Post by yerblues1968 on Apr 27, 2008 2:10:03 GMT -5
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (Film)
Theatrical Release: September 14, 2007
Running Time: 2 hours, 11 minutes
Sony Pictures
DVD Release: February 5, 2008
Across the Universe is a 2007 Academy Award-nominated musical film 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 Julie Taymor, Dick Clement, and Ian La Frenais that incorporates 33 compositions written by members of The Beatles.
The film, directed by Taymor, stars Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, 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 performed as part of a special Beatles tribute at the 50th Grammy Awards.
PLOT
The 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.
The story starts in the early 1960s with a young Liverpudlian ship builder named Jude (Jim Sturgess) who travels by ship to the United States in search of his American G.I. father, Wes (Robert Clohessy), whom he has never met and who does not know his son exists. While searching for his father at Princeton, he befriends Max (Joe Anderson), a rebellious young man from a privileged background, and 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. Other residents include Jojo (Martin Luther McCoy), a guitarist who arrives from Detroit after the death of his younger brother during the 12th Street riot; and Prudence (T.V. Carpio), a young bisexual girl who hitchhikes to New York City from Dayton, Ohio. Lucy joins them in New York after her boyfriend is killed in the Vietnam War and her parents want her to take a long vacation before she goes to college.
Romances develop between Lucy and Jude and between Sadie and Jojo, which leaves Prudence depressed and eventually contributes to her joining the circus. When Max is drafted and sent to Vietnam, Lucy becomes involved in a radical anti-war movement, which leads to strain with the comparatively apolitical Jude. He is unhappy with the amount of time she spends with the political group, suspecting that its leader, Paco (Logan Marshall-Green), 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, with Jojo as her lead guitarist. She gains the attention of a manager (James Urbaniak) who signs her to a record label, but he wants her to drop her backing band. This leads to a break up between Sadie and Jojo, both musically and romantically.
The differences between Jude and Lucy escalate. One day, Jude storms into the offices of the political group where Lucy works and is kicked out after punching Paco. This leads to a fight between the couple, resulting in Lucy leaving Jude. Jude finds her at an anti-war demonstration at Columbia University during which many protesters, including Lucy, are arrested. In attempting to help her, Jude is also 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. He finds his old girlfriend pregnant by an apparent old friend of his, who smugly kisses his ex on the cheek, much to the uncaring attitude of 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 creations explodes, destroying the building. Jude reads about the explosion in a Liverpool newspaper and is concerned that Lucy has died. He subsequently hears from Max that she is alive, and he arranges to return to the States legally. He meets Max, who drives him to Sadie's music headquarters where a Beatles-style rooftop concert is being held by Jojo, Sadie, and their band singing "Don't Let Me Down". Lucy is supposed to be there to meet Jude again, but no one can find her, and the group is forced to leave when the police arrive, but Jude manages to stay on the roof and 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. Max suddenly stares out onto the atmosphere as they sing, and Jude turns to see Lucy standing on the roof across the street. They smile at one another with tears in their eyes, and the screen fades out to white clouds and blue sky.
USE OF THE BEATLES' MUSIC
The film begins with Jude singing the beginning verse of "Girl." It seems to set the film up to be an account that Jude is telling ("Is there anybody going to listen to my story, all about the girl who came to stay"), possibly set before he returns to America. Then a sequence featuring "Helter Skelter". The scene then flips back and forth between Lucy's prom and Jude in a club with his girlfriend, Molly (possibly the singer in the band from "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da") and Lucy each singing Hold Me Tight. When Jude is picking up his pay, the man giving it to him says, "I thought the same thing at your age. When I'm Sixty- Four I'll be long gone from this place," in reference to the Beatles song, "When I'm Sixty-Four." Jude goes home to his mother, Martha ("Martha My Dear") to tell her that he's going to America to meet his estranged father. "All My Loving" is then sung by Jude to his current girlfriend in Liverpool, prior to departing for America. Prudence appears singing ""I Wanna Hold Your hand" as her thoughts about another cheerleader at her school, after which she hitchhikes to New York. After Jude meets Max, "With A Little Help from My Friends" is sung around the college campus where Max attends and Jude's father works. The scene in which this song takes place shows a drunken Max and Jude passed out with other college friends in the dormitories. Later, Max takes Jude home to meet his family. After he has had dinner with Max and Lucy's family, they decide to take Jude bowling. At the alley, Jude realizes he has feelings for Lucy, singing "I've Just Seen a Face". 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 Lucy's boyfriend, killed in Vietnam, and the boy's funeral, killed in the riot. Meanwhile, Max and Jude travel to New York and find a room to rent with a singer named Sadie who Max refers to as a "fox" ("Sexy Sadie").
