Xanadu

Rating:
Summary: It's all about innocence ...
Review: The word "Xanadu" is synonymous with "Magic". Speak of Xanadu and you will think of Olivia Newton-John, the music, the muses, the nostalgia, and the magic ...

Nowadays, a music or two from Xanadu on the radio can transport me back to my teens when music was just what it was supposed to be : magical, inspirational, and unforgettable ... unlike today's versions of it.

Xanadu was the reason why I read up on a lot of mythological texts to find out more about the muses (actually to find out her real name) and the reason for my early crush on ONJ, like many others because she was projected with such charm, sensuality and magic that it just literally overwhelms you when she starts to skate, sing or dance.

All in all, it's about innocence which we have lost. Watching this show would give us a peek into ourselves and of the world the way it was twenty years ago. I have the LD, DVD, the music CD, and don't know how many mouldy VHS versions of it, so do you need more hints as to whether you should give it a shot or not? :)

Rating:
Summary: A classic!
Review: This is the 80's at it's best! Leg warmers and rollerskating! I'm sure you can read the plot in other reviews here. This is one movie not to miss! If you like Grease, or just "camp", fun movies, this one is for you. The soundtrack is full of hits written by former ELO member, Jeff Lynn, and sung by Olivia Newton-John's lovely voice. I remember playing this record over and over again when I was a little kid, and even rollerskating to it in my basement! The DVD has some nice features (not enough!) and the picture is crystal clear.

Rating:
Summary: Don't judge a book by its cover...
Review: As you may have noticed (if you are reading comments) there are two distinct kinds of reviews here. Those who loved it, and those who hated it. Within that group you probably have two groups of people. Those who 'lived' in the '80s, and those who didn't.

If you will be judging this movie by the standards of today, then don't bother watching it. It won't measure up, I guarantee it.

Roller Skates, record albums (yuno, those 12" 'black things' that play on a turntable) "Farrah Fawcett" style hair and just about every fashion and dance style of the time are in this movie. Heck, in the animation sequence, when Olivia turns into a bird, she was STILL wearing leg-warmers.

This movie was likely meant to play more like a rock opera than a movie. The plot is thin and the acting so-so. However it is the MUSIC that makes this movie. If you saw "Grease", did you watch it for the 'acting'? Of course not. You 'watched' it for the music. This movie is no different.

If you hate 80's style music however, don't watch the movie.

Xanadu is a movie 'out of time'. Like a photograph that captures the moment, this movie captures the essence of a period in time. This movie typifies much of what the 'scene' was like in the early 80's.

Much like the remake of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band, this is a classic in it's own TIME, and should be seen as such.

Rating:
Summary: Workable premise, bad execution
Review: All right, get this. There's this Greek muse who shows up to inspire an artist whose life is in the doldrums. They end up falling in love and she makes his dreams come true by helping him open up a dance club. She also has an acquaintance from way back when pitch in. Unfortunately, there's a bit of a culture clash between the lovers, since muses aren't supposed to fall in love, but it all works out in the end.

Admittedly, this is a pretty outlandish premise. Silly, even. But it's certainly a workable idea, and could have made for a great screwball comedy. But instead what we get out of it is XANADU, a really bad script that somehow got Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly attached to it. This script is so bad that not even director Robert Greenwald, editor Dennis Virkler, and DP Victor Kemper, guys who've done good work elsewhere, can fix it. In fact, these poor guys are totally hamstrung by the script's lameness. Even Kenny Ortega, the choreographer behind DIRTY DANCING, ends up turning in bad work (ONJ's dance moves near the end are a mess). And Don Bluth's animation is woefully out of place here. What the heck happened?

Now, ONJ, then hot off GREASE, has acting talent. She can do light comedy. We see none of that skill in this film. The playful sexiness this lovely lady had in GREASE is replaced here with being handcuffed to bad plotting (the story goes nowhere, and the characters are as flat as it gets) and even worse dialogue ("Nobody's ever gotten out of here in the whole history of...the whole history!"). Even ONJ's costumes are ludicrous and silly, she only looks glamourous in this film when she's dressed in the army gear for her number with Gene Kelly. And poor Kelly, like ONJ, tries gamely to enliven the proceedings, but not even his charm can overcome such a rotten script. And why did they pick a leading man who can't sing, dance, or act? Michael Beck has all the charisma and screen presence of concrete. Also, Wilfred Hyde-White, as Zeus, sounds like he's half-asleep when he's delivering his lines. Speaking of music, almost all of the songs are used as background pieces. Rarely do the characters themselves sing. Doesn't this defeat the purpose of a musical? And also, the musical numbers are far too gaudy and over-the-top; the mixing of time-periods doesn't work. It also doesn't help that there are only two good songs in this film, "Suddenly" and "All Over The World." Everything else is either headache-inducing are needlessly sugary.

