)
73%

#11

Adjusted Score: 73.024%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Michael Apted directed and Lawrence Kasdan wrote the screenplay for this diverting romantic comedy -- a film that attempts to... [More]

Starring: John Belushi, Allen Garfield, Blair Brown, Carlin Glynn

Directed By: Michael Apted

#10

Enigma (2002)
72%

#10

Adjusted Score: 74.54%

Critics Consensus: The well-crafted, twist-filled Enigma is a thinking person's spy thriller.

Synopsis: An old-fashioned spy thriller in the vein of 1940s espionage movies and based on an international best-selling novel, Enigma stars... [More]

Starring: Kate Winslet, Dougray Scott, Jeremy Northam, Saffron Burrows

Directed By: Michael Apted

#9

Agatha (1979)
71%

#9

Adjusted Score: 71.423%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: What happened when best-selling mystery novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days back in 1926? The British Agatha "answers" that... [More]

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Vanessa Redgrave, Timothy Dalton, Helen Morse

Directed By: Michael Apted

#8

Amazing Grace (2007)
67%

#8

Adjusted Score: 70.825%

Critics Consensus: Amazing Grace is your quintessential historical biopic: stately, noble, and with plenty of electrifying performances.

Synopsis: One man's role in the long battle to outlaw slavery in the United Kingdom sets the stage for this historical... [More]

Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Romola Garai, Michael Gambon, Benedict Cumberbatch

Directed By: Michael Apted

#7

Extreme Measures (1996)
56%

#7

Adjusted Score: 57.291%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: When a homeless drug user suddenly dies for no apparent reason in a New York ER, physician Guy Luthan decides... [More]

Starring: Hugh Grant, Gene Hackman, Sarah Jessica Parker, David Morse

Directed By: Michael Apted

#6

Nell (1994)
55%

#6

Adjusted Score: 56.516%

Critics Consensus: Despite a committed performance by Jodie Foster, Nell opts for ponderous melodrama instead of engaging with the ethical dilemmas of socializing its titular wild child.

Synopsis: The dilemmas involved in socializing a socially isolated individual are explored in this moving drama set in the Smokey mountains.... [More]

Starring: Jodie Foster, Liam Neeson, Natasha Richardson, Richard Libertini

Directed By: Michael Apted

#5

The World Is Not Enough (1999)
52%

#5

Adjusted Score: 58.261%

Critics Consensus: Plagued by mediocre writing, uneven acting, and a fairly by-the-numbers plot, The World Is Not Enough is partially saved by some entertaining and truly Bond-worthy action sequences.

Synopsis: James Bond, the world's greatest secret agent, is sent once more into the breach in the name of Queen, Country,... [More]

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards

Directed By: Michael Apted

#4

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)
50%

#4

Adjusted Score: 54.773%

Critics Consensus: Its leisurely, businesslike pace won't win the franchise many new fans, but Voyage of the Dawn Treader restores some of the Narnia franchise's lost luster with strong performances and impressive special effects.

Synopsis: Upon returning to Narnia to join Prince Caspian for a voyage on the majestic royal vessel known as The Dawn... [More]

Starring: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Liam Neeson

Directed By: Michael Apted

#3

Firstborn (1984)
36%

#3

Adjusted Score: 36.295%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A teenager and his kid brother spar with their mother's shady new boyfriend in this dramatic thriller from veteran British... [More]

Starring: Christopher Collet, Teri Garr, Peter Weller, Corey Haim

Directed By: Michael Apted

#2

Unlocked (2017)
26%

#2

Adjusted Score: 27.605%

Critics Consensus: Unlocked strands an all-star cast in a spy thriller whose embrace of old-school formula might be refreshing if it weren't bogged down in genre clichés and a predictable plot.

Synopsis: After failing to apprehend the terrorist behind a Paris attack that claimed dozens of lives, CIA agent Alice Racine (Noomi... [More]

Starring: Noomi Rapace, Orlando Bloom, Toni Collette, John Malkovich

Directed By: Michael Apted

#1

Enough (2002)
22%

#1

Adjusted Score: 25.175%

Critics Consensus: Enough exploits the serious issue of spousal abuse to make an illogical, unintelligent thriller.

Synopsis: Working class waitress Slim finds her life transformed when she marries wealthy contractor Mitch. She settles into an idyllic suburban... [More]

Starring: Parth Bhalerao, Subodh Bhave, Shubhangi Gokhale, Noah Wyle

Directed By: Tanaji Ghadge, Michael Apted