Across the Universe (film)

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Across the Universe

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Julie Taymor
Produced by Jennifer Todd
Suzanne Todd
Charles Newirth
Written by Julie Taymor
Dick Clement
Ian La Frenais
Starring Evan Rachel Wood
Jim Sturgess
Joe Anderson
Dana Fuchs
Martin Luther McCoy
T.V. Carpio
Music by Elliot Goldenthal
John Lennon
Paul McCartney
George Harrison
Ringo Starr
Cinematography Bruno Delbonnel
Editing by Francoise Bonnot
Distributed by Columbian Druglord Pictures
Revolution Studios
Release date(s) September 14, 2007 (l)
October 12, 2007
Running time 133 min.
Country USA
Language English
Budget $45 million
Gross revenue $28,862,809

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. It incorporates 33 compositions originally written by members of The Beatles.

The film, directed by Taymor, stars Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, and T.V. Carpio, and introduces Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther McCoy as actors. Cameo appearances are 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 and Timothy T. Mitchum, performed as part of a special Beatles tribute at the 50th Grammy Awards.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The film's plot and narrative structure interweave the stories of several characters whose lives cross paths during events set against the backdrop of the turbulent mid-1960s. The story apparently takes place around 1964.[1]

The story begins in Liverpool, England with a young shipyard worker named Jude Feeny (Jim Sturgess). Against the wishes of both his mother and his girlfriend Molly, Jude enlists in the merchant navy and travels by ship to the United States. He jumps ship in New York City to search for his American G.I. father, Wes Hubert (Robert Clohessy), whom he has never met and who does not know he exists. He learns that his father works at Princeton as a janitor, so he befriends a Princeton student, Max Carrigan (Joe Anderson). Max is a rebellious and eccentric young man from a privileged background. Max and his friends come from upper class families who pay for their schooling, so they mess around, drink, and do drugs. When Max goes home for Thanksgiving, bringing Jude with him, Jude meets Max's younger sister Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood). After a heated argument with his parents about his future, 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 in the Village, where they share an apartment with others, 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 has hitchhiked to New York from Dayton, Ohio. After Lucy's boyfriend, Daniel (Spencer Liff) is killed in Vietnam, she goes to New York to visit Max before she starts college, despite the fact that her parents are against the idea.

Romantic relationships develop between Lucy and Jude, and between Sadie and Jojo. One night, Prudence (who seemingly has a crush on Sadie) becomes depressed, and hides in the closet the entire night. Upon realizing where she is, the rest of the cast coax her out of the closet, showing that they accept her sexuality. Prudence mysteriously leaves the group, after wandering off enthralled by street performers at a peace rally.

Sadie and her band, the Po Boys (reference to a line in Down on the Corner), with Jojo as her lead guitarist, are courted by a prospective manager, who invites them to a book function for an existential drug guru named Doctor Robert, based on Ken Kesey. After serving punch that appears to be laced with LSD (aka Kesey's Electric Kool-Aid), Doctor Robert lectures that the New Yorkers are two years behind the new agers of California, and urges everyone that "time is of the essence, we have to transcend fast".

The friends embark with Doctor Robert and his followers on a epic journey inside a psychedelically painted bus named "Beyond". They wake up not knowing where they are or how they got there, probably somewhere in Upstate New York. They learn Doctor Robert has taken them to the spiritual retreat compound of Dr. Frank Geary, a fellow psychonaut "Navigator", and leader of a cult called "League of Spiritual Deliverance" (Geary is an allusion to Timothy Leary, who headed the International Foundation for Internal Freedom, from his estate in Millbrook). Geary refuses to see Doctor Robert who, resigned to this news, retires to California. The friends, however, are stranded.

At the cult compound, the friends are reunited with 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 the anti-war movement, while Jude (who, despite potentially having U.S. citizenship due to his American father, is still living without a visa and thus can't be drafted) remains comparatively apolitical. Jude becomes unhappy with the amount of time Lucy spends with a political group, Students for Democratic Reform (SDR), suspecting that its leader Paco is a lothario. Jude's art and his relationship with Lucy both start to falter.

Meanwhile, Sadie has been signed to the prospective manager's record label, but he 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 SDR office where Lucy works, and points out the hypocrisy and potential violence that they are heading toward. She kicks him 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.

