Sony Pictures | 2007 | 133 mins | Rated PG-13 | Feb 05, 2008
A love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, mind exploration and rock ‘n roll, from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam. Star-crossed lovers, Jude and Lucy, along with a small group of friends and musicians, are swept up into the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements, with “Dr. Robert” and “Mr. Kite” as their guides. Tumultuous forces outside their control ultimately tear the young lovers apart, forcing Jude and Lucy – against all odds – to find their own way back to each other.
Set in America during the Vietnam War, Across the Universe is a powerful love story set against a backdrop of political and social unrest: it’s a story of soul-searching, self-doubt, and individual powerlessness cleverly conveyed through a multitude of Beatles songs. Like young adults all across America during the 1960’s, Jude (Jim Sturgess), Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), Max (Joe Anderson), Sadie (Dana Fuchs), Prudence (T.V. Carpio), and JoJo (Martin Luther) are in turmoil over the war; questioning their individual roles in the war effort and struggling to find a way to hold true to their beliefs while making a difference in the world. While love proves a powerful uniting force, its limitations become clear as relationships are strained and broken over individual perceptions of responsibility to cause and country.
A fairly bizarre juxtaposition of extremely stylized, almost hallucinogenic scenes of swirling colors and reflections, highly choreographed dance segments, seemingly commonplace character interaction, and emotionally packed close-up footage of characters lost in contemplative song, this film imparts a good sense of the confusion and passion of the time and is at once powerful, invigorating, and disturbing. The film runs a bit long at 2-hours 11-minutes and several segments drag noticeably thanks to some incredibly slow song tempos. Warning: this production may change how you think about a favorite Beatles song forever.
“Across The Universe,” from director Julie Taymor, is a revolutionary rock musical that re-imagines America in the turbulent late-1960s, a time when battle lines werebeing drawn at home and abroad. When young dockworker Jude (Jim Sturgess) leaves Liverpool to find his estranged father in America, he is swept up bythe waves of change that are re-shaping the nation. Jude falls in love with Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), a rich but sheltered American girl who joins thegrowing anti-war movement in New York’s GreenwichVillage. As the body count in Vietnam rises, political tensions at home spiral out of control and the star-crossed lovers find themselves in a psychedelic world gone mad. With a cameo by Bono, “Across The Universe” is “the kind of movie you watch again, like listening to a favorite album.”
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Product Details
Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson (VI), Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther (II)
Julie Taymor
AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
English
Cantonese, Chinese, English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish
All Regions
2.40:1
1
Rated PG-13
Sony Pictures
February 5, 2008
133 minutes
367 Customer Reviews
Customer Reviews
In the Name of Love
By Chris Pandolfi, (Los Angeles, CA) - September 14, 2007
If it were possible to go into the mind and film the imagination, if one could actually get a glimpse of a creative spark and present it as a movie, the end result would look something like “Across the Universe.” Here is a film so vibrant, colorful, and imaginative that it practically flies off the screen. It’s not something you simply watch; this richly detailed musical fantasy is something you fully experience, from the stunning visuals to the brilliant soundtrack. Few films have successfully incorporated previously written song material into an original story; one notable exception is Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge,” in which songs by Elton John, David Bowie, Madonna, The Police, and many others were interwoven. “Across the Universe” gets its inspiration from the music of The Beatles–every song fit the story so naturally, it’s almost as if they were specially written for the film.
But as much as I enjoyed it, I can’t help but feel that I’m the wrong person to review it; not only have I never listened to the music of The Beatles, I also never lived through the 1960s. “Across the Universe” explores the dynamic atmosphere of that era, from the artistic movements to the social unrest to the turbulent political climate. I can’t pretend that I know what the filmmakers were saying or why they were saying it, and I certainly don’t know what point The Beatles were trying to make. But I can still appreciate this movie. And I do; “Across the Universe” thrives on energy and ingenuity, and it isn’t afraid to tell a simple yet effective love story through music.[…]
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