Across The Universe
 

Since nothing yet has been posted on this movie, I'll bet most here had the same initial reaction to the plot outline that I did if you had any reaction at all, invisible as the film was. A 1960's Summer of Love, love story set to the Beatles catalog with an unknown cast directed by a Broadway icon with Viet Nam coursing along in the background.

:thumbsdn:

So last fall my daughter wanted to take 3 of her 13YO friends to it for her birthday. She was very excited to see it but the film came & went so fast in the theater we did not see it there. (Boy, do I wish that was not so.) It finally came out a few weeks back and my wife snagged it out of the local redbox. When asked if I wanted to watch it with them I of course said "No effing way." and went on about my business. About 2/3 of the way through the film I couldn't take it anymore. I kept hearing great covers of Beatles tunes over & over. Finally I went downstairs and watched the last 30 minutes. When it ended, I watched it from the beginning. The next night I watched it again.

My sister is 12 years older than me and graduated HS in 1967. She was in the thick of the counterculture right on through having a drafted boyfriend who went to Viet Nam and was injured there. I can recall being dragged around Haight-Ashbury by her when I was younger to some places that seem incredible to me now that I was there to begin with. In some odd way I saw this film through her eyes. It really came across to me the way I recall her reactions to events that were depicted in the film which likely influenced why I liked it. In any case, I like it a lot. Visually it is a treat, the covers are fine, and some of the imagery set to them is spectacular! Not since "The Wall" or "Stop Making Sense" have I seen a music based film I've enjoyed as much as this one and it will likely be my first Blu-Ray purchase.

:thmbsp:

bought it , loved it , watched it two days in a row , and will probably watch it again soon or at least the music scenes . really liked " Let It Be " .

My sis is a big Beatle fan, and she bought the SD DVD recently. I was eager to see the movie since I missed it at the theater. I agree that the story was ok, and the imagery was great. Comparing the draft intake scene with "The Wall" gave me chills. My only complaint was that I kept getting frustrated by not hearing whole songs.

Solution? New copies of Abbey Road, etc. They sound nice on the Bozaks...

To me, it was like a string of music videos that happen to make astory. Overall I really liked it, thought the Joe Cocker cover was really good.

I had kind of the same reaction as Soundmotor. I have a slightly older sister who was a Beatles fan and exposed me to all of their music.

It is a very good movie visually and certainly worth a watch. An ambitious plot that attempts to chronicle the '60s and '70s.

I was reluctant to watch it primarily because I was convinced I did not need to hear another Beatles song again. No offense intended to you Beatle fans. It is great, great music, but far too overplayed over the last 40 or so years for my taste.

However, hearing these exceptional songs by other artists makes them sound very fresh. Made me more appreciative of what amazing music the Beatles made. Definitely worth seeing.

I bought it skeptically....loved it!

I raved about it to two of my coworkers, both having the same "Riiiiiiiight....!" reaction. Both saw it, both came back into working commenting how much they enjoyed it and one also bought the DVD. Yet...this film remains somewhat underground. Over the weekend I was talking to a few different people about music & film and none of them had heard of it, all are engaged, & all are Beatles and/or music fans.

As an avid Beatles fan, I was sort of skeptical at the movie, seeing as the last Beatles-themed motion picture was one of the greatest box office failures of the century. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, anyone? :thumbsdn::thumbsdn::thumbsdn: (I have actually seen it, and it was horrible. Actually, that's an understatement.)

Back to the main topic. Unlike most people, I was actually expecting a really mediocre story line crudely strung together by Beatles songs with really dazzling visuals. So it was exactly what I expected (and kind of wanted) it to be. The one part that really struck me was the overall quality of the singing used in the movie. In virtually every rock musical I have seen, there has been one bad voice that ruins the whole thing. Case in point: Tommy! Tommy's father's singing voice is atrocious. Jesus Christ Superstar! Most of the cast's voices were rather weak. Kudos for great voices!

My favorite scene was I Want You (She's So Heavy) - great visuals with lots of not-so-subtle political commentary. The music overall was nice, and not redone in a crude way, very sincere. The story also didn't revolve around the songs in a contrived way, which I really appreciated. For example: There was a character named Doctor Robert without the song Doctor Robert being in the movie. Ditto for Sadie, and the song Sexie Sadie. The All You Need Is Love ending was cliche, IMO, but hey! You can't have everything... :thmbsp:

We rented it We loved it

Glad to hear this. I'll move it up on my Netflix immediately.

Very entertaining. Rented it, may buy it. Really enjoyed the three main characters, particularly the Brit.

I've never been a fan of contrived political overtones in film, just serve up the story straight please sans agenda. What made this film, and this scene* in particular, different (to me) was it seemed an accurate reflection of how the generation most affected by Viet Nam (or who felt they were) saw what was happening.

I recall friends of my sister talking about trying for deferments or joining the Air National Guard, and the depression her group had when someone from it was drafted. Even the boots on the ground scene with the Statue of Liberty was good. I remember how my sister talked about the US military might crushing that little country of agrarian pacifists; her words not mine. So, this film may resonate with some more than others and based directly on where you were during this time period.

*My all time favorite draft induction scene is found in "Big Wednesday".

