World Famous Comics: Across the Universe (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Across the Universe (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson (VI), Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther (II) Directed By: Julie Taymor Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Sony Pictures Number of Items: 2 Region Code: 99 Release Date: February 05, 2008 Running Time: 133 minutes Theatrical Release Date: October 09, 2007
Amazon.com: 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. --Tami Horiuchi
Beyond Across the Universe
On Blu-ray
The Deluxe Soundtrack
Beatles audio CD
Stills from Across the Universe
Product Description: 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 were being drawn at home and abroad. When young dockworker Jude (Jim Sturgess) leaves Liverpool to find his estranged father in America he is swept up by the 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 the growing anti-war movement in New York s Greenwich Village. 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. (Roger Ebert CHICAGO SUN-TIMES)System Requirements:Run Time: 133 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSICALS/MUSICALS Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396194625 Manufacturer No: 19462
When the music's over, turn out the light NOTE: I would just like to preface this review with the statement that I have been a die-hard fan of The Beatles since I was 6 years old, have all their albums, and know every song by heart. They are the band that has been, in my opinion, and always will be the best rock n' roll band in history.
Having said that, this movie was a complete disaster and beyond tedious. The premise was good; the execution, however, was just miserable and a complete failure. Most of the musical interpretations are decent, but the whole thing is like a 2 hour MTV video/reality show/after school special. The characters are trite and they do nothing for the film or The Beatles, except that their names are Lucy, Prudence, Sadie, Max, Jojo, and Jude, based on top songs of The Beatles.
The story of the 60s protest of the war backdrop made this film even more insulting as it was used more as scenery rather than a real character, especially for such a poignant part in political history. It mocked the upheaval during that time, making the war seem more like an afterthought. There is hardly anything about this film that deserves any praise. It is filled with bad acting, bad scenes, and bad directing. Julie Taymor's directing skills in this movie were non-existent, which was surprising, especially with her success with the movie 'Frida' under her belt.
Jim Sturgess (or rather, his voice) was the only thing that kept me watching this movie, albeit begrudgingly. He was also the best actor of the bunch, not that that's saying much. The movie follows Jude's (Sturgess) journey after coming to America, he being the central character that ties the others together. But the whole story seems to take place within the time span of a month, which makes it completely phony, especially the characters. They had no depth and barely helped the movie at all. There is too much fit into a small amount of time that I couldn't believe how callous and cold-hearted these characters ended up being. If you take the series of events in the limited time that they were portrayed, some of the characters are cold and uncaring, to say the very least.
Don't even get me started on Evan Rachel Wood. Her acting was so bad that it's too bad she was the only "known" actress in this movie. One of her movies, Thirteen, was great but the only other thing I've seen her in was CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and her acting was bad then. As an actress, she scored a mere 40% on www.rottentomatoes.com, which says it all. Across The Universe received only 54%.
I watched this with my husband last night and before every musical scene - which were all equally silly - we looked at each other and laughed, they were so ridiculous. If it wasn't so funny due to its stupidity and Jim Sturgess's voice, we wouldn't have kept watching it. I think that if I had been inebriated while watching it, this review might've had a better tone to it... but I doubt it. It was really inane.
If you really like The Beatles, I would suggest buying the soundtrack. Jim Sturgess's singing is rather good, thoughtful, and has a very rich tone. The other singers could be done without, but that's excusable. This movie is so bad that when the music's over, turn out the light... or skip to the next song.
All I know is that I want the 2 hours back that watching this movie took from me.
I'll be selling my copy on Amazon.
appernently this movie was really long, but i didn't notice... After buying Across the Universe, I decided to check out Amazon and see what others had to say about it. (And yes, maybe I should have done that first.) My eyes were instantly flooded with positive reviews for this film, but since I've heard (too often actually) all the nice things to say, I sifted through some of the negative reviews. The people who didn't enjoy this film pretty much hated it for all the same reasons: lack of plot, character development, and talent; misuse of Beatles songs, pretension...
And while I do consider myself a "true Beatles fan" (opposed to a fake one?) I have to say I didn't hate this movie, but I didn't love it either (and I really, really wanted to love it).
This movie does tend to play like a super long music video. It has little to no plot and is strung together by songs and Beatle references. Some of which are downright cringe- worthy, one in particular is when Prudence suddenly appears in Sadie's apartment and its revealed that "she came in through the bathroom window". Some of the songs featured have little to no significance to the movie. And the storyline left a lot to be desired, there was little explanation of the characters choices. It sometimes felt like I was just a bystander, with no insight into the characters but merely watching events unfold around them.
With only 19 years behind and without having studied the 1960s in depth, I am unable to commit on this movie's accurate portrayal of 1960s, but I thought they did an okay job conveying the tension, the change, and the drug and sex exploration of the time.
Furthermore, their rendition of the songs were not half bad. I mean, sure the Fab Four didn't intend for their songs to be taken so literally, but that's kind of what music is all about isn't? The fact that it means something different to everybody. Hands down the best thing about the film is its cinematography. It was nothing short of breathtaking and because of that I can watch this movie again.
Overall, I think the film is worth viewing. Beatles' fans should rent it before buying, because your either going to love it or hate it.
Highlights: "I want to hold your hand" sung by T.V. Carpio "Happiness is warm gun" sung by Joe Anderson "Across the Universe" sung by Jim Strugress "Blackbird" sung by Evan Rachael Wood
Are they better than the original? Um, not no, but hell no! Still, I found the previously mentioned songs to be the most enjoyable and download-worthy.
And with all its flaws, be thankful there wasn't a character named 'Strawberry Fields' ...
mas que un musical Una excelente película, muy bien lograda, con fotografía de calidad. Sumado a lo anterior, The Beatles de las más variadas formas. Una película para oir.
ah hmm. Okay, I thought this might be a nice piece of film to sit back to and enjoy. I mean who doesn't like the music of The Beatles? It took me aback to see how horribly the actor's sang and how only the thinnest lines of melody where used in the instrumentation. Then there was the plot, or absence thereof... Take a bunch of Beatles songs mix them in a hat and write a script??? I shan't hurl invectives at the director or writers, but shame on those who think this is good cinema. It makes Cannibal: The Musical look dramatically deep.
I thought it was a waste of a DVD disc. Someone could have used that disc to burn something worthwhile.
Thoroughly disgusted and have lost two hours of my lifespan to fecal splattering.
Only in Amerika
Don't Miss It!! This movie has had a HUGE impact on me, it is definitely in my top two movies(along with Moulin Rouge!). Across the Universe has made a Beatles fan out of me, and everyone I've showed it to. The music is great, the cast is awesome and even though this movie is set 25 years before I was born I loved it and it has changed the way I think about a lot of things(Yes, I am totally obsessed). So go rent it, you wont't be sorry!
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