As Jojo leaves Detroit (not Tucson, AZ as referred to in "Get Back") and arrives in New York City, Joe Cocker sings "Come Together" as a bum, a pimp, and a street seller. Prudence runs away from an abusive man and comes into the group's apartment, prompting the lines "Hello Hello", "Where'd she come from? - She came in through the bathroom window". Later, Sadie sings "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" at Cafe Huh? to an enthusiastic crowd. In the next scene, Jude and Lucy are seen at a dock; Lucy sings "If I Fell" as she realizes her own feelings towards 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.
Somewhere in the above sequence, there is a scene where Max is wearing one of Sadie's shirts while banging on the fan with a silver hammer, referring to the song "Maxwell's Silver Hammer".
Immediately following the disappearance of Prudence, Sadie is courted by a record producer to sign with him. He brings her with the group to a party in honor of writer Dr. Robert (played by Bono). Dr. Robert sings "I Am the Walrus" at the party, and the song continues as they drive away on his bus, named "Beyond" - related to "FUTHUR" the bus from the book "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" by Tom Wolfe. They end up near "Dr. Greary's Farm", referencing Dr. Timothy Leary, and the climatic meeting of the EAST and WEST COAST counter cultures of the 1960s. Quote from the book by the good Dr. Robert, "Either you are on the bus or off the bus."
They find a circus grounds and Eddie Izzard as Mr. Kite sings "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!". Reunited with Prudence, who was performing in the circus (which is rather strange and exotic), they all lie down in a field and sing "Because", then moving into a surreal underwater montage.
Back in New York, Jude sings "Something" as he sketches the sleeping Lucy. Next, Sadie and her band sing "Oh! Darling" at a gig at a large venue, leading to Sadie leaving with her manager. Jude fights with Lucy over her involvement with the Students for a Democratic Revolution. He goes into the bedroom where he is working on a logo for Sadie's new record label. As he is tacking strawberries on a board, he sings "Strawberry Fields Forever".
Jude bursts in on Lucy at the Students for a Democratic Reformation's office and sings "Revolution"; he punches the leader of the group, whom he greatly dislikes. When he leaves the office there is a clip on a TV in a store window of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who has just been killed. There is a shift to Jojo, seen in the club singing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" as a memorial to Dr. King.
Lucy is going to Columbia University for a protest and after finding her things gone at home, Jude decides to go after her. He sings "Across the Universe" on the subway. First a troup of Hare Krishnas and later corpses of Vietnamese women join him in the chorus. He continues singing the refrain as the scene then shifts between the protest and Sadie in concert singing "Helter Skelter". ("And I Love Her" is listed in the film's credits at this point in the sequence, presumably referring to the deleted scene on the DVD featuring this song.) Max is back from Vietnam, injured in the hospital. He and other soldiers sing "Happiness Is a Warm Gun." There is a slight reprise of "Revolution". Then, Jeff Beck's version of "A Day in the Life" plays as Jude works in the shipyards. A few more months later, Max is out of the hospital and Lucy takes him to where she sang "If I Fell" earlier in the film. Lucy sings "Blackbird". After this, the scene shifts between Jude and Max at different bars; Max begins to sing "Hey Jude" and Jude is seen going back to New York. Max picks him up from the port and they hear Sadie singing "Don't Let Me Down" on the radio, which then shifts into Sadie and the band playing atop a building. Jude hides when the police break up the concert, and sings "All You Need is Love" a cappella. Everyone hears and rushes back, persuading the police to let them sing one last song. Over the credits, Bono sings "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." "Flying" is reprised thereafter as covered by The Secret Machines.
CAST
* Evan Rachel Wood as Lucy Carrigan
* Jim Sturgess as Jude
* Joe Anderson as Maxwell "Max" Carrigan
* Dana Fuchs as Sadie
* Martin Luther McCoy as Jojo
* T.V. Carpio as Prudence
CAMEOS
* Bono as Dr. Robert
* Eddie Izzard as Mr. Kite
* Salma Hayek as Singing Nurses
* Joe Cocker as Bum/Pimp/Mad Hippie
* Robert Clohessy as Wes Huber
* Linda Emond as Mrs. Carrigan
* Logan Marshall-Green as Paco
* Harry J. Lennix as Army Sergeant
* James Urbaniak as Sadie's manager
SOUNDTRACK
The 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 four 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. One 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. 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 15-17, 2007, and again on October 22-23, 2007, the 31-track deluxe edition was the #1 downloaded album on iTunes.
