Xanadu

Rating:
Summary: ONJ, ELO, Dancing, Wild Costumes and Leg Warmers
Review: Often labeled the poster child for some of the worst cinema, Xanadu, starring Oliva Newton John and Gene Kelley, doesn't survive an overzealous scrutiny. Yes, the plot is about as solid as the frayed edges of torn out paper pages from a spiral-bound notebook. Yes, some of the principal photography suffers from poor lighting, cardboard scenery, and general deterioration on certain scenes (making them look as grainy as some of the movies from the 40s to which this film likes to nod throughout.) But if we look beyond those items, if we can consider this film simply on its own merits rather than comparing it to any grand cinema standard, we have a musical film filled with some simply outstanding dance scenes, excellent music, bits of poignant animation, and more.

As a musical entree, which is really the focus of this film, the filmmakers provide the audience with entertainment with a capital E. The musical numbers are the core of the film, and as such, the weak plot interspersed between numbers can be hardly noticeable. Compare this piece to most popular Broadway musicals, such as The Music Man, A Chorus Line, or maybe Cats, and Xanadu delivers 100%, albeit in a somewhat dated fashion. Much of the presentation is provided via theatrical conventions, wide shots and dance routines that would look terrific on stage, in front of a live audience. The choreographed numbers with larger casts of dancers and skaters appear almost as if they were filmed with one camera, and one sequence flows seamlessly into a new camera POV. Again, remnants of a staged vison more than a filmed vision. I wonder if anyone has considered turning Xanadu into a Broadway musical? There is where the true light of Xanadu could shine best and brightest.

Most of the dancing is simply an incredible costumed movement feast for the eyes, especially the 30s/40s/50s mix-mash in "Dancin'" with a wild blend of zoot suits, big band, and ballsy plaids. Gene Kelly performs at the top of his form in a duet with Olivia Newton-John, and the finale "Xanadu" with roller-skating dancing and stunts provide some of the most developed and wonderfully choreographed moments on screen. And dare we mention Muse #1, played by Sandahl Bergman, as a stand out dancer? If you are a true Sandahl Bergman fan (best known for her role, Valeria, in Conan the Barbarian), then you will definitely want to add Xanadu to your collection. She is one of the more precise and fluid dancers in the film, and it is a shame she only gets to perform in two numbers, "I'm Alive" and "Xanadu."

The music is provided by Olivia Newton-John singing and John Farrar writing with 5 songs (one duet with Cliff Richard, one with Gene Kelly, and one big-band/rock-band mix with The Tubes) and another 5 songs provided by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). Hearken back to the years 1979 and 1980, when absolutely everything that came out of Jeff Lynne and ELO was timeless, beautiful, and catchy. Their Discovery album of 1979 was without a single weak song and soared to the top of the charts with several singles. ELO was truly at their best during this era, and if your vinyl Xanadu soundtrack album is getting a bit worn thin, then this DVD is a worthy investment for a top notch mix of the audio. The only thing erroneously missing, musically-speaking, from the film is that the performance never includes ELO on screen. Such a shame. They would have easily fit in to the finale and could have boosted the impact of the music element of the film.

Don Bluth provides a fantastic animation sequence for "Don't Walk Away", a flawlessly executed and conceived piece depicting our two lovers, Kira (Newton-John) and Sonny (Micheal Beck.) And if you look closely, one of the animated animals representing Kira is at one point wearing leg warmers, a nod to the 1980s.

Remember that when this film came to the screen, MTV didn't exist and music videos were in their infancy. All of the songs in this film can individually be considered music videos, and as such, most of them succeed on their own. Many of the optical effects throughout the film were fantastic for the time. In fact, this reviewer would like to see the show condensed into just the musical numbers. You can skip through the show, just watching the songs, and you essentially get the overall arc of the story as well as, or better than, the film as a whole. Now why didn't they add a selection to do just the songs, like Hedwig and The Angry Inch does?

While watching the songs, you MUST view the subtitles at least once. I think the true spirit of the show is adequately reflected in the subtitle descriptions of the sound effects. If you can't laugh at the show while doing so, you probably shouldn't be watching this flick.

I only wish the costume designer had chosen a different costume for Micheal Beck during "The Fall." Do we really want to see him skating down Venice Beach in flame orange short shorts and a Hawaiian shirt? This reviewer would like to forget that she ever wore shorts like that...=)

Rating:
Summary: It's not supposed to be Great Cinema....just fun
Review: Xanadu is one of a handful of movies I like to watch for sheer
escapist pleasure. It's not supposed to be "Great Cinema".
Look at it this way...if my choice was to watch Andy Warhol's eight hour surreality of the Empire State Building and Xanadu, I'll pick Xanadu every time. You can keep the caviar, too...

