Michael Apted Filmography

Amazing Grace

Crew: Director

Actors: Ioan Gruffudd, Romola Garai, Benedict Cumberbatch, Albert Finney, Michael Gambon

Synopsis: One man's role in the long battle to outlaw slavery in the United Kingdom sets the stage for this historical drama from director Michael Apted. In 1784, 21-year-old William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) was elected to the British House of Commons, and soon established himself as a politician with a Read More

The Power of the Game

Crew: Director

Actors: Landon Donovan, Danny Jordaan, Bruce Arena, Mahin Gorji, Fabian Ferraro

Synopsis: Acclaimed director Michael Apted (Nell and The World Is Not Enough) explores the social impact and transformative power of soccer by juxtaposing footage from the 2006 World Cup matches with deeply personal stories of how a simple sport helped six people to meet and overcome some of life's greatest Read More

Married in America 2

Crew: Director

Synopsis: Michael Apted's documentary Married in America 2 follows up on the nine soon-to-be-wedded couples he interviewed five years previously for the first film in this ongoing series. He revisits each of the couples, quizzing them about how married life satisfies, surprises, and challenges them. ~ Perry Read More

49 Up

Crew: Director, Producer

Synopsis: Filmmaker Michael Apted returns to the director's chair to catch up with the subjects he has been following since the 1963 telefilm 7 Up with this sequel to 1999's 42 Up. In the seventh installment of the long-running documentary series, Apted continues to follow the lives of everyone from Read More

21 Up America

Crew: Executive Producer

Rome: The Stolen Eagle

Crew: Director

Actors: Karl Johnson, David Bamber, Lee Boardman, Anna Patrick, Roberto Purvis

Synopsis: As HBO's Rome opens, Gaius Julius Caesar (Ciarán Hinds) is reaching the end of his war against Gaul, and his popularity in the republic has reached a new high, arousing the concern of Pompey Magnus (Kenneth Cranham) and others in the senate that he will attempt to seize power. During the ultimate Read More

Rome: How Titus Pullo Brought Down the Republic

Crew: Director

Synopsis: Caesar (Ciarán Hinds) sends the gruff Mark Antony (James Purefoy), back to Rome to serve as People's Tribune. Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Pullo (Ray Stevenson) accompany him, and are charged with returning Octavian (Max Pirkis) to his mother, Atia (Polly Walker). Invited to dine at Atia's home Read More

Rome: An Owl in a Thornbush

Crew: Director

Synopsis: Caesar (Ciarán Hinds) crosses the Rubicon into Italy with a single legion, which the overconfident Pompey (Kenneth Cranham) sees as a suicidal act. Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Pullo (Ray Stevenson) are sent ahead to Rome, to post Caesar's proclamation on the Senate door, but are told to return if Read More

Enough

Crew: Director

Actors: Jennifer Lopez, Bill Campbell, Juliette Lewis, Dan Futterman, Fred Ward, Tessa Allen, Noah Wyle

Synopsis: A Cinderella story turns into a nightmare when a former waitress' perfect marriage gives way to adultery and physical abuse in this combination of domestic drama and revenge thriller. Motherless young woman Slim (Jennifer Lopez) works in a San Francisco diner with her best friend, Ginny (Juliette Lewis Read More

Enigma

Crew: Director

Actors: Matthew MacFadyen, Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet, Saffron Burrows, Jeremy Northam, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Synopsis: The true story of a major breakthrough in intelligence technology created during World War II provides the backdrop for this blend of mystery, romance, and espionage, based on the novel by Robert Harris. Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott) is a gifted mathematician who is working with the British Read More

Married in America

Crew: Director

Me & Isaac Newton

Crew: Director

Synopsis: Director Michael Apted's Inspirations (1997), which explored the nature of creative talent, laid the groundwork for this film in which he investigates scientific brilliance. Apted interviews seven noted figures from divergent fields, including elderly pharmaceutical chemist Gertrude Elion Read More

The World Is Not Enough

Crew: Director

Actors: Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards, Robbie Coltrane, Judi Dench

Synopsis: James Bond, the world's greatest secret agent, is sent once more into the breach in the name of Queen, Country, and a dry martini. In the 19th Bond adventure, 007 (Pierce Brosnan) must resolve a potentially deadly power struggle between two unstable nations, with control of the world's oil supply Read More

42 Up

Crew: Director, Producer

Synopsis: In 1964, England's Granada Television produced a documentary called 7 Up, in which 14 seven-year-old British children from a wide variety of social and economic backgrounds were interviewed about their ideas and opinions on the adult world. In 1971, director Michael Apted tracked down the same Read More