This movie gets two stars only because of Gene Kelly and ONJ. Otherwise, this movie was a waste of their talent and time.

Rating:
Summary: XANA-DON'T
Review: Sure, Olivia Newton-John looks great and sings even better. And Gene Kelly radiates his always-warm personna in one of his last films. ELOs music is fun, and ONJ adds a few #1 hits. But c'mon folks....this is pure dreck. There is no story that can actually be followed or dialect that even remotely resembles what real humans say to one another. The sets are [non-elaborate], the costumes post-Disco rags, and the dancing....well, there's dancing I suppose. Xanadu fails to deliver on ONJ's promise as a musical actress, and does not hold up well over time. Buy the album....skip the flick!

Rating:
Summary: My favorite movie
Review: How could anyone hate this movie?! I read all the reviews and most of them are postivie, but some of them. Have you actually seen Xanadu?! This is almost the best movie ever. The dvd version is alot better than the tape though. Cause the video is clean and the sound is awsome. I spent a whole summer watching this movie and I'm watching it as I type this. It brings back alot of memories. It's a great movie if you like musicals and proably the last great musical to come out of Hollywood.

Rating:
Summary: The eighties began with this film.
Review: Seeing this film again after all these years I was first scared by the red haired people following Gene Kelly during the shopping scene. What I like about the film, besides the music, is the sense of purpose a man tries to have. Kira is an opportunity in life that was missed by one man then picked up again by another. Perhaps I'm looking too much into this film, some of the dancing is so-so, but other films I saw early in the eighties like Breakin' and I realized that this film is shying away from Disco and looking ahead. It doesn't always suceed in the dance numbers: the dueling 40s versus eighties part, though interesting, has some wierd looking folk from both eras. By no means a perfect film in writing, but since when were musicals known for their great dialogue.

The oddest thing I'll remember about seeing this film again is how at first I thought less of it then wanted to see it again. The ending is ambiguous to a certain extent-I remember asking myself 'Is that her or someone else' or 'Was she made mortal'. I suppose your mind takes over from there. The oddest thing about liking this film is that I don't like musicals at all and that in itself is atleast three stars, the first two was for the music, from the CD which I keep playing over and over.

Rating:
Summary: A Musing Movie
Review: Arguably, the acting is a bit hokey at times. But as a modern musical the sets, costumes, music, and concept are some of the best I've seen. The songs Xanadu (inspired from Kubla Khan), Magic, Suddenly, and especially Suspended in Time, are some of my all time favorites and still listen to them daily. This movie must have a very narrow following of dreamers. How neat if muses really existed and fell in love with us! Olivia in that dress- what a beautiful sight, flowing behind her as she skated through the movie. And those other muses, her sisters. What beautiful, wholesome women. I first saw this movie, alone, just after a divorce and came away with some hope for my future. Guess this writer's just a romantic.

"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree, where Alph the sacred river ran, through caverns measureless to man, down to a sun-lit sea." (Kubla Khan). Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: I'm aliiiive!!
Review: Yet another of those movies that I insist on watching a thousand times a year. Unlike most of them, though, I only really discovered this when I was about seventeen. (Thanks Jen!!)

Another of the reviewers was so right when s/he said "It's so good it's bad." Olivia is sickeningly nice, the Sonny guy can't act, but you just can't resist it because the music, outfits, dance routines and the mere 80's'ness of it just gets you going. Everyone in the film feels really ace because they are heading into the 80's and leaving the 70's behind them. They're setting the new trends, they're leading their followers into a brand new era and they're really not afraid about any of it! They're even willing to concede that the 40's were pretty cool.

I would have loved to go to the opening night of the Xanadu nightclub - all you need is your roller-skates, and to know the dance routines perfectly without even having been shown them before, and you're set! (And heavy drugs don't even come into it!!)

I absolutely love all the songs - ELO rocks da party! It is simply addictive, and has some of the best music I've personally ever enjoyed. But then again I am impaired, aren't I?? Fun for all you loveable dags out there.

Rating:
Summary: don't knock it-- just try it!!
Review: What I love about this movie is that, like any good cult classic, the fans go crazy over it despite the harsh beating it takes from the "serious" reviewers. Sure the plot is thin, the acting is terrible and some members of the cast are actually wearing leg warmers and gold lame, but those are the things that make this movie so fantastic. Stop being so stuffy and take a trip into this cheeseball disco fantasy. If you aren't tapping your feet to the groovy ELO tunes by the time it's all over then you must be the grouchy-est codger on earth. Enjoy!!