Xanadu (1980)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Expected more

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

There is so much wrong with this film. The worst thing about the film? The performance of Michael Beck; you can't get much worse than that! His speaking was so off-based it was downright distracting. And then there was the letdown with the finale -- "Xanadu". It just seemed so anticlimactic.On the other hand, we had the lovely Olivia Newton-John and wasn't it great seeing the energy and smile of Gene Kelly in one last "new" film; it looked like Kelly was having a ball at the age of 68!And yet, despite its problems, there's something special about this hokey movie...and it hokey. But every few years I take out the DVD (or now the Blu-Ray) and sit there and take it all in again...and suddenly realize I'm just smiling!And although the film is less than great, the soundtrack album was a smash, going platinum twice. Olivai Newton-John's vocals are tremendous and the Electric Light Orchestra was (at least in my opinion) never better.So I don't care that the movie was a flop, or that the film was hokey, or that Olivia (and are) are now pushing 70! It just makes me smile.

From my Opinion, Its one of the most uplifting and positive films of the 80's just below grease which was a few years earlier. It deals with hopes and dreams, An amazing collage of modern and older music which has been mixed so well its just amazing. If you believe that there's more to life than just making a fortune and stepping on other people , you will love this film. A Dream that has been so well choreographed it will last forever in the minds of those that have a little imagination. A Classic that will be proved how good it actually is in due time. A film with such fundamental essence that it will last for Eternity. and like a fine wine be appreciated more with age.

So I've known about this movie for a few years now and I just recently watched it for the first time. I had no idea what to expect but I was expecting the soundtrack to be great, cause I really like ELO, and I wasn't disappointed. Jeff Lynne sure knows how to make a great and catchy soundtrack. But to be totally honest, the soundtrack was the only saving grace for this movie to me. I had no idea what to expect when I watched the movie, cause from what I've heard from a lot of critics and people, it's not that great (It has a 5/10 on IMDb). But I wanted to give it a chance cause there are so many reviews that said things like "Xanadu isn't that bad" and "Give Xanadu a chance!" So I did. Was it good? No. But was it the worst movie I've ever seen? No. I've seen much worse. If you've seen Xanadu, you'd know that it's extremely cheesy. The acting and the effects. I usually don't have a problem with cheesiness (I actually liked Teen Beach Movie cause of the cheesiness). But this was cheesy to the point where it was kinda hard to watch. And the storyline actually sounded like a good idea. A man makes a painting come to life and she keeps appearing everywhere. That was kind of a bad description, but you get the idea. But the whole movie just felt like filler and I didn't feel like I got to know the characters very well. I must have missed a really important detail in the movie cause it was really hard to follow and didn't really seem like it was going anywhere. Once the movie ended, I remember thinking "Wow, nothing really happened." And that's not what I'd want my first thought to be right after a movie ends. With ALL of that being said, I do love the soundtrack and that's why this has a 4/10. If I was rating the movie alone, it'd probably be a 3 or 3.5.

Loosely based on an old Columbia movie "Down to Earth" about a Greek Muse visiting Earth to inspire a band-leader (and save him from an untimely death). It has it all: awkward story, clumsy dialog, and bad acting. Yeah, it's a guilty pleasure all the way. A movie loved by Gays? Maybe! Also loved by teen-aged boys as ONJ and the dancers looked amazing and wore revealing costumes! Paradoxically, the soundtrack with ELO and Olivia-Newton-John sold millions of copies! The "Roller-Disco-Dancing" club craze never hit the rest of the country beyond California. Therefore, opening up a hot new "Roller" entertainment club made no sense whatsoever to the rest of the nation. The Gene Kelly dance segment is quite well-done and Olivia can actually dance! A few of the other dance segments fall flat, but most are imaginative. Kelly plays the "rich bored benefactor" that helps the nightclub come to life. Olivia (as "Kira")plays the Greek Muse of Dance, "Terpsichore", and naturally falls madly in love with the handsome mortal. A guy that paints giant graphic billboards of album covers. Michael Beck (as Sonny Malone) actually does a pretty good job, considering his part. (Giant album covers were made very popular in the 1980's by an LA record store named "Peaches".) Beautiful if curious animated segment by Don Bluth. Most of the imaginative music videos which look wonderful now but, as that genre was quite new, audiences didn't quite get it. Like many musicals now and then, it only comes to life during the singing and dancing. Several good songs. My favorite is "Suspended in Time" which is rarely heard. Olivia was the "Taylor Swift" of her era and made quite a fashion model. Luv her as a cowgirl! Actually looks better now than when released. Now a fan and cult favorite, Universal killed this movie with a debut on only 250 screens. (Disney did a similar thing recently with "John Carter").The not-so-supporting cast is terrible. "Hell" and other cuss words are inserted awkwardly into the dialog to "boost" it's rating beyond "G" to "PG". "F" and a few other words are there also, but were edited from the soundtrack! Wilfred Hyde-White is the voice of "Zeus"! Soon to be remade, I understand?