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Reviews:

Is There Anybody Going to Listen to my Story?
There have been several movies that have tried to make the music of The Beatles a central focus of their reason d’existence. Some – like The Beatles’ own A Hard Day’s Night and Yellow Submarine – are perfect, some are not (the dismal “All This and World War Too”). Even the camp classic Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was so bad it was worth seeing because of the music. Heck, even the forgettable I Am Sam raked in a killer soundtrack thanks to John, Paul, George and Ringo.

But they’ve got nothing on “Across The Universe.” Taking the turmoil and tumult of the sixties and re-imagining it through the lyrics of Beatle’s songs, it is a trippy, hallucinogenic ride that is a visual and sonic feast. Jude (from Liverpool, naturally) comes to the US to find his American soldier dad (Robert Clohessy, a regular from Oz – The HBO prison drama) only to collide with rich kid renegade Max and then to fall for his sister, Lucy. Suddenly, they find themselves in NYC with a Janis Joplinish landlady, Sadie, and her Jimi Hendrixian boyfriend, Jojo.

The sixties then take their turn into the war, and the drama unfolds as Jude falls for Lucy (“I’ve Just Seen a Face”), Max finds himself drafted (“I Want You”) and Lucy falls under the spell of the anti-war movement leader. Each point is often brilliantly illustrated, and director Julie Taymor tosses subtlety out the window for several of the film’s best sequences. In particular, when Prudence sings “I Want To Hold Your Hand” as a lament for a love that can’t speak out loud, football players fly through the air and collide as she walks through them. When Max gets to his indoctrination and the exaggerated GI Joes march in “stomp dance” style to “I Want You,” it’s breathtaking. While the narrative occasionally falters, the visuals and set pieces never do.

Of course, there is the music. While there’s nothing earth-shattering here, all the actors acquit themselves just fine. The small handful of cameos are great, especially Joe Cocker singing “Come Together” as three different characters, and Bono playing the Ken Keasey Electric Kool-Aid guru Dr Robert on the magic bus, promoting his new book titled (heh heh) “I Am The Walrus.” (I could have done without Eddie Izzard’s “Being for The Benefit of Mr Kite,” even if the sequence is sufficiently madcap.) But this isn’t a sloppy kaleidoscope like the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 1978 Soundtrack was; other than the three men mentioned prior, there are no stars here. In particular, Sadie (Dana Fuchs) and Jojo (Martin Luther McCoy) give dynamite performances, and other than Evan Rachel Wood, the cast is relatively unknown.

I really can’t say enough about the pleasure I got from “Across The Universe, and it may be the first time you walk into a theater humming the songs. I was skeptical at first, because many of the reviews I’d read were not kind. But I have a feeling many of them were written by folks of a more tender age, lacking the comprehension of the times portrayed on screen. One of the most fun things about this movie was catching the goofy Beatles’ homages sprinkled in the film’s dialog (favorite, when Prudence sneaks into the Sadie’s communal apartment and someone asked where she comes from, Jude replies “she came in through the bathroom window”).

This is also a recommendable movie for one other reason. It isn’t. When I say ‘it isn’t,’ I mean, not a sequel, not a rip-off of a TV series (old or new), not a remake and some lowbrow teen sex-romp. There isn’t anything cloying or coy, and while the movie is certainly political, the politics you get from it will be what you read out on your own. “Across The Universe” is as relevant today as it was when when The Beatles sang “But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain’t gonna make it with anyone anyhow.” Grab your popcorn, sit back, relax and float downstream.

Very well done!
My husband and I LOVED this movie! It is very creative and artistically done; it really captures your imagination and draws you into its world. The soundtrack is amazing, also. The cover songs are so well done by the cast, and it all fits in with the movie perfectly! Great performances.

ICONIC MOMENTS IN HISTORY, WITH MUSIC
The fabulous Across the Universe reminds me of a time in my life. In the story, Jude, a young dockworker, (portrayed by Jim Sturgess) leaves Liverpool to find his estranged father in America, but when he arrives, he is soon swept up in a wave of change that is reshaping the nation. And, of course, he finds love. Evan Rachel Wood portrays Lucy, a rich but sheltered American girl who joins the growing anti-war movement.

Watching the two of them as they explore this rapidly changing world, and even when they are caught up in a psychedelic universe in a world gone mad, I was captivated.

Like Alice falling down the rabbit hole, these two are buffeted about as they attempt to redefine their universe.

Worth watching just for the music, if for nothing else, this movie is more than the romantic trials and tribulations, the political fervor, and even the music–it reflects an iconic moment in America’s history.

I would grant five stars to this flick.

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Across the Universe Description:

• Amazon Sales Rank: #762 in DVD
• Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
• Released on: 2009-09-08
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Cantonese, English, French, Korean, Spanish
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .16 pounds
• Running time: 133 minutes

Features

• ISBN13: 0043396330221
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

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