Rating:
Summary: I loved this movie...when it was at theater, first 3 times.
Review: I saw this years ago when it first came out about 3 times. I still love it. Depending on the day it gets between 3 & 5 stars from me.
Seems a lot of my fav movies others don't like and as of yet I do notunderstand why. My husbond loves this movie also.
I also like High Spirits and Little Shop of Horrors.
KattB

Rating:
Summary: 4 good minutes, forget the rest
Review: This is one of those movies that makes you think, "They really could've made something of this -- so why did they choose to make a disaster?" The one shining moment of creativity is the dance number with Gene Kelly and Olivia Newton-John. They managed to make a dance duet between a 68-year-old man and a much younger woman that not only does *not* seem silly or tacky, but which is very touching -- and fun to watch, as Kelly still had great moves, and the scene (unlike every other dance in the movie) is filmed very effectively. Someone suggested Kelly must've had some input into how the dance was directed and filmed; if so, it's a pity he didn't push for control over the whole project, because the rest of the movie is a mess, with an awful script, non-existent characterization, chaotic choreography and the most inept directing and editing I've seen outside of a home movie. The 4-minute dance duet gives the sense that they *could* have made something interesting and creative; I thought it was clever that they found a way to have Kelly and Newton-John dancing together in the first place and have it make sense (by framing it all as his reverie as he's listening to a recording of her singing). ... then as soon as the dance comes to an end, it's back to sheer wretchedness. It feels as if those 4 minutes were filmed by professional filmmakers and spliced into an amateur production. It's a real pity, especially because the film *does* have something to say, it just says it so ineptly that it's almost torture to watch. Gene Kelly fans really should check out that one scene, but as for the rest -- it's a crying shame.

Rating:
Summary: C'mon get Happy
Review: This movie has a great heart, and just plain makes you feel good. The music is awesome! But if you just get the cd, as the post below advises, you'll miss the MAGIC of Olivia, the class of Gene Kelly, and okay, you'll miss that other (Warriors) guy. I love this movie! When I first saw it...I was mesmerized. It really captures optimism as it was in 1980ish. Olivia's beauty ranks up there with the greats! Consider this dvd an investment in happiness.

Rating:
Summary: Should just buy the Xanadu CD...
Review: I bought the DVD because I remembered how much I liked the movie when it first came out. I sat through an entire showing on my home theater wondering what I could have been thinking. The movie is almost unwatchable. The story between the musical numbers is slow and plodding. The acting by Michael Beck is terrible. The direction is amateurish. It's really sad because the music in Xanadu is fantastic. But, even the terrific music can't save this mess.

Love ya, ONJ! ;-)

Rating:
Summary: Musical Mish-Mosh... On Rollerskates!
Review: Despite the fact that there are far more egregious examples of torture on celluloid (just check out anything with Pauley Shore or Fran Drescher), "Xanadu" has forever been condemned as one of the worst films ever made. The truth is that "Xanadu" is a fair, lightweight movie that is a product of its time; no more, no less.

There's a lot to like here. The music, of course (including several hits for Olivia Newton-John), is the best point in the film's favor. The film is very innocent and upbeat, unlike what we see from Hollywood today. Kira fading in and out, popping up from nowhere, and the strange, uplifting effect the Muse has on Sonny and Danny are all very well done. I even liked the record company executive (James Sloyan), and the interesting scene where he explains to Sonny how he gave up art and learned to conform. And we certainly cannot underestimate the charm and style Gene Kelly brings to the picture whenever his character is in the spotlight.

The worst thing about "Xanadu" has nothing to do with the music, the spotty acting of Newton-John and Michael Beck, or even the ludicrous idea that roller disco was somehow cool. Hands down, the worst thing about this movie is the shoddy directing from Robert Greenwald.

Greenwald is entirely out of his element with the dance sequences, starting right off the bat with the Muses coming to life from the painting. While the dance number drags on, the shots become increasingly more and more like pan and scan video, zoomed in on only part of the action, letting us see only a portion of the dancers. Another shockingly inept sequence is Newton-John's song after Sonny is kicked out of Olympus. The camera slowly zooms in on Kira for something like two minutes, while the character just stands there singing. What was required here was to have the character walking through the bizzare animated environment of Mount Olympus, or just to cut the number altogether, neither of which Greenwald opted for.