Standard Edition Track List
1. "All My Loving" — Jim Sturgess
2. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" — T.V. Carpio
3. "It Won't Be Long" — Evan Rachel Wood
4. "I've Just Seen a Face" — Jim Sturgess
5. "Let It Be" — Carol Woods and Timothy T. Mitchum
6. "Come Together" — Joe Cocker
7. "I Am the Walrus" — Bono and Secret Machines
8. "Something" — Jim Sturgess
9. "Oh! Darling" — Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther McCoy
10. "Strawberry Fields Forever" — Jim Sturgess and Joe Anderson
11. "Across the Universe" — Jim Sturgess
12. "Helter Skelter" — Dana Fuchs
13. "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" — Joe Anderson
14. "Blackbird" — Evan Rachel Wood
15. "Hey Jude" — Joe Anderson
16. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" — Bono (background vocals by The Edge)
Deluxe Edition Track List
1. "Girl" — Jim Sturgess
2. ’’Hold Me Tight" — Evan Rachel Wood
3. ’’All My Loving" — Jim Sturgess
4. ’’I Want to Hold Your Hand" — T.V. Carpio
5. ’’With a Little Help from My Friends" — Jim Sturgess & Joe Anderson
6. ’’It Won't Be Long" — Evan Rachel Wood
7. ’’I've Just Seen a Face" — Jim Sturgess
8. "Let It Be (Long Version)" — Carol Woods and Timothy T. Mitchum
9. ’’Come Together" — Joe Cocker
10. "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" — Dana Fuchs (omitted from 29 track version)
11. ’’If I Fell" — Evan Rachel Wood
12. ’’I Want You (She's So Heavy)" — Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, and T.V. Carpio (omitted from 29 track version)
13. ’’Dear Prudence" — Dana Fuchs, Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, and Joe Anderson
14. "Flying" — Secret Machines
15. ’’Blue Jay Way" — Secret Machines
16. ’’I Am the Walrus" — Bono and Secret Machines
17. ’’Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" — Eddie Izzard
18. "Because" — Dana Fuchs, Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, Martin Luther McCoy, and T.V. Carpio
19. ’’Something" — Jim Sturgess
20. ’’Oh! Darling" — Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther McCoy
21. ’’Strawberry Fields Forever" — Jim Sturgess and Joe Anderson
22. "Revolution" — Jim Sturgess
23. ’’While My Guitar Gently Weeps" — Martin Luther McCoy
24. ’’Across the Universe" — Jim Sturgess
25. ’’Helter Skelter" — Dana Fuchs
26. ’’Happiness Is a Warm Gun" — Joe Anderson and Salma Hayek
27. "Blackbird" — Evan Rachel Wood
28. ’’Hey Jude" — Joe Anderson
29. "Don't Let Me Down" — Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther McCoy
30. ’’All You Need Is Love" — Jim Sturgess, Dana Fuchs, T.V. Carpio, and Martin Luther McCoy
31. ’’Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" — Bono (background vocals by The Edge)
TRACK LIST BY BEATLES ALBUMS
* With the Beatles - It Won't Be Long, All My Loving, Hold Me Tight
* A Hard Day's Night - If I Fell, And I Love Her
* Help! - I've Just Seen a Face
* Rubber Soul - Girl
* Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - With a Little Help from My Friends, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!, A Day in the Life
* Magical Mystery Tour - Flying, Blue Jay Way, I Am the Walrus, Strawberry Fields Forever, All You Need Is Love
* The Beatles ("The White Album") - Dear Prudence, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Happiness Is a Warm Gun, Revolution, Blackbird, Why Don't We Do It in the Road?, Helter Skelter
* Abbey Road - Come Together, Something, Oh! Darling, I Want You (She's So Heavy), Because
* Let It Be - Across the Universe, Let It Be
* Other Singles - I Want to Hold Your Hand, Hey Jude, Don't Let Me Dow
More information about the film may be viewed here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Across_the_Universe_(film)
Film clip of the movie trailer:
www.sonypictures.com/movies/acrosstheuniverse/clipspage/
Across The Universe DVD may be purchased here or at your local retail store
www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=across
Theatrical Release: September 14, 2007
Running Time: 2 hours, 11 minutes
Sony Pictures
DVD Release: February 5, 2008
Across the Universe is a 2007 Academy Award-nominated musical film 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 Julie Taymor, Dick Clement, and Ian La Frenais that incorporates 33 compositions written by members of The Beatles.
