Across The Universe
The Beatles with a twist
All You Need is Love, & a Good Movie
Across the Universe is a musical made in 2007 which takes place in the 60's during the Vietnam War. The movie tells a story using Beatles songs and involves a romantic relationship between a poor artist from Liverpool and an upper-class American girl.
Across The Universe - Jim Sturgess {Lyrics}
This is the movie's version of the song "Across the Universe" sung by Jim Sturgess who plays Jude
The Music
In this scene, the young boy is singing "Let it Be" as war and riots break out around him, the notes are lengthened in this version but there is also a lot of power, this song really makes you feel sympathy for those who have lost loved ones during the war.
The History
This picture is from a scene where they are singing "I Want You" this song is being sang while going through the motions and steps of what it is like to be drafted.
The Connection
This picture is the ending scene of the movie when the main character Jude is singing "All You Need is Love" on the rooftop of a building, similar to what the Beatles did in 1969. The last song of the movie took place on the rooftop as did the Beatles last performance.
Mixing Old & New
There about 30 Beatles songs in the Across the Universe, none of which sound like the original, some songs may be made slower or faster, some have changes in tone or pitch. I understand that this may make some people mad, however the songs are actually done very well. It's intriguing to watch the movie and see how nicely the songs flow and are pieced together to tell a story and how each song perfectly describes the situation even without changes to the lyrics. I am someone who loves listening to the Beatles but I have to admit, there have been times when I have actually preferred the versions from Across the Universe instead. Even though the songs aren't coming from the Beatles themselves, they are still enjoyable, the changes to the songs and the order in which they appear are part of what makes the movie so great!
The History is Not Forgotten
Across the Universe does an amazing job of telling a made up story while still involving all the history during that time. The Vietnam War is talked about throughout the movie and it shows how involved some people were with protests, it also touches on the draft system and how it works. The movie also shows a lot of differentiation between African Americans and white people because Civil Rights issues were going on during this time. You get to see how each group of people deal with death which is very interesting. One of the characters in the movie named JoJo is a guitarist who is supposed to reference Jimi Hendrix which I think is super cool. The movie also demonstrates how much of an impact the war had on people because that was the first war to be televised, there is also a scene with Martin Luther King Jr on the TV, again showing important historical moments during this time. I think this movie rocks summing up this time period, they add a lot of language that was used then and of course incorporate drug use as well.
Keeping the Magic Alive
This movie is one you can't miss if you're a hardcore Beatles fan like myself, Across the Universe not only manipulates Beatles songs to tell a story but also includes so many interesting facts about the Beatles throughout the movie. For example, all of the characters have names that come from Beatles songs like Jude (Hey Jude), Lucy (Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds), Max (Maxwell's Silver Hammer), Prudence (Dear Prudence), and many more. The movie makes references to the Beatles throughout the whole film which is super cool, sometimes even after seeing the movie over 10 times I'll pick up on things I haven't noticed before. There are 2 lines that are said during the film very subtly, "When I'm 64, I'll be long gone from this place, but I'm still here" and "She came in through the bathroom window" both sentences most people would think nothing of, but those 2 quotes are actually referring to titles of Beatles songs that also happen to fit into the dialogue. There are endless connections between the movie and the Beatles and if you love hearing about them as much as I do, check out the link below.