Tagarchief: FilmDungeon

Across the Universe – a Beatles Musical

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


All you need is love.

Director: Julie Taymor
Written by: Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Julie Taymor
Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson

Year / Country: 2007, United Kingdom, United States
Running Time: 133 mins.

Across the Universe is a jukebox musical in which the songs are provided by the greatest band of all time: the Beatles.

It opens with the main character Jude (Jim Sturgess) singing ‘Girl’ – a John Lennon classic – on a beach, immediately immersing the audience in the emotions and energy of the 1960s. The film continues with ‘Helter Skelter’ and ‘Hold Me Tight’, offering a glimpse of Liverpool’s vibrant nightlife.

Like so many of the Beatles’ songs, love is the film’s central theme, and Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess bring undeniable chemistry to their roles. Jude, a shipyard worker, travels to the US to find his G.I. father, whom he’s never met. After locating him – a janitor at Princeton – he meets student Max, who takes him home to meet his sister Lucy. Their connection sparks a romantic love story, but Across the Universe is also deeply rooted in the era’s revolutionary spirit.

Max and Jude move to New York, but their lives are disrupted when Max is drafted for Vietnam. They rent a room from Sadie, a talented singer, and her guitarist Jo Jo, both on the brink of stardom. Lucy joins them in New York, and their relationship blossoms amid the growing anti-war movement, which becomes increasingly radical as the conflict worsens.

The movie features 34 Beatles compositions, many performed memorably by the cast. Standout musical numbers include ‘I Want You’ in a US Army Recruitment Centre, a surreal circus performance of ‘Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite’ (complete with blue meanies), and a soulful ‘Let It Be’ by a black church choir.

The film is packed with visual and lyrical nods to the Beatles, from character names to cranberry sauce, the number 9, and psychedelic imagery that mirrors the band’s evolution – from Liverpool’s working-class roots to the revolutionary fervor of 1960s America, and in between a psychedelic magical mystery tour in the countryside.

The film unfortunately was a box office flop, but the two surviving Beatles praised the film after seeing it, and when the director asked Paul McCartney what could have been done better, he replied: “What’s not to like?” And who am I to disagree with Paul?

Rating:

Biography: Julie Taymor (1952, in Newton, Massachusetts) is an acclaimed American director, playwright, and costume designer, renowned for her groundbreaking work in theater, opera, and film. She is best known for her inventive use of masks, puppets, and visual spectacle, blending Eastern and Western artistic traditions. Her most iconic achievement is directing Disney’s The Lion King (1997), which revolutionized Broadway with its innovative puppetry and staging. In film, Taymor directed Frida (2002), a biopic of artist Frida Kahlo starring Salma Hayek, which received six Academy Award nominations and won two. She also directed Across the Universe (2007), The Tempest (2010), and The Glorias (2020), a biopic about feminist icon Gloria Steinem. Her work often explores themes of transformation, identity, and social justice, and she is celebrated for her ability to create magical, immersive worlds on stage and screen.

Filmography: (a selection): The Tempest (1986, Video), Juan Darién: A Carnival Mass (1990, TV Movie), Fool’s Fire (1992, TV Movie), Salome (1995, TV Movie), Titus (1999), Frida (2002), Across the Universe (2007), The Tempest (2010), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2014), The Glorias (2020)

Backbeat: The Early Days of the Beatles

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


He had to choose between his best friend… the woman he loved… and the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world.

Director: Iain Softley
Written by: Iain Softley, Michael Thomas, Stephen Ward
Cast: Sheryl Lee, Stephen Dorff, Ian Hart, Gary Bakewell

Year / Country: 1994, United Kingdom, Germany
Running Time: 100 mins.

Just let me hear some of that rock and roll music.
Any old way you choose it.
It’s got a backbeat, you can’t lose it.
Any old time you use it.
Gotta be rock and roll music.
If you want to dance with me.
If you want to dance with me.

Liverpool, 1960 – home of the soon-to-be-famous Liverpudlians John Lennon (Ian Hart), Paul McCartney (Gary Bakewell), and Stuart Sutcliffe (Stephen Dorff). Stu is a talented painter who uses the money from selling his first painting to buy a bass guitar. He joins the band of his best friend John, and John convinces him to come along to Hamburg, where they’ve been asked to perform in a nightclub for an extended period.

They arrive on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg and end up sleeping in a run-down porno theatre. Between strip acts in the Kaiserkeller, they play classic rock ’n’ roll songs for drunken German crowds. Their energy and raw talent spill out of every performance. But Stuart’s heart soon turns to something other than the music and the band: he falls in love with the local photographer Astrid.