The film, directed by Taymor, stars Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, 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 performed as part of a special Beatles tribute at the 50th Grammy Awards.
PLOT
The 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.
The story starts in the early 1960s with a young Liverpudlian ship builder named Jude (Jim Sturgess) who travels by ship to the United States in search of his American G.I. father, Wes (Robert Clohessy), whom he has never met and who does not know his son exists. While searching for his father at Princeton, he befriends Max (Joe Anderson), a rebellious young man from a privileged background, and 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. Other residents include Jojo (Martin Luther McCoy), a guitarist who arrives from Detroit after the death of his younger brother during the 12th Street riot; and Prudence (T.V. Carpio), a young bisexual girl who hitchhikes to New York City from Dayton, Ohio. Lucy joins them in New York after her boyfriend is killed in the Vietnam War and her parents want her to take a long vacation before she goes to college.
Romances develop between Lucy and Jude and between Sadie and Jojo, which leaves Prudence depressed and eventually contributes to her joining the circus. When Max is drafted and sent to Vietnam, Lucy becomes involved in a radical anti-war movement, which leads to strain with the comparatively apolitical Jude. He is unhappy with the amount of time she spends with the political group, suspecting that its leader, Paco (Logan Marshall-Green), 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, with Jojo as her lead guitarist. She gains the attention of a manager (James Urbaniak) who signs her to a record label, but he wants her to drop her backing band. This leads to a break up between Sadie and Jojo, both musically and romantically.
The differences between Jude and Lucy escalate. One day, Jude storms into the offices of the political group where Lucy works and is kicked out after punching Paco. This leads to a fight between the couple, resulting in Lucy leaving Jude. Jude finds her at an anti-war demonstration at Columbia University during which many protesters, including Lucy, are arrested. In attempting to help her, Jude is also 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. He finds his old girlfriend pregnant by an apparent old friend of his, who smugly kisses his ex on the cheek, much to the uncaring attitude of 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 creations explodes, destroying the building. Jude reads about the explosion in a Liverpool newspaper and is concerned that Lucy has died. He subsequently hears from Max that she is alive, and he arranges to return to the States legally. He meets Max, who drives him to Sadie's music headquarters where a Beatles-style rooftop concert is being held by Jojo, Sadie, and their band singing "Don't Let Me Down". Lucy is supposed to be there to meet Jude again, but no one can find her, and the group is forced to leave when the police arrive, but Jude manages to stay on the roof and 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. Max suddenly stares out onto the atmosphere as they sing, and Jude turns to see Lucy standing on the roof across the street. They smile at one another with tears in their eyes, and the screen fades out to white clouds and blue sky.
USE OF THE BEATLES' MUSIC
The film begins with Jude singing the beginning verse of "Girl." It seems to set the film up to be an account that Jude is telling ("Is there anybody going to listen to my story, all about the girl who came to stay"), possibly set before he returns to America. Then a sequence featuring "Helter Skelter". The scene then flips back and forth between Lucy's prom and Jude in a club with his girlfriend, Molly (possibly the singer in the band from "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da") and Lucy each singing Hold Me Tight. When Jude is picking up his pay, the man giving it to him says, "I thought the same thing at your age. When I'm Sixty- Four I'll be long gone from this place," in reference to the Beatles song, "When I'm Sixty-Four." Jude goes home to his mother, Martha ("Martha My Dear") to tell her that he's going to America to meet his estranged father. "All My Loving" is then sung by Jude to his current girlfriend in Liverpool, prior to departing for America. Prudence appears singing ""I Wanna Hold Your hand" as her thoughts about another cheerleader at her school, after which she hitchhikes to New York. After Jude meets Max, "With A Little Help from My Friends" is sung around the college campus where Max attends and Jude's father works. The scene in which this song takes place shows a drunken Max and Jude passed out with other college friends in the dormitories. Later, Max takes Jude home to meet his family. After he has had dinner with Max and Lucy's family, they decide to take Jude bowling. At the alley, Jude realizes he has feelings for Lucy, singing "I've Just Seen a Face". 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 Lucy's boyfriend, killed in Vietnam, and the boy's funeral, killed in the riot. Meanwhile, Max and Jude travel to New York and find a room to rent with a singer named Sadie who Max refers to as a "fox" ("Sexy Sadie").