Lucy contacts Jude's father Wes, who convinces the police not to press charges, but he cannot prove that Jude is his son (and thus an American citizen), so Jude is deported to England. Going back to work at the Liverpool shipyards, Jude encounters his old girlfriend, Molly. She is now pregnant by Jude's old friend and shipyard co-worker Phil Scully, which does not upset the apathetic Jude.

Max is wounded in Vietnam and is repatriated, emotionally and mentally shattered by his experiences and dependent on morphine to relieve his pain, while Lucy remains involved in her anti-war faction, which is becoming more and more violent. She finally leaves the group when she returns to the SDR headquarters to find the offices deserted and 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 1964.

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 encouraged by a vision of Max singing "Hey Jude" to him and by his understanding mother, he arranges to legally return to the United States. He meets Max, who drives him to Sadie's music headquarters where a 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 and cannot get into the building to join them on the roof. After seeing Sadie's recording company logo (an abstract strawberry Jude had created - a reference to the Beatles' Apple Corps), Lucy slowly walks away, overwhelmed with grief.

The police begin to force the group to leave. This is a reference to the Beatles' rooftop concert on January 30, 1969, where "Don't Let Me Down" was one of five songs sung by the Beatles before the concert was broken up by the police.[2] Jude manages to evade the police and stay behind on the roof. Hesitantly, he begins to sing "All You Need Is Love." Sadie, Jojo and the rest of the band hear him, and the police allow them to go back onto the roof to accompany 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 is a reference to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," which plays in the background.

[edit] Use of The Beatles' music

The film begins with Jude singing the beginning verse of "Girl". As the opening credits roll, Sadie and her band are heard singing "Helter Skelter". The scene intercuts sceens of Lucy's prom and Jude's date at a Liverpool club with his girlfriend Molly. "Molly" and "Lucy" are references to the Beatles songs "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"). Molly and Lucy are both 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. "All My Loving" is then sung by Jude to Molly prior to departing for America. When Prudence (referencing the song, "Dear Prudence") appears at football practice at her school in Dayton, singing "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", she is thinking of one of other cheerleaders. When Jude meets Max, (referencing 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 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, (referencing the song "Sexy Sadie"). The scene shifts to show a small child hiding next to a burned out car during the 12th Street riot, singing "Let It Be". The style of the song changes into a gospel rendition behind intercut scenes of the funeral of the boy, who was shot by police in the riot, and that of Lucy's boyfriend, killed in Vietnam.

As Jojo (referencing 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 questioning her sudden appearance. Later, Sadie sings "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" at Cafe Huh? (a reference to Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village). Next, Jude and Lucy are 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.

Dr. Robert (a reference to the song "Dr. Robert", played by Bono), sings "I Am the Walrus", and the song continues as they drive away on Dr. Robert's 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 the film moves into a surreal underwater montage.

Back in New York, Jude sings "Something" as he sketches the sleeping naked Lucy. In the apartment, the naked sketches of both Jude and Lucy on the walls are also a reference to the "Two Virgins" album by John Lennon as both appear in similar poses. 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 the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., there is a shift to Jojo, seen in the bar singing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".

Jude sings "Across the Universe" on the subway on his way to find Lucy at the Columbia University protests of 1964. He continues singing the refrain as the scene 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". Jeff Beck's version of "A Day in the Life" plays as Jude, back in the Liverpool shipyards, wanders the Liverpool streets. When Max is out of the hospital, Lucy sings "Blackbird" to him.

The scene now shifts between Jude and Max at different bars, and Max begins to sing "Hey Jude" as Jude goes 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, in reference to the last concert of The Beatles, on the rooftop of the Apple Records building in London, where the band played some songs, Don't Let Me Down included. 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. Over the credits, Bono (with background vocals by The Edge) sings "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." "Flying" is reprised in a cover version by The Secret Machines.

[edit] Cast

As mentioned above, the names of the six main characters (and a few minor characters) were inspired by Beatles song titles and lyrics.

[edit] Production

[edit] Dispute

In 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.[3][4][5] After several months of dispute, Taymor's version was eventually reinstated as the theatrically released version.[6]

[edit] Music

[edit] Musical numbers

Follows 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.

