Interscope Records will be releasing the Beatles-inspired soundtrack to Across the Universe on September 18, 2007. Directed by Julie Taymor (Frida) from a screenplay she co-wrote with Dick Clement and Ian LaFrenais, Across the Universe utilizes Beatles tunes to tell the story of lovers Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood).

Across the Universe uses 33 songs to tell its story, 16 of which will be featured on the soundtrack including "Hey Jude," "All You Need is Love" and "I Am the Walrus" performed by Bono.

According to a press release issued by Interscope Records, many of the songs in the film were recorded using 'period appropriate equipment' to lend authenticity to the tracks. Also included on the soundtrack CD are "All My Loving," "I Want To Hold Your Hand," "It Won't Be Long," "I've Just Seen A Face," "Let It Be," "Something," "Oh Darling," "Across the Universe," "Helter Skelter," "Strawberry Fields," and "Happiness Is A Warm Gun."

Taymor's quoted in the press release as saying, "It was a tremendous challenge and privilege to create an original movie musical using the Beatles' songs as inspiration for the story." The writer/director added, "The entire concept of this musical is that the lyrics will tell the story. They are the libretto, they are the arias, they are the emotion of the characters."

Elliot Goldenthal wrote the score and produced/rearranged the songs with T Bone Burnett and Teese Gohl. Commenting on his arrangements Goldenthal said, "With this material, everybody knows it so well so the challenge was try to find an honest way -- staying within oneself -- of getting to the core of these songs and try to find other ways to support the beautiful words and music."

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Across the Universe Official Synopsis

A love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s 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 up into the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements, with "Dr. Robert" (Bono) and "Mr. Kite" (Eddie Izzard) as their guides. Tumultuous forces outside their control ultimately tear the young lovers apart, forcing Jude and Lucy -- against all odds -- to find their own way back to each other.

Source: Interscope Records