Always Outnumbered

Crew: Director

Actors: Laurence Fishburne, Bill Cobbs, Natalie Cole, Bill Duke, Laurie Metcalf

Synopsis: Michael Apted (Gorillas in the Mist) directed this Walter Mosley script adaptation of Mosley's short story collection, Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned. Ex-con Socrates Fortlow (Laurence Fishburne) returns to L.A., looks for work, becomes friends with Right Burke (Bill Cobbs), is told he's too Read More

Inspirations

Crew: Director

Actors: Tadao Ando, David Bowie, Dale Chihuly, Roy Lichtenstein, Louise Lecavalier

Synopsis: British filmmaker Michael Apted explores the creative process in this 100-minute documentary examining seven very different talents in action: David Bowie recording with his band; pop artist Roy Lichtenstein (1923-97) painting in his studio; Montreal choreographer Edouard Lock discussing modern Read More

Short 1: Invention

Synopsis: The first installment of this magazine on DVD compiles a variety of short subjects. Highlights include Some Folks Call It A Sling Blade, directed by George Hickenlooper; an interview with filmmaker Michael Apted; Goreville by Seth Henrikson and Dave Sarno; and Henry Rollins: Easter Sunday in NYC Read More

Boris Grebenshikov: The Long Way Home

Crew: Director

Actors: Boris Grebenshchikov

Synopsis: Boris Grebenshikov, popular folk singer, spoke for his generation in the same way as did his American counterpart, Bob Dylan, to whom the Russian musician has been likened. This documentary tells the story of his life and music, which was banned in his native land. An interview with the singer Read More

Extreme Measures

Crew: Director

Actors: Hugh Grant, Gene Hackman, Sarah Jessica Parker, David Morse, Bill Nunn

Synopsis: Comic leading man Hugh Grant gets serious in this drama about a physician who uncovers a truly disturbing secret. Guy Luthan (Hugh Grant), a British doctor serving a residence in a hospital in New York City, is very puzzled by a patient brought to the emergency room one night. Naked, disoriented Read More

Typically British

Synopsis: This documentary from British director Stephen Frears represents England's entry in the British Film Institute commissioned series, "Century of Cinema," designed to be a collection of the personal opinions of renowned international filmmakers concerning the cinema of their native countries. Frears Read More

Blink

Crew: Director

Actors: Madeleine Stowe, Aidan Quinn, Laurie Metcalf, James Remar, Peter Friedman

Synopsis: In Blink, a woman regaining her eyesight after a double cornea transplant operation glimpses the killer of her upstairs neighbor and then must fight for her life as the killer stalks her. Emma Brody (Madeline Stowe), a musician in an Irish folk-rock band was blinded as a result of childhood abuse Read More

Moving the Mountain

Crew: Director

Actors: Li Lu

Synopsis: This British documentary explores the indomitable Chinese democracy movement that despite an almost paralyzing loss in the 1989 massacre in Tiananmen Square, continues to grow. The film accomplishes its exploration through a detailed profile of former student Li Lu, formerly among the top twenty Read More

Nell

Crew: Director

Actors: Jodie Foster, Liam Neeson, Natasha Richardson, Richard Libertini, Nick Searcy

Synopsis: A woman is brought to civilization after spending her life in the wilds in this drama. Dr. Jerome Lovell (Liam Neeson) happens upon a shack deep in the woods, where he discovers a strange woman who appears to be about 30, speaking an incomprehensible language. The woman, named Nell (Jodie Foster) Read More

Strapped

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Michael Biehn, Kia Joy Goodwin, Bokeem Woodbine

Synopsis: An impoverished African American teen, raised in a grim and desperate Brooklyn project finds himself forced to set aside his dreams in order to face the realities of daily survival. This well-wrought and disturbing portrait of a young man's life was penned by New York Times reporter Dena Kleiman. Read More

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant, Sadie Frost

Synopsis: Based on Bram Stoker's classic 1897 novel, this film from Francis Ford Coppola and screenwriter James Victor Hart offers a full-blooded portrait of the immortal Transylvanian vampire. The major departure from Stoker is one of motivation as Count Dracula (Gary Oldman) is motivated more by romance Read More

Incident at Oglala: The Leonard Peltier Story

Crew: Director

Actors: Robert Redford

Synopsis: Produced and narrated by Robert Redford, the documentary Incident at Oglala is an examination of the murder case involving Leonard Peltier. Produced and narrated by Robert Redford, the documentary takes place in the Indian reservations of South Dakota near Wounded Knee, where U.S. soldiers Read More