  1. "Girl" — Sturgess
  2. "Hold Me Tight" — Wood, Hogg
  3. "All My Loving" — Sturgess
  4. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" — T.V. Carpio
  5. "With A Little Help From My Friends" — Anderson, Sturgess, "dorm buddies"
  6. "It Won't Be Long" — Wood, "students"
  7. "I've Just Seen A Face" — Sturgess, Anderson
  8. "Let It Be" — Woods, Mitchum, church choir
  9. "Come Together" — Joe Cocker, McCoy
  10. "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?" — Fuchs
  11. "If I Fell" — Wood
  12. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" — Anderson, Fuchs, Carpio, soldiers
  13. "Dear Prudence" — Fuchs, Sturgess, Wood, Anderson
  14. "Flying" instrumental - The Secret Machines
  15. "Blue Jay Way" — The Secret Machines
  16. "I Am The Walrus" — Bono, The Secret Machines
  17. "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!" — Eddie Izzard
  18. "Because" — Wood, Sturgess, Anderson, Fuchs, Carpio, McCoy
  19. "Something" — Sturgess
  20. "Oh! Darling" — Fuchs, McCoy
  21. "Strawberry Fields Forever" — Sturgess, Anderson
  22. "Revolution" — Sturgess
  23. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" — McCoy, Sturgess
  24. "Across the Universe" — Sturgess (interwoven with "Helter Skelter")
  25. "Helter Skelter" — Fuchs (interwoven with "Across the Universe")
  26. "And I Love Her" (brief extract incorporated into the orchestral score during the "Across the Universe"/"Helter Skelter" sequence)
  27. "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" — Anderson, Hayek, patients
  28. "A Day In The Life" — Jeff Beck
  29. "Blackbird" — Wood
  30. "Hey Jude" — Anderson, Mounsey
  31. "Don't Let Me Down" — Fuchs, McCoy
  32. "All You Need Is Love" — Sturgess, Fuchs, Carpio, McCoy
  33. "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" — Bono, The Edge

[edit] Extended musical numbers

There 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".

[edit] "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.[7][8] 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.[original research?] 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 two-disk Deluxe Edition of the DVD, credit is given for the extract from "She Loves You."[9]

[edit] Soundtrack

The film's end credits identify 33 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 29 songs that bear the official Lennon-McCartney credit, 16 are customarily attributed primarily to Lennon as a writer, and 10 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 that 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 29 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 33 songs are instrumentals. "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 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 been partners since 1982.)

Interscope Records has released three variations of soundtrack 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.[10] In the US this 31-track version is available solely at Best Buy stores and in a digital version from 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.

[edit] Standard edition track list

  1. "All My Loving" — Sturgess
  2. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" — Carpio
  3. "It Won't Be Long" — Wood
  4. "I've Just Seen A Face" — Sturgess
  5. "Let It Be" — Mitchum, Woods
  6. "Come Together" — Cocker
  7. "I Am The Walrus" — Bono
  8. "Something" — Sturgess
  9. "Oh! Darling" — Fuchs; McCoy
  10. "Strawberry Fields Forever" — Anderson, Sturgess
  11. "Across the Universe" — Sturgess
  12. "Helter Skelter" — Fuchs
  13. "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" — Anderson, Hayek
  14. "Blackbird" — Wood
  15. "Hey Jude" — Anderson
  16. "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" — Bono, The Edge

[edit] Deluxe Edition Track List

(all tracks on CD, except where noted)

[edit] Disc 1
  1. "Girl" — Sturgess
  2. "Hold Me Tight" — Wood
  3. "All My Loving" — Sturgess
  4. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" — Carpio
  5. "With A Little Help From My Friends" — Anderson, Sturgess
  6. "It Won't Be Long" — Wood
  7. "I've Just Seen A Face" — Sturgess
  8. "Let It Be (long version)" — Mitchum, Woods
  9. "Come Together" — Cocker
  10. "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?" (iTunes edition)
  11. "If I Fell" — Wood
  12. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" (iTunes edition)
  13. "Dear Prudence" — Anderson, Fuchs, Sturgess, Wood, Carpio
  14. "Flying" — Secret Machines
  15. "Blue Jay Way" — Secret Machines