As Jojo leaves Detroit (not Tucson, AZ as referred to in "Get Back") and arrives in New York City, Joe Cocker sings "Come Together" as a bum, a pimp, and a street seller. Prudence runs away from an abusive man and comes into the group's apartment, prompting the lines "Hello Hello", "Where'd she come from? - She came in through the bathroom window". Later, Sadie sings "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" at Cafe Huh? to an enthusiastic crowd. In the next scene, Jude and Lucy are seen at a dock; Lucy sings "If I Fell" as she realizes her own feelings towards 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.
Somewhere in the above sequence, there is a scene where Max is wearing one of Sadie's shirts while banging on the fan with a silver hammer, referring to the song "Maxwell's Silver Hammer".
Immediately following the disappearance of Prudence, Sadie is courted by a record producer to sign with him. He brings her with the group to a party in honor of writer Dr. Robert (played by Bono). Dr. Robert sings "I Am the Walrus" at the party, and the song continues as they drive away on his bus, named "Beyond" - related to "FUTHUR" the bus from the book "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" by Tom Wolfe. They end up near "Dr. Greary's Farm", referencing Dr. Timothy Leary, and the climatic meeting of the EAST and WEST COAST counter cultures of the 1960s. Quote from the book by the good Dr. Robert, "Either you are on the bus or off the bus."
They find a circus grounds and Eddie Izzard as Mr. Kite sings "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!". Reunited with Prudence, who was performing in the circus (which is rather strange and exotic), they all lie down in a field and sing "Because", then moving into a surreal underwater montage.
Back in New York, Jude sings "Something" as he sketches the sleeping Lucy. Next, Sadie and her band sing "Oh! Darling" at a gig at a large venue, leading to Sadie leaving with her manager. Jude fights with Lucy over her involvement with the Students for a Democratic Revolution. He goes into the bedroom where he is working on a logo for Sadie's new record label. As he is tacking strawberries on a board, he sings "Strawberry Fields Forever".
Jude bursts in on Lucy at the Students for a Democratic Reformation's office and sings "Revolution"; he punches the leader of the group, whom he greatly dislikes. When he leaves the office there is a clip on a TV in a store window of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who has just been killed. There is a shift to Jojo, seen in the club singing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" as a memorial to Dr. King.
Lucy is going to Columbia University for a protest and after finding her things gone at home, Jude decides to go after her. He sings "Across the Universe" on the subway. First a troup of Hare Krishnas and later corpses of Vietnamese women join him in the chorus. He continues singing the refrain as the scene then shifts between the protest and Sadie in concert singing "Helter Skelter". ("And I Love Her" is listed in the film's credits at this point in the sequence, presumably referring to the deleted scene on the DVD featuring this song.) Max is back from Vietnam, injured in the hospital. He and other soldiers sing "Happiness Is a Warm Gun." There is a slight reprise of "Revolution". Then, Jeff Beck's version of "A Day in the Life" plays as Jude works in the shipyards. A few more months later, Max is out of the hospital and Lucy takes him to where she sang "If I Fell" earlier in the film. Lucy sings "Blackbird". After this, the scene shifts between Jude and Max at different bars; Max begins to sing "Hey Jude" and Jude is seen going back to New York. Max picks him up from the port and they hear Sadie singing "Don't Let Me Down" on the radio, which then shifts into Sadie and the band playing atop a building. Jude hides when the police break up the concert, and sings "All You Need is Love" a cappella. Everyone hears and rushes back, persuading the police to let them sing one last song. Over the credits, Bono sings "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." "Flying" is reprised thereafter as covered by The Secret Machines.
CAST
* Evan Rachel Wood as Lucy Carrigan
* Jim Sturgess as Jude
* Joe Anderson as Maxwell "Max" Carrigan
* Dana Fuchs as Sadie
* Martin Luther McCoy as Jojo
* T.V. Carpio as Prudence
CAMEOS
* Bono as Dr. Robert
* Eddie Izzard as Mr. Kite
* Salma Hayek as Singing Nurses
* Joe Cocker as Bum/Pimp/Mad Hippie
* Robert Clohessy as Wes Huber
* Linda Emond as Mrs. Carrigan
* Logan Marshall-Green as Paco
* Harry J. Lennix as Army Sergeant
* James Urbaniak as Sadie's manager
SOUNDTRACK
The 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 four 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. One 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. 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 15-17, 2007, and again on October 22-23, 2007, the 31-track deluxe edition was the #1 downloaded album on iTunes.