Thunderheart

Crew: Director

Actors: Val Kilmer, Graham Greene, Sam Shepard, Sheila Tousey, Fred Ward, John Trudell, Chief Ted Thin Elk, Fred Dalton Thompson

Synopsis: Actor Robert De Niro started a production company to make films just like this one: stories which were unpopular with the establishment and which are unlikely to make a big splash at the box-office. Even so, this is a first-class production, and the filmmakers were the first to receive permission Read More

35 Up

Crew: Director, Producer, Screenwriter

Synopsis: In 1963, director Michael Apted and then-partner Paul Almond chronicled the lives of 14 seven-year-olds for British television; they returned to the same group at intervals of seven years for updates, of which this is the fifth. It's possible to watch this film without having seen the other Read More

Intruders

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Richard Crenna, Mare Winningham, Daphne Ashbrook, Susan Blakely, Ben Vereen

Synopsis: Hypnotic regression prompts a pair of sisters to recognize that they've been abducted by aliens. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide Read More

Class Action

Crew: Director

Actors: Gene Hackman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Colin Friels, Joanna Merlin, Laurence Fishburne

Synopsis: A pair of lawyers must balance their professional principles (such as they are) against family loyalties in this courtroom drama. Jedediah Ward (Gene Hackman) is a leftist lawyer who has based his career on helping people avoid being taken for a ride by the rich and powerful; he's pursued Read More

The Long Way Home

Crew: Director

Synopsis: Eurythmics and the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde join Boris Grebenshikov as he attempts to bridge the gap between Soviet rock and American popularity. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

Gorillas in the Mist

Crew: Director

Actors: Sigourney Weaver, Bryan Brown, Julie Harris, John Omirah Miluwi, Iain Cuthbertson

Synopsis: Gorillas in the Mist is based on the autobiographical 1983 book by naturalist Dian Fossey. Before the book could be brought before the cameras, Fossey had been mysteriously killed; her death provides a logical, if somewhat ghoulish climax to the film. A Kentucky girl, Fossey (Sigourney Weaver) is Read More

Critical Condition

Crew: Director

Actors: Richard Pryor, Rachel Ticotin, Rubén Blades, Joe Mantegna, Bob Dishy

Synopsis: When a small-time businessman (Richard Pryor) needs a loan, he goes to a loan shark and ends up in jail on false pretenses. After feigning madness to get out, he is tossed into the mental ward of a hospital. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide Read More

Sting: Bring on the Night

Crew: Director

Actors: Sting, Omar Hakim, Darryl Jones, Kenny Kirkland, Branford Marsalis

Synopsis: This is an enjoyable and often humorous documentary on the formation of Sting's new band and their first live performance in 1985. Filmed over a nine-day period, the musicians in the band are shown bantering in their usual repartee and quick come-backs as they rehearse for the big opening night. Read More

Spies Like Us

Actors: Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Forrest, Donna Dixon, Bruce Davison

Synopsis: Director John Landis helmed this Cold War farce starring Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase as Austin Millbarge and Emmett Fitz-Hume -- two loser misfits who dwell in the lower ranks of the Central Intelligence Agency. Convinced despite much evidence to the contrary that they're prime secret agent Read More

28 Up

Crew: Director, Producer

Synopsis: While working on the BBC television documentary series The World in Action in 1963, director Michael Apted, in collaboration with Paul Almond, produced a feature-length study of 14 seven-year-old Britons. Titled 7 Up, the film drew its on-camera personnel from every part of the social strata. Apted Read More

Firstborn

Crew: Director

Actors: Teri Garr, Peter Weller, Christopher Collet, Corey Haim, Sarah Jessica Parker

Synopsis: A teenager and his kid brother spar with their mother's shady new boyfriend in this dramatic thriller from veteran British director Michael Apted. When her ex-husband remarries, Wendy (Teri Garr) feels despondent -- until she starts dating handsome, unctuous Sam (Peter Weller), an underemployed Read More

The River Rat

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Tommy Lee Jones, Martha Plimpton, Brian Dennehy, Shawn Smith, Nancy Lea Owen

Synopsis: Tommy Lee Jones plays the title character in The River Rat. Released from prison after 13 years, Jones heads south to meet his hoydenish daughter Martha Plimpton for the first time. The father-daughter relationship flounders until Jones takes the girl on a long, bonding raft trip on the river. Read More

Gorky Park

Crew: Director

Actors: William Hurt, Lee Marvin, Brian Dennehy, Ian Bannen, Joanna Pacula

Synopsis: In the dead of a Moscow winter, three bodies are found in Gorky Park. Police Inspector Renko (William Hurt) is unable to identify the corpses, since even their fingerprints have removed. For reasons unknown to him, Renko's investigation is somehow being stymied by his higher-ups. Ferreting out Read More

