'Across the Universe' Blu-ray Specs Revealed

Full specs are in for the Blu-ray edition of 'Across the Universe,' with Sony promising a host of bonus musical performances and additional high-def exclusives.

As we first reported in late November, Julie Taymor's ambitious rock opera featuring reinterpretations of over two dozen classic Beatles songs is due to hit both Blu-ray and standard-def DVD on February 5, 2008. Full details are now in, with both the Blu-ray and two-disc DVD sharing a wealth of bonus features and never-before-seen musical materials.

In addition to the previously-announced audio commentary with director Julie Taymor and composer Eliot Goldenthal, other extras will include eight extended musical performances, a deleted scene ("And I Love Her"), plus five making-of featurettes: "Creating the Universe," "Stars of Tomorrow," "All About the Music," "FX on the Universe" and "Moving Across the Universe."

Exclusive to the Blu-ray will be an art gallery of "Jude's" drawings (a reference to the film's fictional character based on the classic Beatles tune "Hey Jude"), illustrated by Don Nace.

Tech specs include 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video and uncompressed PCM 5.1 Surround audio (48kHz/24-bit)

Sony has set a suggested $38.96 list price for the Blu-ray.

You'll find disc details for 'Across the Universe' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, indexed under February 5, 2008.

We've also set up a dedicated thread for the musical in our Forums area -- click the following link to discuss the 'Across the Universe' Blu-ray release.