Backbeat captures the true story of the Beatles before they were famous. It was in Hamburg that they learned to play together night after night (fueled by speed pills) and built up their insanely extensive repertoire. Ringo wasn’t in the band yet (Pete Best was the drummer), and the group still had five members rather than four. It is also the tragic story of John Lennon’s best friend and a beautiful love story. Stephen Dorff and Sheryl Lee are great in their lead roles.

What impresses most about the film is the music. It truly captures the spirit and passion of this incredible moment in history. I expect that Sam Mendes’ four biographical films scheduled for 2028 will draw heavily from the same sources – and from Backbeat – in capturing the beginnings of the sensational life story of the greatest band in history, and of the man who tragically never got to see what came after.

Rating:

Biography: Iain Softley (1956, London) is a British film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his visually distinctive style and interest in character-driven stories. He first gained professional recognition directing music videos and documentaries for the BBC before transitioning into feature films. Softley’s debut feature, Backbeat (1994), a drama about the early days of The Beatles in Hamburg, earned international acclaim and multiple award nominations. He followed this with the cult-favorite cyber-thriller Hackers (1995), which helped launch the careers of several actors, including Angelina Jolie. His subsequent films, including The Wings of the Dove (1997), K-PAX (2001) and The Skeleton Key (2005) showcased a wide stylistic range. Softley has also worked extensively in television and stage, including adaptations and original productions.

Filmography (a selection): Backbeat (1994), Hackers (1995), Toni Braxton: How Could an Angel Break My Heart (1997, music video), K-PAX (2001), The Skeleton Key (2005), Inkheart (2008), Playhouse Presents (2012, TV Episode), Trap for Cinderella (2013), The Outcast (2015, TV Episodes), Curve (2015), The Shepherd (2023, short)

Dungeon Classics #43: Die Hard with a Vengeance

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….


Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995, USA)

Director: John McTiernan
Cast: Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson
Running Time: 128 mins.

The Die Hard franchise built its reputation on a simple yet gripping premise: a tough, resourceful cop trapped in a confined space under siege by terrorists. This formula worked brilliantly in Die Hard (1988) and Die Hard 2 (1990). For the third installment, however, the creators sought fresh ground. The script was originally titled ‘Simon Says’ and was considered by Joel Silver as the third sequel to Lethal Weapon (1987). When Twentieth Century Fox refused to sell the rights however, the script was reworked into Die Hard with a Vengeance, recasting the villain Simon as the vengeful brother of Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman’s iconic antagonist from the first film). The result is a high-energy, action-packed thriller, and the best sequel to the brilliant original. John McClane (Bruce Willis) and his reluctant sidekick, Zeus (Samuel L. Jackson), race across New York City, completing Simon’s deadly tasks to prevent a series of explosions. The film balances humor and spectacle better than its predecessors, delivering both sharp wit and explosive action. The chemistry between Willis and Jackson is electric, especially with Zeus’s fiery, anti-white rhetoric adding a provocative edge. Their dynamic is further enriched by a clever nod to their previous collaboration in Pulp Fiction (1994), with a humorous reference to “smoking cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo.” Die Hard with a Vengeance proves that even within a familiar franchise, innovation can keep the excitement alive.

Dungeon Classics #42: Sexy Beast

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

Sexy Beast (2000, UK, Spain, USA)

Director: Jonathan Glazer
Cast: Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane
Running Time: 89 mins.

Retired British safecracker Gal (Ray Winstone) enjoys a tranquil life in Spain with his girlfriend, basking in the sun, lounging by his pool, and sharing dinners with a nearby British couple. His idyllic routine is shattered – first symbolically by a boulder crashing into his pool, then literally by the arrival of Don Logan (Ben Kingsley), an obnoxious gangster from London. Logan’s mission: to drag Gal into a heist masterminded by the eccentric Teddy Bass (Ian McShane). Like the boulder, Logan is an unstoppable force, disrupting Gal’s peace with relentless aggression. The film is best remembered for Kingsley’s unhinged performance – a whirlwind of rage, bluster, and toxic masculinity. His character’s relentless pressure on Gal creates an atmosphere of suffocating tension, embodied by the film’s tagline: Yes or yes? There’s no escaping Logan’s demands, and the audience is drawn into Gal’s impossible dilemma. The dialogue crackles with sharp, Cockney-flavored wit, delivering lines like: “Shut up, cunt-louse. Look at your fucking sun tan. You’re like fucking leather man, your skin. You can make a fucking suitcase out of you.” You get the picture. Glazer and his team subvert expectations with the film’s climax, offering a fresh twist on the British gangster genre. Sexy Beast is a stylish, unsettling ride – equal parts sun-soaked and sinister.