Xanadu

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Summary: Magical, light-hearted, musical love story!
Review: Excellent movie! Don't pay attention those here that haveleft bad reviews. If you like Olivia Newton-John and her music, youwill like this movie. Despite what is stated in other reviews, Matt Lattanzie does NOT play a young Kelly. He's in the movie and he and Olivia DID meet during the making of the film, but he has only a brief dancing part. And It's not a roller "derby", it's a roller rink! In case you are too young to remember, roller skating was very popular in the late 70's and 80's. SEE IT!

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Summary: Xanadu Rocks
Review: I was 6 when this movie came out. I always remember the music because we owned the Vinyl LP. It was one of the best records we owned. I could listen to Olivia Newton John's voice over and over. When I got the chance to see the movie again, it really reminded me how beautiful ONJ really was. This movie will take you back to a time where things could just be 'fun' and was much simpler. I love this movie. Good thing I am not a movie critic because I would not be able to enjoy any movie at all.

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Summary: WHAT WAS GENE KELLY SMOKING WHEN HE AGREED TO THIS?
Review: All these other reviewers must be working for Universal Studios because there is NO WAY that this movie is even remotely good. It's a crashing bore (96 torturous minutes), the acting is amateurish (if you think Al Gore is stiff, check out Michael Beck's acting), the choreography is numbingly bad, and the "special effects" are so embarassing and sickeningly sugary to watch that you'll be cringing in your seat on your way to a most certain diabetic coma! Even the Don Bluth animation sequence is so mortifyingly out of place, you'll be screaming in disbelief at how this movie ever got made, let alone released! To this day, I thought the Village People's "Can't Stop The Music" was the worst movie musical I'd ever seen. I was wrong. This one takes the cake! The music itself is first-rate (ELO is great and Olivia is superb, as always), but its inclusion in this mess doesn't do it justice. I understand this film wasn't made to be an Oscar-winner, but come on...it tries to be too many things to too many people while attempting to incorporate all the then-hot trends of 1980 and fails miserably in the process. Even the ultra-talented Gene Kelly can't save this stinker. So is it worth buying? No way. Is it worth renting? Definitely. If only to see how bad a movie can be.

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Summary: Olivia Is MAGIC!
Review: OLIVIA IS MAGIC IN THIS FILM! I loved everything about this film. The love story, Olivia, Gene Kelley, Olivia, the dancing, Olivia, the music, did I mention Olivia. What's not to like about film? It shines, the music is wonderful, and the acting is fun. Not Oscar worthy, but a movie you can watch again and again.

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Summary: Olivia shines!
Review: Just the scene alone with Olivia & Gene Kelly dancing together is magical. She is one of most talented singers of this century. Xanadu might not be Oscar worthy, but it definitely entertaining if you are a fan of good music. It is a very colorful movie with very memorable songs. A few were top ten. Even if you hated this movie, I know you remember the music. Viva Xanadu!

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Summary: The music saves this film from being a disaster.
Review: The plot (a weak one) bears a strong resemblance to the Rita Hayworth film "Down To Earth". Good quality music contributed by Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra make up for fair at best acting and a lousy script.

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Summary: OLIVIA SHINES IN XANADU!!
Review: XANADU WAS THE PERFECT SHOWCASE FOR THE TALENTS OF THE LOVELY OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN. HER SINGING WAS FABULOUS, HER DANCING ENERGETIC AND HER LOOKS ARE STUNNING. THE DVD VERSION IS GREAT FOR INSTANT ACCESS TO YOUR FAVORITE SCENE, YOU CAN EVEN PROGRAM THE SCENE ACCESS TO JUST SHOW THE MUSICAL NUMBERS. GRANTED, THE MOVIE WAS NOT THE GREATEST MUSICAL EVER MADE, BUT IT HAS A LOT OF ENERGY AND AN OLD-FASHIONED CHARM ABOUT IT. IF YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT OR ONLY SEEN IT ONCE, GIVE IT ANOTHER CHANCE, I THINK YOU WILL BE AMAZED.

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Summary: Xanadu Your Neon Lights Will Shine
Review: I LOVE this movie. Why talk about how bad it is? Because it is VERY bad. It's so bad it's good! Whose idea was it to merge fading musical star Gene Kelly with 80's pop sensation Olivia Newton John??? Throw in some ELO music and some neon special effects and you've got XANADU. Oh, it's fabulous!! Roller skating, off-the-shoulder 80's dresses, long hair, leg warmers.... This is XANADU. The storyline is negligable. You just wait till they get to the next song! The choreography is that Kenny Ortega 80's stuff. Look for Matt Latanzi (Olivia's ex) as a dancer in the background. By the time this movie gets to it's roller-skating in the round finale, you will be rocking! (The dancers/rollers chant: "Xanadu! Xanadu!" and perform some sort of choreographed hand-jive movements! I want to learn those moves!) Enjoy it, y'all. Like the song says: "Now that you're here, now that you're near ... Xanadu!"

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Summary: XANADU - Pure escapism and fun from an innocent time
Review: Ok, I'll admit it. I didn't see the movie in the theater. I made the mistake of listening to Gene Shalit of the Today show, who when reviewing this film said "Xanadu? More like Xana-DON'T". I did see bits and pieces of it though when I was about 11 or 12. I saw Olivia perform "Magic" and "Suddenly" (with Cliff Richard) on The Midnight Special. I remember seeing bits of it at a Laserdisc display at a Best store. That's when I developed my first crush on a celebrity. Yes folks, I had a crush on Olivia Newton-John. The eyes, the voice, the legs, the.....er, back to the movie.

Anyhow I finally did see the movie on HBO, and I loved it! I loved it so much that every time it came on and I wasn't in school I watched it. No matter how early (or late) in the day it was on, I always had time to be entertained by Olivia, Michael Beck, and Gene Kelly.

Now I will admit this is not on the same page as "Gone With The Wind", but Xanadu wasn't about that. It was a film that people could watch, enjoy the music, laugh a little, and go away learning a little something. Nowadays, it seems only Disney cartoons do that with some of the trash that is out there today. Plus, I can't help but everytime I watch that tape or listen to the soundtrack (I have it on CD and tape), I can't help but remember a very happy, innocent childhood. To me, Xanadu will always hold a special place in my heart for that. I just have to laugh today happily about how much this film has become a bit of a cult classic. I am just waiting for a "Xanadu" reunion to happen!

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Summary: The Wizard of Oz its not but who cares...
Review: I just watched Xanadu for the first time on DVD having never seen the movie at the theater. I vaguely remember hearing all the jeers of the movie critiques while the movie was playing. Nevertheless while you can certainly say the acting was barely passable (the animated sequence Michael Beck character showed better acting talent and more life than the real guy) the movie certainly has a very decent soundtrack showcasing ELO and Olivia at their finest. It seems rather odd to see the likes of Gene Kelly in this movie but he and Olivia were simply perfect together during their dance sequence. Overall the special effects and the pretty colors are rather quaint looking today but the bottom line is I fully enjoyed watching the movie. The divine Olivia is a timeless beauty, bad lip-syncing and all. Gene, out of place or not, is a wonderful talent and a real joy to watch at any age. So my advice is to keep yourself suspended in time without your higher brain functions when you watch this movie and enjoy it you will!