Across the Universe released in New York City on September 14th, goes nationwide today, September 21st. The film shot in New York City from September 2005 – January 2006 and employed over 4,000 New Yorkers.

Across the Universe is a groundbreaking musical from the imagination of renowned writer-director Julie Taymor.  The film brings together an original story and 33 songs from the Beatles that defined a generation.  A love story set against the backdrop of the 1960’s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, mind exploration and rock ‘n roll, the film moves from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam.  The star-crossed lovers, Jude and Lucy, along with a small group of friends and musicians, are swept into the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements, with “Dr. Robert” and “Mr. Kite” as their guides.  U2 lead singer Bono stars as the psychedelic Dr. Robert, and comedian Eddie Izzard stars as the animated Mr. Kite.  Tumltuous forces outside of their control ultimately tear Jude and Lucy apart, forcing the two young lovers – against all odds – to find their own way back to each other.

Despite filming a number of scenes in the five boroughs, the film itself has dozens of locations.  The film company created Detroit, Vietnam, Washington D.C., suburban Massachusetts, Muscoot farm, where they stage a circus scene, and other “magical” environments, all within the New York City area.

Rivington Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan was one of the biggest locations for the film.  The hip and artsy neighborhood was transformed into a heightened version of the East Village scene in the 1960s.  A few real business’s from St. Mark’s Place that actually existed were portrayed, but the art department mixed it up and made the area more colorful and exaggerated than anything that was really in New York at the time. 

The film stars Evan Rachel Wood, newcomer Jim Sturgess, U2 frontman Bono, and comedian Eddie Izzard.

The film shot in
Red Hook Park, Brooklyn

Grants Tomb

Former Sugar Factory on Beard Street in Brooklyn

NYPD Erie Basin Vehicle Evidence Facility in Brooklyn

162nd Street and Third Avenue Cemetery in the Bronx

Time & Life Building

Rivington Street and Clinton Avenue

Patrick’s bar on Dyckman Street

George Washington Bridge Bus Station

5th Avenue from 9th Street to Washington Square Park

Liu’s Wash & Dry on Rivington Street

MacDougal Street and Washington Square North

Lillie’s Bar on Beard Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn

Subway Museum in Brooklyn

Van Nest Lanes in the Bronx

Webster Hall

Union Theological Seminary on Broadway and 121st

 Katz’s Deli on Houston Street

69th Regiment State Armory on Lexington Ave

Museum of the City of New York on 5th and 103rd Street

Subway Station on 116th and Broadway

Orchard Beach Road in the Bronx

Jamaica High School on Gothic Drive at 168th Street in Queens

St. Francis College in Brooklyn