Kipperbang

Crew: Director

Actors: John Albasiny, Alison Steadman, Garry Cooper, Abigail Crittenden, Maurice Dee

Synopsis: The romantic hurdles experienced by the teen set at a British school are juxtaposed with the same type of difficulties experienced by their elders in this pat, adolescent view of life and love by director Michael Apted for a British TV series called First Love. The English teacher (Alison Read More

Continental Divide

Crew: Director

Actors: John Belushi, Blair Brown, Allen Garfield, Carlin Glynn, Tony Ganios

Synopsis: Michael Apted directed and Lawrence Kasdan wrote the screenplay for this diverting romantic comedy -- a film that attempts to recapture the spirit of an old Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn vehicle. A very subdued John Belushi plays a star columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times named Ernie Souchak Read More

Stronger Than the Sun

Crew: Director

Actors: Francesca Annis, Tom Bell

Synopsis: In this provocative British drama, a young Yorkshire woman discovers a radioactive leak at the nuclear power plant where she works. At first, her lover encourages her make public her find, but when the resulting pressure gets too strong, he leaves her to fight alone. Despite her pleas and Read More

Coal Miner's Daughter

Crew: Director

Actors: Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, Beverly D'Angelo, Levon Helm, Phyllis Boyens

Synopsis: Loretta Lynn was one of the first female superstars in country music and remains a defining presence within the genre; with her strong, clear, hard-country voice and tough, no-nonsense songs about husbands who cheat and wives who weren't about to be pushed around, Lynn introduced a feminist Read More

Agatha

Crew: Director

Actors: Dustin Hoffman, Vanessa Redgrave, Timothy Dalton, Helen Morse, Celia Gregory

Synopsis: What happened when best-selling mystery novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days back in 1926? The British Agatha "answers" that question. Vanessa Redgrave is cast as Ms. Christie, who vanished from her home not long after her husband (Timothy Dalton) informed her that he was leaving her. Read More

The Squeeze

Crew: Director

Actors: Stacy Keach, Freddie Starr, Edward Fox, Stephen Boyd, David Hemmings

Synopsis: This Michael Apted-directed crime melodrama features Stacy Keach as Jim Naboth, a Scotland Yard cop on the skids, suffering from depression and alcoholism. He is summoned by Foreman (Edward Fox), a British security expert whose wife Jill (Carol White) and daughter are being held hostages by Read More

21 Up

Crew: Director

The Collection

Crew: Director

Synopsis: Listed variously as a 1975 and 1978 release (it was actually produced in 1976), The Collection is a videotaped staging of the play by Harold Pinter. Described by one observer as the theatrical equivalent to a musical chamber work, this production stars Alan Bates, Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren Read More

Poor Girl, a Ghost Story

Crew: Director

Synopsis: Originally made for Canadian television, this romantic and supernatural tale chronicles the adventures of a comely young woman who becomes the governess at a proper English estate and finds herself avoiding the romantic advances of her employer and his son. Things become very complex when she is Read More

Stardust

Crew: Director

Actors: Rose Marie Klespitz, Rick Lee Parmentier, David Essex, Adam Faith, Larry Hagman, Rosalind Ayres

Synopsis: Stardust was the sequel to That'll be the Day, a 1973 film à clef about the rise of a Beatles-like rock group. Real-life rock star David Essex plays singer Jim Maclaine (read: John Lennon), whose sudden rise to fame has enriched him beyond his wildest dreams. His perspective and sense of values Read More

The Triple Echo

Crew: Director

Actors: Glenda Jackson, Oliver Reed, Brian Deacon, Anthony May, Gavin Richards

Synopsis: Set in England during WWII, this drama, also known as Soldiers in Skirts, stars Glenda Jackson as Alice, a bitter woman whose husband is captured and held as a Japanese prisoner of war. When a wandering soldier, Barton (Brian Deacon), comes by her farm, she invites him in for tea. They fall in Read More

Seven Plus Seven

Crew: Director

Synopsis: Produced for British television in 1970, Seven Plus Seven was the first of several follow-ups to the highly acclaimed 1963 TV documentary Seven Up. Director Michael Apted, who had been a production assistant and researcher on the 1963 film, took it upon himself to "update" the lives of the 14 Read More

Seven Up

Crew: Production Assistant

Synopsis: The British documentary Seven Up originated in 1963 as a 31-minute episode of the highly acclaimed Granada Television series World in Action. Acting upon the venerable Jesuit edict "Give me a child until he is seven, and I will give you the man," director Paul Almond and his young team of Read More