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Across the Universe is a 2007 musical film directed by Julie Taymor, produced by Revolution Studios, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was released in the United States on October 12, 2007. The script is based on an original story credited to Taymor, Dick Clement, and Ian La Frenais that incorporates 33 compositions written by members of The Beatles. The film, directed by Taymor, stars Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, and T.V. Carpio, and it introduces Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther McCoy as actors. There are cameo appearances made by Bono, Eddie Izzard, Joe Cocker, Salma Hayek, and others. Opening to mixed reviews, Across the Universe was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. Two members of the supporting cast Carol Woods (singer / actress) and Timothy T. Mitchum performed as part of a special Beatles tribute at the 50th Grammy Awards.
PlotThe film plot relates the interweaving stories of several characters set against the backdrop of the turbulent 1960s. The arc of the storyline spans from the early innocent part of the decade to the politically-charged later years of the decade.[1] The story starts in the mid 1960s with a young shipyard worker in Liverpool named Jude Feeny (Jim Sturgess). Against the wishes of his girlfriend, Molly, he enlists in the merchant navy and travels by ship to the United States, jumping ship in New York in search of his American G.I. father, Wes Huber (Robert Clohessy), whom he has never met and who does not know his son exists. He learns that his father works at Princeton as a janitorial worker, and he befriends a Princeton student, Max (Joe Anderson), a rebellious young man from a privileged background. Max and his friends have all been bought into the school, so they mess around, drink, and do drugs. When Max goes home for Thanksgiving, Jude meets Max's sister Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood). Max drops out of college and moves to New York City, accompanied by Jude. Max works as a taxi driver, while Jude pursues work as a freelance artist. They become roommates in a bohemian enclave where they share an apartment with other people, most notably Sadie (Dana Fuchs), their landlady, who is an aspiring singer and a representation of Janis Joplin. Other residents include Jojo (Martin Luther McCoy), a guitarist representing Jimi Hendrix, who arrives from Detroit after the death of his younger brother during the 12th Street Riot; and Prudence (T.V. Carpio), a young lesbian woman who had hitchhiked to New York City from Dayton, Ohio). After Lucy's boyfriend, Daniel (Spencer Liff), who enlisted in the Army in the opening of the film, is killed in the Vietnam War, she goes to New York to visit Max before she starts college, despite the fact that her parents aren't very pleased with the idea. 
Romantic relationships develop between Lucy and Jude, and between Sadie and Jojo. One night, Prudence (who seemingly holds a crush on Sadie) becomes depressed, and hides in the closet the entire night. Realizing where she is, the rest of the cast coax her out of the closet, showing that they completely accept her sexuality. Prudence mysteriously leaves the group, after wandering off enthralled by unique street performers at a peace rally. Sadie and her band are courted by a prospective manager, who invites them to a book function, where a drug existential guru named Doctor Roberts serves punch which possibly gets everyone high. He lectures that the New Yorkers are two years behind the new agers of California, and urges everyone that "time is not of the essence, we have to transcend fast". While stoned on hallucination, the friends embark on a epic journey on the "Bus" ala Ken Kesey's cross-country bus trip. They wake up not knowing where or how they got there, when they arrive at the spiritual retreat compound of Doctor Geary, fellow psychonaut "Navigator", and leader of a cult called "League of Spiritual Deliverance" , however refuses to see Doctor Roberts, who resigns to this news and retires back to California. The friends however are stranded. At the Cult compound, the friends are reunited with their friend Prudence who now is a performer in the circus of "Mr Kite" a Merry Entertainer, Who wants to challenge the world of show business with his "blue people". When Max is drafted and sent to Vietnam, Lucy becomes involved in an anti-war movement, while Jude remains comparatively apolitical. Jude becomes unhappy with the amount of time she spends with the political group, Students for a Democratic Society, also known as SDS, suspecting that its leader Paco is a lothario. Jude's art and his relationship with Lucy both start to falter. Meanwhile, Sadie has formed a band, Sadie and the Po Boys (reference to a line in Down on the Corner), with Jojo as her lead guitarist. She gains the attention of a manager who signs her to a record label, but wants her to drop her backing band. She agrees, and this leads to a bitter break up between Sadie and Jojo, both musically and romantically. Sadie leaves to go on tour, while Jojo plays guitar in a local bar. Meanwhile, the differences and tensions between Jude and Lucy escalate. One day, Jude storms into the offices of SDS group where Lucy works, and after pointing out the hypocrisy and potential violence that they are heading toward, is kicked out. This leads to an argument between the couple, which results in Lucy leaving Jude. Jude finds her at an anti-war demonstration at Columbia University during which many protesters, including Lucy, are arrested. Pushing through the crowd to help her, Jude is also beaten and arrested. Though Wes convinces the police not to press charges for actions at the protest, he cannot prove that Jude is his son (and thus an