I had created a thread about a year ago showing mock horror after seeing the preview in a theater.I saw the movie in the theater anyway,since Im a big Beatles fan.I enjoyed a lot of it,even if I thought the story was very heavy handed.My favorite scene was the "Ive just seen a face" number in the bowling alley.Im about 10 years to young to have related to a lot of the things that happened,but the whole story arc with Prudence I could relate to since I knew many people growing up in Los Angeles that went through that-closeted through nessecity usually,with a series of terrible relationships until the lightbulb finally went on.
Jimmy

Apt description. Excellent versions of the music, much better overall (storyline) than I was expecting. Bought it. :music:


Excellent reaction - even for a dyed-in-the-wool fan :D, good fresh versions of the songs are always welcome, and can be very illuminating.

My 21 year old step daughter never liked the Beatles. She thought anything that was recorded that long ago wasn't worth listening to. We rented the film about 6 months back when she was home from college. Now she's a huge fan and has had me record everything I have for her including "Beatle" solo work. We all enjoyed the film and better yet, it made her a fan.

I liked it. Netflixed it, then bought a copy to keep. Exceeded my expectations.:thmbsp:

I bought the movie I loved it so much. Took quite a bit of effort to have others sit down and watch the movie but as soon as I did they were very thankful

My teenage daughter and her boy friend rented it a couple weeks ago. They loved the music but didn't quite get the movie. I had trepidations about watching it after seeing the trailers. I loved it.

I've seen the movie twice. Overall, it was good, but too long. They tried sticking in too many songs. The circus tent scene was pure crap, but probably necessary if they were trying to imitate a "magical mystery tour" type scene.

I found it on projectfreetv on the net a while back and love having it on in the background while I'm on the computer.

Both my wife and I graduated from high school in 1972 (we met at our 25th reunion, but that is another story for another thread). I was very much pro-war regarding Vietnam. I saw it as a classic example of what happens when you fight a "police action" with one hand tied behind your back.

With that backdrop, I loved the movie. There was some very real stuff in there and the songs were done superbly - especially Let it Be.

We got it at a garage sale for a couple bucks.

Thanks for the tip, guys! I was vaguely aware when this movie came out, but it immediately fell off of my radar. I was very impressed with the "I Am Sam" soundtrack, as well as the movie. I am looking forward to watching "Across the Universe".

I watched Magical Mystery Tour on Youtube about a month ago. It really IS as bad as everyone says it is. :yes:

But then, so's "Plan 9 from outer space", if you get my drift.

I haven't seen the movie, but I've heard a good deal of the music, as my stepdaughters absolutely love it. I thought the Joe Cocker was great, as usual. As for the songs done by the "stars", I found them.... totally bogus. There seems to be a hollywood/record company misconception that slowing a song down, making the backup music sparse, and overly accentuating the vocal line makes it somehow more "heartfelt." I didn't like it at all. Not that covering Beatles is a bad thing - Aerosmith did a good version of Come Together, IMO, and I've always liked Joe Cocker's covers. When I heard this stuff from ATU, I might rate it as better than Steve Martin's "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", but I'd put it at about the same level as the soundtrack to the Tommy movie -- maybe good for a movie, but not the Who. Same thing -- maybe good for a movie, but not the Beatles by a LONG shot.

Sometimes different is better, sometimes equal-but-different. I wouldn't put these versions in either catagory. It gets door #3 for me.

rooster.

I own the Tommy movie for the same reason I own the Rooftop Singers "Walk Right In" LP. I like to own examples of "famously bad' stuff.

In the case of ATU, though, I actually liked the very thing you didn't like.

The subjectivity of art never fails to fascinate me. But to be clear, Rap ain't art...

So, how do you feel about dark beer?:yes:

I always say that rap is art, but not music. But that's my thing, and it's best not to get into a discussion about that one. It always turns nasty.

As to dark beer, I like the Shiner Bock for domestic, I enjoy a Murphy's stout once in awhile, I gotta admit that I like Newcastle Brown Ale, pedestrian as that may be, and I've always enjoyed Anchor Steam, although that's not really "dark", kinda in between.

There are so many good dark beers in the world, I just don't have time to try them all.

Good stuff. Who needs food when you've got dark beer?

rooster.

Excellent clarification. And I agree!

I drank Olympia dark back in the early 1970's. I've always thought the "popular" beers were bland, but at least they were cold. When at the pike place brewery I always get their sampler. The Kilt Lifeter is really good and practically syrupy.:D

I just saw a few parts of it. From what I saw, if you love the Beatles, you'll love it. If you don't love the Beatles, you won't love it.

BTW, the choir did an excellent job of 'Let It Be'.

Kinda off topic, but I also have a copy of "Tommy" just because it's so bad. There are a few scenes that make me laugh till my stomach hurts because they're so bad or corny. Like the scene with the chocolate coming out of the television or the scene where Tommy is running through a green screen of an ocean with fish. And who was the genius who decided to have Jack Nicholson sing? Apparently nobody learned anything, because 25 years later or so, we have Pierce Brosnan attempting to sing Abba songs in "Mamma Mia!".

Both movies require an alcoholic beverage to make them watchable.

Mama Mia!!! Don't get me started!

Bought the DVD, heard so many nice reviews about it. But I haven't watched it yet.

My 16 year old daughter loved the film, bought the soundtrack, and sings along.

If that's what it takes to get her interested in The Beatles, then it's OK by me.