One of the few dance numbers worth taking the time to sit through is the Gene Kelly number as he reminisces about his long lost love. The only competently directed musical number, this one could have been taken directly from a top-notch musical film of the late fifties. Obviously Kelly must have had (or taken) some control over this sequence to ensure it not be an embarrassment. The number works, no thanks to Greenwald (at least not if we take the rest of his efforts on the project into account).

Other than the Kelly number, there is a very interesting sequence when Danny and Sonny visit the future "Xanadu". Danny sees a swinging big band, and Sonny sees a rock group. Although the sequence takes an eternity to get there, the two styles (and sets) suddenly start to merge into one song and one style, and winds up being completely amazing.

And that's just what's so frustrating about the film; it can be so fun and infectious, and then turn on a dime and be so torpid and vapid. The ideas are all really good, but many wind up being wasted by the ineffective Greenwald. Thanks to (or because of) Greenwald, "Xanadu" is to musicals what "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was to "Star Trek" movies.

There is some real magic on display in "Xanadu", but you have to really strain your eyes (and patience) to see most of it. I'd say that fans of Kelly need to screen this one just to see how good the man still looks late in his career. Newton-John fans may just wanna stick with listening to a CD of the soundtrack.

Rating:
Summary: Let Me Give You Kiddies a Little History Lesson
Review: All the people that say the plot makes no sense, and they didn't know what was going on, need to read this review. To truly enjoy this movie, you have to be educated on black and white musicals, poetry, and greek mythology.
First of all I will explain the origins of the word "Xanadu".
In 1797 there was a poet named Samuel Coleridge who lived by himself. He was asleep, after taking a dose of Opium and washing it down with alcohol. In his dreams appeared a beautiful woman, (he later called her a muse) reciting a beautiful poem. Alas, a knock at the door from a friend broke him out of his dream, and he rushed to his table to write down what he could remember. The result was a poem titled "Kubla Khan"
In the poem, there is a heavenly place called XANADU, where there is eternal love and happiness. The word has sense been adopted to mean "heaven".
The movie is based on this poem. When Kira appears to a bewildered Gene Kelly, and tells him to call his new club XANADU, and together they recite the first lines of the poem KUBLA KHAN.
Now the reason Gene Kelly is in this film is because Kira has appeared in his life in the 1940's. She returns to help him out again, to inspire his dying ambitions, by inspiring him to open another music club. However he will need someone young and hip to help him out. So Kira also inspires Sonny Malone to quit his bland painting job and use his talents towards his dream. Therefore Kira brings the 2 men together.
Xanadu is a remake of a film titled "Down To Earth" starring Rita Hayworth. Rita also appears as a muse to inspire people to follow their dreams.
Gene kelly's character "Danny McGuire" was actually the name of Gene's character in the 1944 film "Covergirl".
If you are well read on Greek Mythology, you will know there are muses who represent the arts. They are called for in times of need to help inspire an artist's dying ambitions. Therefore the opening scene where the muses are coming out of the wall serves as a window between their world and ours.
Another good tidbit to know about the film, Andy Gibb was suppose to be the male star, not Michael Beck. Andy apparently was in ill health at the time and couldn't be insured by the company.
Xanadu was a film I saw as a 9 year old child. I had been severely injured and could not walk. I was hopeless and depressed. Then one night, Xanadu made its cable debut. I was carried into the living room to watch it (I couldn't walk). I had never seen Olivia Newton-John before, and I was mesmerized by the most incredible woman I had ever seen, dancing and singing through this magical fairy tale. My life had been hum drum up to that point, and the magic, glitz, animation, and music from this film made me want to get up. I was so anxious to walk and rollerskate (LOL) that I was up in no time walking around. I will forever love this movie and how a "muse" called Olivia inspired me to live again.

Rating:
Summary: To quote an old review: "Xanadon't..."
Review: Wow. I couldn't sit through this movie in one sitting. It was that bad, and this is coming from a guy who typically loves bad movies. Heck, I own "I Eat Your Skin" and watch it quite regularly.

However, Gene Kelly can act, and the ELO soundtrack is terrific. Plus, I do like the animation sequence by Don Bluth.

Not really recommended unless you're insane... Or a masochist.

Rating:
Summary: Guilty Pleasure
Review: Cheesy, yet strangely fulfilling. Like a car accident, you can't help but watch it. Why is it under my "James Woods" search, though?