Across The Universe (Blu-ray) (2007)

"...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.

	Bono
	Dana Fuchs
	Eddie Izzard
	Evan Rachel Wood
	Jim Sturgess
	Joe Anderson
	Joe Cocker
	Salma Hayek
	Ben Haber - Producer
	Bruno Delbonnel - Cinematographer
	Charles Newirth - Executive Producer
	Dick Clement - Screenplay
	Elliot Goldenthal - Original Music By
	Francoise Bonnot - Editor
	Ian La Frenais - Screenplay
	Julie Taymor - Director
	Julie Taymor, et. al. - Based On Story By
	Mark Friedberg - Production Designer
	Peter Rogness - Art Director

New York Times
"ACROSS THE UNIVERSE feels emotionally true both to the Beatles...and to the decade it remembers..." 09/14/2007 p.E12

Empire
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