Across the Universe: Two Disc Special Edition (Sony Pictures) is a highly theatrical movie musical that uses the songs of the Beatles to paint a portrait of the late 1960s. No music is more culturally loaded than the Beatles’ songs, so director Julie Taymor does not radically reinterpret or overanalyze them, taking the lyrics at their literal meaning rather than aiming for deeper interpretations. The classic boy-meets-girl story line is pretty basic, so the film begins as a stock 1950s musical. Whereas the earliest songs are straightforward in their presentation, subsequent numbers serve as wild slapstick, vicious political statement or 1960s touchstone.
The script works laboriously to incorporate the song lyrics into the story line, and that does limit the depth of characterization to little more than easily defined archetypes. The film’s strongest suit is Taymor’s visual aesthetic, which becomes trippier and more psychedelic as the characters progress through the decade’s social upheaval of free love, drug experimentation and war protest. Taymor, who studied theatre disciplines as far apart as London, Indonesia and Africa, has a superb sense of style, and the DVD’s second disc has many special features on the production design, Oscar-nominated costumes, cinematography and music.
Naturally, no film using the music of the Beatles is complete without offering up some reverential tribute. The one here is different, not content just to rehash their history but allowing the actor-singers and artists working in their various fields to talk about their personal connection to the Beatles’ music. Also of interest is Taymor and her husband, music superviser Eliot Goldenthal, discussing the process of winnowing the Beatles’ several hundred songs down to just 33 for the film. It is ironic that the type of music the Beatles represented helped kill off the movie musical three decades ago, and Taymor now uses it to reinvigorate the form. It is a daring, crazed and inspired notion.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Universal) is the second chapter in director Shephar Kapur’s rip-roaring reinterpretation of British history. Following her Oscar-nominated turn in 1998’s Elizabeth, Cate Blanchett returns as Queen Elizabeth I, now an older and wiser ruler facing foreign foes in the third decade of her reign. Resplendent costumes, grand sets, artfully achieved visual effects and bombastic music all contribute to the film’s impressive majesty. Director Kapur’s signature use of vibrant colors, opulent flourishes and hyperactive cinematography makes this one energetic and engrossing period piece. Writers Michael Hirst and William Nicholson are more interested in the vivid personalities rather than the era’s social, religious and political upheavals, even though the 16th-century conflicts eerily echo our modern struggles with religious fundamentalism.
One could nitpick over factual inaccuracies, but no one intended this as just another dull history lesson. This is a spectacular Hollywood epic meant as intelligent entertainment. Blanchett never plays Elizabeth solely as a stoic ruler, capturing all the mercurial moods of a shrewd politician and yet still a woman with romantic yearnings kept under wraps all in service to diplomatic maneuvering. The supporting cast is fine, even if the movie can never quite figure out what to do with Morton or Geoffrey Rush, returning as spymaster Walsingham. Given that this is the story of a queen, it is truly a one-woman show, and Blanchett is simply magnificent.
A feature-length commentary has director Shekhar Kapur discussing his “Shekharisms”, the embellishment of history to suit the mood and the emotional high points of the picture. Kapur knew full well what type of mayhem he was creating (he describes it as “mythical”), and this talk emphasizes his strong artistic choices. Additional extra are a few deleted scenes that flesh out Samantha Morton’s role as Mary, Queen of Scots, a standard making-of feature and info on location shooting and visual effects. Whatever the script’s shortcomings, the opulent production design, Kapur’s flair for the theatrical and Blanchett’s towering Oscar-nominated performance make this grand entertainment.
Gone Baby Gone (Miramax) is a mystery about the kidnapping of a small child from a working-class Boston neighborhood. Casey Affleck stars as the young private eye investigating the case, and theatre veteran Amy Ryan received an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress as the drug-addicted, white-trash mother of the child. Based on a novel by Dennis Lehane (who also wrote Mystic River), the movie marks the assured directing debut of Ben Affleck, who also grew up in the area. Few films have such a sense of time and place as this one, and the setting informs both the mystery and the investigation.
Ben Affleck and writer Aaron Stockard offer a spirited audio commentary. Considering the marginal box-office performance of the film, Miramax does not go overboard on the extras. Beyond the commentary, there is an extended ending that does not really change the outcome, as well as a few fluff pieces. If you missed this in theatres, catch it for the tough-talking, no-nonsense performances of Casey Affleck and the Oscar-nominated Ryan.
The Aristocats (Walt Disney Video) has the distinction of being the last full-length cartoon greenlit by Walt and the first completed after his death. Though it repurposes elements from previous Disney features (essentially, it’s 101 Dalmatians but with cats and in Paris instead of London), the new DVD release reminds us that it is one of the studio’s liveliest and most fun. Unfortunately, it has to contend with the reputation of being a lesser effort, and even Disney does not bother coming up with much to celebrate, in the way of special features.
This is the second time The Aristocats has been on DVD. It was released in 2000 as part of Disney’s Gold Collection. The only bonus features available back then were interactive elements for children: A read-along story and a trivia game. These are all gone, but the new games for kids are not very imaginative. The features more of interest to adults include an interesting piece on the deleted song She Never Felt Alone, three behind-the-scenes features called “Backstage Disney” and a tribute to the songwriting Sherman Brothers. Oddly enough, the cat-centric animated film is the perfect companion piece to 2007’s rat-tastic Ratatouille.