American citizen), and Jude is deported back to England. Going back to work at the Liverpool shipyards, Jude encounters his old girlfriend, Molly. She is now pregnant by a former friend and co-worker from the shipyard, Phil Skully, Jude's friend from before he left Liverpool. He smugly kisses Molly on the cheek (which does not upset the apathetic Jude). Max is wounded in Vietnam and is repatriated, emotionally and mentally shattered by his experiences, while Lucy remains involved in her anti-war faction that is becoming more and more violent. She finally leaves the group when she returns to their old headquarters and discovers Paco and some of his followers making bombs. One of their bombs explodes, killing Paco and his confederates and destroying the building, an allusion to the Greenwich Village townhouse explosion that killed three members of the Weather Underground in 1970. Jude reads about the explosion in a Liverpool newspaper and believes that Lucy has also died. However, he subsequently hears from Max that she is alive, and he arranges to legally return to the United States. He meets Max, who drives him to Sadie's music headquarters where a (Beatles-style) rooftop concert is being held by Jojo and Sadie (who have reunited) and their band (which now includes Prudence) singing "Don't Let Me Down". Lucy is supposed to be there, but she arrives late. After seeing Sadie's recording company logo (an abstract strawberry Jude had created), Lucy sadly walks away, overwhelmed with grief. Meanwhile, as the police begin to force the group to leave, Jude manages to stay behind on the roof. Sheepishly, he begins to sing "All You Need Is Love." The rest of the band hears him and comes back on to the roof and they join him with their voices and instruments; down in the street Lucy hears him as well and tries to enter the building but is turned away by the police. Max suddenly looks out across the street as everybody else sings, sees Lucy, and begins to sing "She loves You" as Jude turns to see Lucy, wearing a diamond necklace, standing on an adjacent roof. They smile at one another with tears in their eyes, and the screen fades out to white clouds and blue sky. This also refers to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Use of The Beatles' musicThe film begins with Jude (reference to the song "Hey Jude") singing the beginning verse of "Girl" as he remembers. As the opening credits roll, a female voice and band is heard singing "Helter Skelter". The scene then flips back and forth between Lucy's prom and Jude in a Liverpool club with his girlfriend Molly, with Molly and Lucy (references to the songs "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds") each singing "Hold Me Tight". The shipyard payroll clerk says to Jude that he told himself "When I'm Sixty-Four", he was going to be out of this place, wishing Jude luck on his trip. "All My Loving" is then sung by Jude to Molly prior to departing for America. Prudence (a reference to the song, "Dear Prudence") appears at a football practice session at her school in Dayton, singing "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" as her thoughts about another female cheerleader at her school. When Jude meets Max, (in reference to the song "Maxwell's Silver Hammer,") "With A Little Help from My Friends" is sung around the Princeton campus, the college Max attends. Lucy sings "It Won't Be Long" when she gets a letter from her boyfriend saying he'll be home because he got a pass before he ships out to Vietnam. At a bowling alley, Jude realizes he has feelings for Lucy, singing "I've Just Seen a Face". Max and Jude rent a New York apartment from a landlady named Sadie, (in reference to the song "Sexy Sadie"). The scene shifts to show a small child (Jojo's brother) hiding next to a burned out car during the 12th Street riot, singing "Let It Be"; it changes into a gospel rendition and we move back and forth between the funeral of the boy, who was shot by police in the riot, and that of Lucy's boyfriend, killed in Vietnam. As Jojo (reference to the song "Get Back") arrives in New York City, Joe Cocker sings "Come Together", switching between playing a bum, a pimp, and a street seller. When Prudence comes into the group's apartment, the lines "Hello Hello" are said in greeting and "She came in through the bathroom window" is said in response to Sadie's asking from where she came. Later, Sadie sings "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" at Cafe Huh? (a reference to Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village) to an enthusiastic crowd. In the next scene, Jude and Lucy are seen at a dock, and Lucy sings "If I Fell" as she realizes her own feelings toward him. The songs ends with their kiss and embrace at a party. Max is drafted and during his recruitment tests we hear "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"; the scene later shifts to Sadie singing to Jojo and Prudence distantly singing to Sadie through her window. Prudence is heartbroken, locking herself in the closet. Sadie, Max, Lucy, and Jude sing "Dear Prudence" to convince her to come out. "Flying" and "Blue Jay Way" appear in the background shortly thereafter. When at a record party, Dr. Robert (which is a reference to the song "Dr. Robert" who closely echoes original 60's author and psychedelic "guru" figure, Ken Kesey. Played by Bono) sings "I Am the Walrus", and the song continues as they drive away on his bus (a reference to the television film "Magical Mystery Tour"). They find a circus grounds and Mr. Kite (Eddie Izzard) performs "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" accompanied by the Blue Meanies from Yellow Submarine. Reunited with Prudence, who was performing in the circus and is involved with a contortionist named Rita (a reference to the song "Lovely Rita"), they all lie down in