How a Beatles Movie Did a Musical Scene Underwater

The Beatles‘ movies contain some of the most unexpected sequences in the history of movie musicals. For example, one of them includes a musical number shot underwater. An actor from the movie explained how that moment came together behind the scenes. The moment in question could have become a lot more risque. 

A Beatles movie took on all the band’s eras

Director Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe is a jukebox musical based on the tunes of the Fab Four. It features all of the band’s most famous songs, like “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Something,” and “Let It Be,” along with more obscure tracks like “I Am the Walrus,” “Girl,” and “Because.” The “Because” is one of the most famous scenes in the movie, as it features actors performing the song underwater.

During a 2018 interview with Vulture, Across the Universe star Evan Rachel Wood explained how she was able to film that sequence. “Speeding up the songs and then learning how to sing them really fast,” she said. 

So the scenes were like, [sings] ‘becausetheworldisrounditturnsmeon.’ And then she slowed it down so that it looked like it was in real time. So we filmed underwater all day. We would just take a deep breath and dive under and then try to get the song out as quickly as possible.”

The movie could have been more scandalous

Taymor revealed there was another challenge while Wood filmed the “Because” sequence. “And she also had to work hard to hide her breasts, right Evan?” she said.

“Oh, I always had to hide my breasts,” Wood replied. “I could only show one boob because it was PG-13. Two made it an R, but one was fine! And that was my first nude scene.” While Across the Universe touches on the sexual revolution of the 1960s, it doesn’t get as explicit as it could have been. Plenty of films from the 1960s went a lot farther in that regard!

Across the Universe received mixed reviews upon its release. Some felt that it was blasphemy to even create a musical based on Fab Four songs. Like many of The Beatles’ films, its reputation has only improved over time. Many fans laud the film for its fresh interpretations of Beatles tunes and for capturing the artistic and social changes of the Swinging ’60s.

How The Beatles’ ‘Because’ performed

“Because” was never a single, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. It appeared on The Beatles’ seminal record Abbey Road. That record topped the Billboard 200 for 11 weeks. It lasted on the chart for a total of 490 weeks, meaning it lasted on the chart longer than all of the Fab Four’s other albums.

The Official Charts Company reports “Because” did not chart in the United Kingdom either. On the other hand, Abbey Road topped the U.K. chart for 17 weeks, staying on the chart for 97 weeks in total. In the 1980s, Abbey Road reached No. 1 for a week and remained on the chart for an additional 45 weeks.

Across the Universe is a trip, and “Because” is one of its most visually striking moments.