{"id":636,"date":"2008-02-07T19:29:41","date_gmt":"2008-02-08T00:29:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/2008\/02\/07\/across-the-universe\/"},"modified":"2022-10-27T11:02:56","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T15:02:56","slug":"across-the-universe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/across-the-universe\/","title":{"rendered":"Julie Taymor does The Beatles songbook in Across the Universe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I believe I’m in the minority opinion here, but I really liked Across the Universe<\/em>. Already loving the songs of the Beatles and the films of Julie Taymor, perhaps I’m predisposed. Taymor rounds up all the usual suspects from the Lennon & McCartney oeuvre: Lucy, Jude, Maxwell (as in “Silver Hammer”), Jo Jo (from “Get Back”), Sadie, Prudence… even the Blue Meanies from Yellow Submarine<\/em> kick up their heels as Mr. Kite’s Rockettes. But unless I missed them in the crush, Rocky and Rita didn’t make the cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At two plus hours, Across the Universe<\/em> may in fact be too much of a good thing. The Beatles wrote a great many wonderful love songs, but even these canonical classics can seem a little redundant when strung together in a series, illustrated by Jena Malone & Jim Sturgess swooning over each other over and over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Across
Chris Cunningham & Portishead called & asked for their fish tank back<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The best sequences are the weirdest, especially the “She’s So Heavy” number which resembles something out of Alan Parker’s cracked Pink Floyd The Wall<\/em>. But sometimes the interpretations are ruined by being a little too literal; the “Revolution” sequence starts out great with Jude trying to sway a radical revolutionary group away from violent protest (“But when you talk about destruction \/ Brother you know that you can count me out”), but he predictably points at a portrait of Chairman Mao right on cue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Across
She’s so heavy, indeed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Topped off with cameos by Salma Hayak (times five) and Bono<\/a> in a rare dramatic role as a sort of Timothy Leary figure (sporting an entertainingly loony American accent modeled, at least to my ears, after Dennis Hoppper<\/a>), this rumored-to-be-troubled production can be a little overwhelming and redundant, but it’s really something to see.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I believe I’m in the minority opinion here, but I really liked Across the Universe. Already loving the songs of the Beatles and the films of Julie Taymor, perhaps I’m predisposed. Taymor rounds up all the usual suspects from the Lennon & McCartney oeuvre: Lucy, Jude, Maxwell (as in “Silver Hammer”), Jo Jo (from “Get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,2],"tags":[1140,1139,1142,1143,1141,357],"class_list":["post-636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-3-stars","category-movies","tag-beatles","tag-bono","tag-jena-malone","tag-jim-sturgess","tag-julie-taymor","tag-musical"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/across-the-universe-feature.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-ag","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8965,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-beatles-were-the-right-thing-at-the-right-time-and-place-in-beatles-64\/","url_meta":{"origin":636,"position":0},"title":"The Beatles were the right thing at the right time and place, in Beatles ’64","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"January 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"As long as The Four Lads From Liverpool LLC Inc. \u00a9 \u2122 remains a commercial entity expected to release new product every year, and the amount of unreleased material in the vaults is approaching zero, it's easy to dismiss David Tedeschi & Martin Scorsese's Beatles '64 as a cynical attempt\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Movies"","block_context":{"text":"Movies","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/main-menu\/movies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Beatles '64","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/beatles-64.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/beatles-64.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/beatles-64.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/beatles-64.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/beatles-64.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":296,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-dork-report-for-june-26-2006\/","url_meta":{"origin":636,"position":1},"title":"The Dork Report for June 26, 2006","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"June 26, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Look, robots! 1,000 2,000-year-old skeletons (no longer online: news.scotsman.com\/international.cfm?id=916922006). (spotted on Fortean Times) (no longer online: forteantimes.com\/breaking_news\/breaking_news.shtml) The Beatles are taking it to Vegas. But what really interests me is the NY Times reporter's preview of the new Beatles remixes\/remasters. After audio quality, the next detraction to digital music is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Dork Report"","block_context":{"text":"The Dork Report","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/dork-report\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dork Report","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":840,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/26-albums-im-told-i-should-remove-from-my-collection\/","url_meta":{"origin":636,"position":2},"title":"26 Albums I’m Told I Should Remove From My Collection","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"May 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Chalkills, the XTC fansite, wants to help you sift through the detritus of your music collection, pronto: One Hundred Albums You Should Remove from Your Collection Immediately (spotted on DGMLive). I own (or once owned) a whopping 26% of these overrated (so they say) canonical classics! Hey, Chalkhills, what did\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/main-menu\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"100 albums","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/100albums1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":410,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-dork-report-for-september-9-2006\/","url_meta":{"origin":636,"position":3},"title":"The Dork Report for September 9, 2006","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"September 9, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"An Ultimately negative (but insightfully so) piece on Watchmen, gleaned from its Wikipedia entry: \"Fighting Evil, Quoting Nietzsche: Did the comic book really need to grow up?\" by Tom Shone. Quinn [no longer online: simonhaertel.de]: a really fun and really free Tetris falling blocks game for the Mac. Serve with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Dork Report"","block_context":{"text":"The Dork Report","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/dork-report\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dork Report","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":809,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/im-not-there\/","url_meta":{"origin":636,"position":4},"title":"Todd Haynes deconstructs Bob Dylan in I’m Not There","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"May 13, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I always find it interesting to ponder my preconceived notions of a movie after I've actually seen it. The marketing and buzz on I'm Not There mostly centered on two talking points: the quirky device of multiple actors all playing incarnations of Bob Dylan, and Cate Blanchett being just plain\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"I'm Not There","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/im-not-there-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/im-not-there-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/im-not-there-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/im-not-there-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/im-not-there-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":751,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/into-the-wild\/","url_meta":{"origin":636,"position":5},"title":"Sean Penn and Emile Hirsch go Into the Wild","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"April 12, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Like many young men cursed with a privileged life of education and time to think for themselves, Chris McCandless (Emile Hirsch) wanted only a vaguely defined \"truth\" and to not have to rely on anyone. Synthesizing his reading of Henry Thoreau and Jack London, he imagined for himself a life\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Into the Wild","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/into-the-wild-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/into-the-wild-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/into-the-wild-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/into-the-wild-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/into-the-wild-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7964,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636\/revisions\/7964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}