a field and sing "Because", then move into a surreal underwater montage. Back in New York, Jude sings "Something" as he sketches the sleeping naked Lucy. Next, Sadie and her band sing "Oh! Darling" at a gig at a large venue, leading to Jojo and Sadie's breakup, where Jojo deliberately messes up the guitar and makes Sadie storm out. When Jude is working on a logo for Sadie's new record label in his bedroom, tacking strawberries on a board, he (later joined by Max, who is currently in Vietnam) sings "Strawberry Fields Forever". The sequence for this song sometimes resembles parts of the Beatles' promotional video for the song. Jude bursts in on Lucy at the Students for a Democratic Reformation's office and sings "Revolution". After we learn of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., there is a shift to Jojo, seen in the club singing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Jude's problems with Lucy can then also be attributed to his brief part in the song. Jude sings "Across the Universe" on the subway on the way to go after Lucy who is currently at the Columbia University protests of 1968. He continues singing the refrain as the scene then shifts between the protest and Sadie in concert singing "Helter Skelter". When Max is in the Stateside hospital, he and other wounded soldiers sing "Happiness Is a Warm Gun." When Lucy is caught in the middle of a violent demonstration, there is a slight reprise of "Revolution". Then, Jeff Beck's version of "A Day in the Life" plays as Jude again back working in the Liverpool shipyards and wandering the Liverpool streets. A few months later, when Max is out of the hospital, Lucy sings "Blackbird" to him. After this, the scene shifts between Jude and Max at different bars, and Max begins to sing "Hey Jude" as Jude is seen going back to New York. Max picks him up from the port and drives him to hear Sadie and Jojo sing "Don't Let Me Down" atop a building. Jude then sings "All You Need is Love" a cappella. The refrain from "She Loves You" plays briefly over the song as Lucy is revealed to be watching Jude sing from a neighboring rooftop. This final scene is a reference to the rooftop concert the Beatles did. Over the credits, Bono (with background vocals by The Edge) sings "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." "Flying" is reprised thereafter as covered by The Secret Machines. CastAs mentioned above, the names of the six main characters (and a few minor characters) were inspired by Beatles song titles and lyrics.
Cameos
ProductionDisputeIn March 2007, the media reported a dispute over the final cut of the film. Concerned with the length of director Julie Taymor's cut of the film, Revolution Studios (production studio) chairman Joe Roth tested a sneak preview of a shortened version without first informing Taymor. The incident sparked some heat between the two, later involving Sony Pictures (distributor) Amy Pascal urging Taymor to agree to the shorter version.[2][3][4] After several months of dispute, Taymor's version was eventually reinstated as the theatrically released version.[5] MusicMusical numbersFollows is a listing of the thirty-three compositions written by members of The Beatles that are heard on the soundtrack, in the order featured in the film. This listing includes notation of three compositions that are heard twice in the course of the film, so there are a total of thirty-six individual music cues.
Extended musical numbersThere is extra music, such as in "Hold Me Tight", to have more opportunity for things such as dance solos. In "Come Together" on the special features there is extra music for a dance solo and a well-planned "Six Degrees of Separation" which connects the main characters as they enter New York lifestyle. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is also extended to add time for Max's medical check-up that is shown and for the dialogue about Max eating cotton balls and other theories to get out of the draft. The extended music is used as undertone during dialogue like after "Dear Prudence", "Something", and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Other extended songs include "I Am The Walrus", "Oh! Darling", "Across the Universe", "Helter Skelter". "She Loves You"In the Beatles' 1967 recording of the song "All You Need Is Love", as John Lennon sings the ending chorus and fade out of the song, he and Paul McCartney briefly sing the chorus of their 1963 hit "She Loves You" as a tongue-in-cheek nod to the band's earlier pop group incarnation.[6][7] In the performance of "All You Need Is Love" in the film, the same "She Loves You" chorus is sung as in the Beatles' original version. Unlike the Beatles' rendition, where the reprise of the 1963 chorus is a light-hearted throwaway moment, the film version uses the "She Loves You" lyric at a pivotal moment as a commentary on the romance between the story's principal two characters. Because the chorus of "She Loves You" was incorporated into the Beatles recording of "All You Need Is Love", the words and melody are also considered part of the latter composition. There is no credit given for the extract from "She Loves You" on the film's end credit sequence. On the 2-Disk Deluxe Edition of the DVD, credit is given for the extract from "She Loves You."