Standard Edition Track List
1. "All My Loving" — Jim Sturgess
2. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" — T.V. Carpio
3. "It Won't Be Long" — Evan Rachel Wood
4. "I've Just Seen a Face" — Jim Sturgess
5. "Let It Be" — Carol Woods and Timothy T. Mitchum
6. "Come Together" — Joe Cocker
7. "I Am the Walrus" — Bono and Secret Machines
8. "Something" — Jim Sturgess
9. "Oh! Darling" — Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther McCoy
10. "Strawberry Fields Forever" — Jim Sturgess and Joe Anderson
11. "Across the Universe" — Jim Sturgess
12. "Helter Skelter" — Dana Fuchs
13. "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" — Joe Anderson
14. "Blackbird" — Evan Rachel Wood
15. "Hey Jude" — Joe Anderson
16. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" — Bono (background vocals by The Edge)
Deluxe Edition Track List
1. "Girl" — Jim Sturgess
2. ’’Hold Me Tight" — Evan Rachel Wood
3. ’’All My Loving" — Jim Sturgess
4. ’’I Want to Hold Your Hand" — T.V. Carpio
5. ’’With a Little Help from My Friends" — Jim Sturgess & Joe Anderson
6. ’’It Won't Be Long" — Evan Rachel Wood
7. ’’I've Just Seen a Face" — Jim Sturgess
8. "Let It Be (Long Version)" — Carol Woods and Timothy T. Mitchum
9. ’’Come Together" — Joe Cocker
10. "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" — Dana Fuchs (omitted from 29 track version)
11. ’’If I Fell" — Evan Rachel Wood
12. ’’I Want You (She's So Heavy)" — Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, and T.V. Carpio (omitted from 29 track version)
13. ’’Dear Prudence" — Dana Fuchs, Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, and Joe Anderson
14. "Flying" — Secret Machines
15. ’’Blue Jay Way" — Secret Machines
16. ’’I Am the Walrus" — Bono and Secret Machines
17. ’’Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" — Eddie Izzard
18. "Because" — Dana Fuchs, Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, Martin Luther McCoy, and T.V. Carpio
19. ’’Something" — Jim Sturgess
20. ’’Oh! Darling" — Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther McCoy
21. ’’Strawberry Fields Forever" — Jim Sturgess and Joe Anderson
22. "Revolution" — Jim Sturgess
23. ’’While My Guitar Gently Weeps" — Martin Luther McCoy
24. ’’Across the Universe" — Jim Sturgess
25. ’’Helter Skelter" — Dana Fuchs
26. ’’Happiness Is a Warm Gun" — Joe Anderson and Salma Hayek
27. "Blackbird" — Evan Rachel Wood
28. ’’Hey Jude" — Joe Anderson
29. "Don't Let Me Down" — Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther McCoy
30. ’’All You Need Is Love" — Jim Sturgess, Dana Fuchs, T.V. Carpio, and Martin Luther McCoy
31. ’’Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" — Bono (background vocals by The Edge)
TRACK LIST BY BEATLES ALBUMS
* With the Beatles - It Won't Be Long, All My Loving, Hold Me Tight
* A Hard Day's Night - If I Fell, And I Love Her
* Help! - I've Just Seen a Face
* Rubber Soul - Girl
* Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - With a Little Help from My Friends, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!, A Day in the Life
* Magical Mystery Tour - Flying, Blue Jay Way, I Am the Walrus, Strawberry Fields Forever, All You Need Is Love
* The Beatles ("The White Album") - Dear Prudence, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Happiness Is a Warm Gun, Revolution, Blackbird, Why Don't We Do It in the Road?, Helter Skelter
* Abbey Road - Come Together, Something, Oh! Darling, I Want You (She's So Heavy), Because
* Let It Be - Across the Universe, Let It Be
* Other Singles - I Want to Hold Your Hand, Hey Jude, Don't Let Me Dow
More information about the film may be viewed here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Across_the_Universe_(film)
Film clip of the movie trailer:
www.sonypictures.com/movies/acrosstheuniverse/clipspage/
Across The Universe DVD may be purchased here or at your local retail store
www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=across