| | | All You Need is Love.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.40:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), English, French, Subtitled, Spanish
The enduring songs of The Beatles, set the tone for Across the Universe, a love story about a British boy and an American girl set against the backdrop of the social upheaval of the 1960s. The stirring music of the Fab Four will drive the narrative, with the actors singing and dancing to the classic tunes. The film is directed by acclaimed filmaker Julie Taymor (Frida, Titus) and is a feast for the eyes with it's stunning color and cutting edge visual style. Evan Rachel Wood (Thirteen) and Jim Sturgess play the young couple in love with supporting roles from Salma Hayek and Bono.
"...sweeps you up on a wave of terrific Beatles songs." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"...a singular kind of magic you've never experienced before." Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
"...a strange, nostalgic, suitably outrageous ode to a very real revolution in consciousness." William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Editor's Note
The Beatles' songs may have provided the soundtrack for the lives of those coming of age in the 1960s, but their extensive catalogue acts as the literal soundtrack in this romantic musical from visionary director Julie Taymor. Newcomer Jim Sturgess stars as Jude, a young man working on the docks in Liverpool. Eager to escape, he travels to Princeton where he meets Max (Joe Anderson). But it's his meeting with Max's younger sister Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) that changes him. They quickly fall in love, but their relationship is tested by the chaos of the late 1960s and Max's unwilling tour in Vietnam. Throughout the film, characters burst into classics from the Beatles: frat boys sing "With a Little Help from My Friends," while Uncle Sam bursts from a recruitment poster with strains of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)." U2's Bono makes a cameo as a counterculture leader and croons "I Am the Walrus," and actor-comedian Eddie Izzard provides a trippy rendition of "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite."Sturgess has the voice, charm, and good looks to fill Shea Stadium with hordes of screaming young women. As Jude, he's earnest and certainly capable of carrying the film. Wood capably balances Lucy's naiveté and knowledge, easily moving between her love for Jude and her passion for her cause. Though the performances are strong, it's Taymor's gifted direction that makes ACROSS THE UNIVERSE so fascinating to watch. As in FRIDA and Broadway's THE LION KING, she proves herself an artist with creativity few can match. Director of photography Bruno Delbonnel also deserves praise for his contribution to the striking visuals. He has worked with Jean-Pierre Jeunet on AMELIE and A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT, and he brings the same sense of romance and whimsy to this unique musical.
| Features | Audio: English, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Dubbed: Spanish | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Thai |
| Entertainment Reviews
 | Across the Universe - DVD Review By: Jesse Hassenger - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 1/25/2008 8:25 PM | |
Julie Taymor's Across the Universe is a musical that tells its story through a couple dozen Beatles songs and in service of this ambition, it is necessary to forgive a certain degree of yearning nostalgia. The wealth of references and in-jokes -- spare lyrics turning up in dialogue, a rooftop concert, unexpected appearances of Joe Cocker -- may seem cornball or literal, and they sometimes are, but the movie's brand of Beatlemania is unabashedly fannish, too, and understandable in its way. There are plenty of musical acts whose music and lyrics brought to life would not enchant me; don't wake me for the inevitable Light My Fire or Brass in Pocket....read the full review |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Sony Pictures |
| Release Date: 11/16/2007 |
| Running Time: 133 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2007 | | Catalog ID: 19462 | | UPC: 00043396194625 | | Number of Discs: 2 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Mandarin | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Nominee (2008) | | | Golden Globe, Across the Universe, Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy | | | Grammy, Across the Universe, Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media |
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"ACROSS THE UNIVERSE feels emotionally true both to the Beatles...and to the decade it remembers..." 09/14/2007 p.E12Empire
4 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's wonderful. A testament to both the enduring emotional power of the Fab Four's music...and Taymor's unbridled artistic brio..." 10/01/2007 p.56 Sight and Sound
"There are some neat hallucinogenic effects here....The infectious energy of the music lends the film a gleeful dynamism..." 11/01/2007 p.48 Los Angeles Times
"[A] vivid, vivacious film....Music -- the Beatles' music -- lies at the heart of this film; the iconic songs, sung by the film's energetic, talented cast, propel the characters through the upheavals of the U.S. in the late 1960s." 09/14/2007 Film Comment
"The starry-eyed youths that inhabit her film -- and boldly offer fresh interpretations of songs that remain sacred to millions -- carry just the right balance of whimsy and respect..." 01/01/2008 p.76 Entertainment Weekly
"As a delivery system for injecting a new generation with Beatles music, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is efficient as well as playful and ferocious." -- Grade: B 02/01/2008 p.59 Mojo
"[W]hat unfolds as the movie blossoms, then darkens and finally finds peace and love, is a stylised musical drama set in and about a conflated American High '60s..." 04/01/2008 131 Ultimate DVD
3 stars out of 5 -- "Sturgess is an impressive new talent, and his raw vocals resemble a young John Lennon....This is an interesting visual and aural experience..." 05/01/2008 p.80 ReelViews 6 of 10
One could never argue that Across the Universe isn't ambitious. However, like many ambitious movies, this one fails spectacularly. Glenn Kenny of Premiere magazine called it "the perfect disaster" and, while I think that's a little harsh, I understand where he's coming from. Elements of Across the Universe are shockingly awful and the film lasts at least 30 minutes past the bearable stage. But if you like the Beatles and the idea of hearing about 20 covers of their work fills you with a perverse joy, this may be the movie for you...I have heard Across the Universe being referred to as this generation's Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and I can't refute the argument. There are also times when the film evokes memories of Xanadu. Neither of those stinkers is the kind of company any self-respecting musical wants to keep. It's hard to argue that the idea behind Across the Universe is a bad one - after all, Baz Luhrmann did something similar with Moulin Rouge and the Beatles music is incredibly versatile. The problem, therefore, must be in the execution, and it's a big problem. With a shorter running length, it might have been possible to appreciate Across the Universe as an entertaining failed spectacle. But, at 2:15, the word "entertaining" no longer applies in any context. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
Here is a bold, beautiful, visually enchanting musical where we walk into the theater humming the songs. Julie Taymor's "Across the Universe" is an audacious marriage of cutting-edge visual techniques, heart-warming performances, 1960s history and the Beatles songbook. Sounds like a concept that might be behind its time, but I believe in yesterday...This isn't one of those druggy 1960s movies, although it has what the MPAA shyly calls "some" drug content. It's not grungy, although it has Joe Cocker in it. It's not political, which means it's political to its core. Most miraculous of all, it's not dated; the stories could be happening now, and in fact, they are...For a film that is almost wall to wall with music, it has a full-bodied plot. The characters, mostly named after Beatles songs, include Lucy (the angelic Evan Rachel Wood), who moves from middle America to New York; Jude (Jim Sturgess), a Liverpool ship welder who works his way to New York on a ship, and Lucy's brother, Max (Joe Anderson), a college student who has dropped out (I guess). They now all share a pad in Greenwich Village with their musician friends, the Hendrixian Jo-Jo (Martin Luther McCoy), the Joplinesque Sadie (Dana Fuchs) and the lovelorn Prudence (T.V. Carpio), who loves women but doesn't feel free to express her true feelings. - Roger Ebert
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