[8] SoundtrackThe film's end credits identify a total of thirty-three separate Beatles compositions featured in the film, either in their entirety or in part. All of these songs were written between 1963 and 1970 by the members of The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) and recorded by The Beatles. Twenty-nine of them are compositions that are officially credited to the songwriting partnership of Lennon-McCartney. Three are credited to George Harrison. One title ("Flying") is a 1967 composition credited to all four members of the Beatles (Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starkey). Of the Twenty-nine songs that bear the official Lennon-McCartney credit, sixteen are customarily attributed primarily to Lennon as a writer, and ten are customarily attributed primarily to McCartney. The remaining three songs ("I Want to Hold Your Hand", "With a Little Help from My Friends", and "A Day in the Life") are titles which both Lennon and McCartney have confirmed were written in collaboration. Thirty of the soundtrack's songs feature vocals. Two of them ("And I Love Her" and "A Day in the Life") are brief instrumental versions of songs that were originally written with lyrics, although "And I Love Her" is sung in a deleted scene. One song ("Flying") was originally written as an instrumental. Twenty-five of the vocal tracks are performed by one or more of the six lead cast members. Four of the songs are sung by stars with cameo roles (Bono, Eddie Izzard, Salma Hayek and Joe Cocker). One song ("Let It Be") is sung by supporting members of the cast. Another song ("Blue Jay Way") is sung by indie Texan trio The Secret Machines. In twenty-nine of the vocal tracks, the vocalists are singing on-screen. Two of the vocal tracks ("Blue Jay Way" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds") are sung by off-screen vocalists. The remaining three of the thirty-three songs are rendered instrumentally. "Flying" is performed by The Secret Machines, "And I Love Her" is heard briefly as part of the orchestral score, and "A Day in the Life" is performed on guitar by Jeff Beck in a version recorded for Sir George Martin's 1998 album In My Life. In addition to the thirty-three Beatles compositions, the soundtrack features an original score composed by Elliot Goldenthal. Goldenthal worked on Taymor's previous films Titus and Frida. (Goldenthal and director Taymor have also been partners since 1982.) Interscope Records has released three variations of soundtrack albums from the film — a standard edition and two deluxe editions. The standard edition contains 16 tracks from the film soundtrack, although "Let It Be" is shortened, missing the third verse. The first version of the deluxe edition features 31 tracks — all of the vocal performances and one of the three instrumental tracks.[9] In the US this 31-track version is available solely at the Best Buy retail chain and in a digital version via iTunes, while in Europe it is available at other retail outlets. A second version of the deluxe edition is available at other retail outlets and digital download suppliers. The second version differs from the 31-track version in that it omits two tracks ("Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"). The song "It Won't Be Long" was released as a single on iTunes on September 11, 2007. On October 15, 2007 – October 17, 2007, and again on October 22, 2007 – October 23, 2007, the 31-track deluxe edition was the #1 downloaded album on iTunes. The soundtrack includes seven songs from The Beatles (also known as The White Album), five from Magical Mystery Tour, five from Abbey Road, four from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, three from With The Beatles, two from A Hard Day's Night, two from Let It Be, one from Help!, one from Rubber Soul, and three other singles. Standard edition track list
Deluxe Edition Track ListDisc 1
Disc 2
Release and receptionRelease historyThe film's release date and release pattern became the subject of some media and public discussion. The film had been originally scheduled for release in 2006. The release was postponed as the editing process became extended and the subject of internal disputes arose. The film was subsequently scheduled for a wide release on approximately 1,000 U.S. screens on September 28, 2007. In early September 2007, Sony Pictures announced that the release would be brought forward to September 14, 2007, with a "platform release" pattern starting on a small number of screens — with additional screens to be added in subsequent weeks. This proved frustrating as the trailer was attached to Spider-Man 3. The film received its world premiere on Monday, September 10, 2007, at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film was then given a very limited "platform release" on 27 screens in the U.S. on Friday, September 14. The film had the second-highest "per-screen" average on its opening weekend. In the following three weeks, the release was gradually expanded to select regions.[10] After four weeks in limited release, on October 12, the film was elevated to a comparatively broader release on 954 U.S. screens, breaking into the U.S. box office top ten at number 8.[11][12][10] The DVD, UMD, and Blu-Ray formats were released on February 5, 2008.[13] General receptionThe film received mixed reviews from critics. As of September 24th, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 55% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 141 reviews.[14] However, It had a more positive response from non-critic members of the site, giving it an average rating of 75%. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 52 out of 100, based on 29 reviews.[15] However, notable film critic Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times was extremely positive towards the film, giving it four stars, calling it "an audacious marriage of cutting-edge visual techniques, heart-warming performances, 1960s history and the Beatles songbook" and calling Julie Taymor an "inventive choreographer". Negative reviews criticized a lack of cohesiveness in plot and an overtly-literal interpretation of The Beatles catalogue of songs. The film appeared on a few critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007:[16]
AwardsNominations
See alsoReferencesNotes
BibliographyExternal links
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