[edit] Disc 2
  1. "I Am The Walrus" — Bono, Secret Machines
  2. "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!" — Izzard
  3. "Because" — Anderson, Carpio, Fuchs, McCoy, Sturgess, Wood
  4. "Something" — Sturgess
  5. "Oh! Darling" — Fuchs, McCoy
  6. "Strawberry Fields Forever" — Anderson, Sturgess
  7. "Revolution" — Sturgess
  8. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" — McCoy, Sturgess
  9. "Across the Universe" — Sturgess
  10. "Helter Skelter" — Fuchs
  11. "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" — Anderson, Hayek
  12. "Blackbird" — Wood
  13. "Hey Jude" — Anderson
  14. "Don't Let Me Down" — Fuchs, McCoy
  15. "All You Need Is Love" — Carpio, Fuchs, McCoy, Sturgess
  16. "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" — Bono, The Edge

[edit] Release and reception

[edit] Release history

The 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.[11] 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.[12][13][11]

The DVD, UMD, and Blu-Ray formats were released on February 5, 2008.[14]

[edit] General reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. As of 14 February 2009, the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 54% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 144 reviews.[15] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 56/100, based on 29 reviews.[16] 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:[17]

[edit] Awards

[edit] Nominations

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Movie Review". The New York Times. September 14, 2007. http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/09/14/movies/14univ.html. 
  2. ^ "Photos: The Beatles' Final Performance". Time.com. http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1874628,00.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-30. 
  3. ^ "A Revolt at Revolution?". Movie & TV News. IMDB.com. March 20, 2007. http://www.imdb.com/news/sb/2007-03-20#film1. 
  4. ^ "More Details of Taymor-Roth Feud". Movie & TV News. IMDB.com. March 21, 2007. http://www.imdb.com/news/sb/2007-03-21#film2. 
  5. ^ Waxman, Sharon (March 20, 2007). "Film Has Two Versions; Only One Is Julie Taymor’s". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/20/movies/20roth.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. 
  6. ^ Douglas, Edward (September 18, 2007). "Julie Taymor Soars Across the Universe". ComingSoon.net. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=37341. 
  7. ^ "What Goes On - The Beatles Anomalies List". http://wgo.signal11.org.uk/wgo.htm. 
  8. ^ "Extras - All You Need Is Love / She Loves You". http://wgo.signal11.org.uk/common/extras-aynil.htm. 
  9. ^ Across the Universe (DVD). Event occurs at End credits.
  10. ^ "Across the Universe Soundtrack : News : Across The Universe Soundtrack available 9/14!". http://www.interscope.com/artist/news/default.aspx/nid/8676/aid/570. Retrieved on 2007-10-23. 
  11. ^ a b Mason, Steve (September 22, 2007). "Friday Box Office: Resident Evil $22M 3-day; Eastern Promises strong; Into The Wild huge". Slashfilm.com. http://www.slashfilm.com/2007/09/22/friday-box-office-resident-evil-22m-3-day-eastern-promises-strong-into-the-wild-huge. 
  12. ^ Goodman, Dean (September 30, 2007). "Game Plan conquers Kingdom at box office". Reuters.com. http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN2843783120070930?feedType=RSS&feedName=entertainmentNews&rpc=22&sp=true. Retrieved on 2007-10-23. 
  13. ^ "Across the Universe (2007) - Weekend Box Office". Box Office Mojo.com. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=acrosstheuniverse.htm. Retrieved on 2007-10-23. 
  14. ^ "Across the Universe". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/s?keywords=Across%20the%20Universe&index=dvd. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. 
  15. ^ "Across the Universe". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/across_the_universe. 
  16. ^ "Across the Universe (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/acrosstheuniverse. Retrieved on 2008-01-06. 
  17. ^ "Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2007/toptens.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-01-05. 
  18. ^ Ebert, Roger (December 20, 2007). "The year's ten best films and other shenanigans". The Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/COMMENTARY/176124809. Retrieved on 2008-01-05. 
  19. ^ "HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION 2008 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2007". goldenglobes.org. 2007-12-13. http://www.goldenglobes.org/news/id/81. Retrieved on 2007-12-17. 
  20. ^ "OSCAR.com - 80th Annual Academy Awards - Nomination". http://www.oscar.com/nominees/?pn=detail&nominee=Across%20the%20Universe%20-%20Costume%20Design%20Nominee. Retrieved on 2008-04-04. 
  21. ^ "19th ANNUAL GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS NOMINEES". http://www.glaad.org/publications/resource_doc_detail.php?id=4173. Retrieved on 2008-11-08. 

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