Xanadu: Musical Hell Review #23
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 พ.ค. 2014
- Original Air Date: February 3, 2014
Gene Kelly. Rollerskating. 'Nuff said.
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It was Kelly's final role as an actor, but not altogether; he was the choreographer for the 1997 animated movie _Cats Don't Dance_, in whose memory, in fact, that film was dedicated. Can you believe that?
Woah, I had no idea! I loved that movie as a kid!
I think he was a dance consultant or something for ONE FROM THE HEART. (Have you reviewed that one?)
Wow, I loved that movie as a kid. It's one of the few I always enjoyed whenever Cartoon Network would play it.
Oh, that's right. I had forgotten about his credits in that movie. No wonder the musical numbers were so good.
He also appeared in two more "That's Entertainment" movies, in '85's "That's Dancing'" and '94's "That's Entertainment III".
Plus one TV miniseries, which doesn't count as his last FILM role.
Actually Gene Kelly was still pretty spry. He tended to match his dancing to his partner's level. Olivia had very little dance training, so he went easy on her. Performers like Debbie Reynolds who were more athletic and more experienced, he really pushed them for the best performance possible and gained a reputation for being difficult as a result.
Oh, that's interesting! I always assumed he was feeling his age. So I guess it was more a case of wasting his talent on a costar who didn't share his particular specialization.
(No hate on Olivia Newton John, mind you. She was a fantastic singer and a decent actor, just not a legendary dancer. Michael Beck, on the other hand, couldn't act OR dance.)
@@Radien Gene Kelly’s views on dancing and working with others are actually kind of interesting. He was intensely competitive and athletic, so when he danced with professionals, he pushed himself and forced them to keep up. For him, it was fun; for them, it could be demanding or exhausting. Working as hard with someone who can’t keep up (especially when they’re more of a focus in the film) isn’t fun and reflects badly on both of them, so doing it would be poor sportsmanship.
He did pretty well in this. He would have been 67 when he made this movie.
never ever ever heard Gene Kelly was considered as difficult
wheres the proof he was difficult? with respect
When Sonny ripped up his drawing and threw it out of the window to the foreshadowing musical strains of magic, I assumed this was going to be a corny story about an artist who has lost his passion, but then one of his drawings comes to life, and he falls in love with her and is inspired again.
I did not expect Olivia Newton-John as a literal Muse on rollerskates from disco Olympus who helps Gene Kelly to open a Starlight Express nightclub.
That bit must have been borrowed from MARY POPPINS...
@@Blaqjaqshellaq That's _all_ I could think about. Like, hey why not rip off a scene from one of the greatest movie musicals of all time?
As a Classics major, I can pretty definitively say that there's no way this goddess/stupid mortal setup doesn't end with the mortal guy aging into a grasshopper, going into a truly eternal Sleeping Beauty coma, or ending up as the single daddy to a doorstop baby.
As a Classics major, you should know that musicals take extreme liberties with stuff like that.
@@otaking3582 That is a good point! However, I only really feel qualified to make fun of the mythologies I've studied in-depth.
A couple of trivia points: (1) the film producers somehow convinced Sears that Kira's costume was going to be the next big thing for little girls, and so off-the-rack versions were made and sold by Sears... for maybe three months when they realized how bad the film was, (2) the building that becomes the night club is a real place, built in the 1930s, There was a lot of talk about renovation, but I think it ultimately was torn down, and (3) the opening number was actually filmed in nine different layers and then composited into one - for its time, this was pretty advanced stuff.
I like this movie, actually. It's totally bonkers and makes no pretentions of being anything but. The moment where the two orchestras slide together is awesome as all Hades.
It's so sad! The building is the Pan Pacific Auditorium built in 1935 in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles. It's an absolutely stunning example of Streamline Moderne Architecture. It closed in 1972 but was destroyed in a fire in 1989. Both Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida and Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim use the Pan Pacific's exterior as a facade for their entrances.
"It's totally bonkers and makes no pretentions of being anything but." Well stated. On its own bonker terms, it's a masterpiece.
That's hilarious
Gene Kelly is any movie's Saving Grace. That man is a true master of his craft.
R.I.P. Olivia Newton John. Now you're a Muse in real life.
They never explain why the ancient muse Terpsichore talks with an Australian accent lol.
So, Xanadu is the reason I love musicals.
No, really.
I was, like, 4. This was my favorite movie for YEARS. I have the album on vinyl.
is it awful?
Sure.
I still love it. And the stage production making fun of it pissed me off, a bit.
It also made me a Gene Kelly fan, so... y'know, it's not all bad.
And I can NOT believe you just referenced Kidd Video.
Who ARE you? Are you my evil twin? Because you're reviewing or referencing things that I'm the only one I know has ever seen. If they didn't have IMDB pages, I'd think I'd hallucinated both Kidd Video and Phantom of the Paradise.
Jillbles I think it’s important to be able to make fun of what you love.
If you have to get pissed at people making fun of what you love when it clearly isn't a good film, it deserves to be made fun of. The Country Bears movie from Disney was a huge part of my childhood but I still find myself enjoying reviews that make fun of it.
Jillbles No it is not awful it is one of the best not only 80’s films, underrated films, but also one of the best musicals ever made. Right up there with “West Side Story”, Singin in the Rain”, “The Sound of Music”, “Mary Poppins”, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and many more! I am 24 and really enjoy the combination of the 40’s meets the 80’s. Plus the scene of Gene Kelly dancing is a great tribute to a legendary film man!!
Gene Kelly... those two words made me feel like I was punched in the groin repeatedly. No, Gene Kelly, you deserve better, man.
+Gamer Rob It's kinda funny--he actually trained Kenny Ortega. Makes you wonder if Ortega didn't listen that well during lessons.
to be somewhat fair, this movie doesn't seem like it's a "looks bad on paper, why the hell did you sign on to this" type of musical like Rockadoodle (Phil Harris' last role) was. The script seems like it looked good on first reading, the music is actually decent, and Gene does seem to be enjoying himself at least a little.
He was credited as the choreographer for _Cats Don't Dance._ So even if he wasn't physically in that movie at least he was in spirit.
@@amiefortman7220 He only coached Ortega for the choreography of his own scenes, like in "Whenever You're Away From Me."
Oh, come on, the Don Bluth animated segment was good
I think she admits it was good, just out of place
She's a demon. She doesn't care.
She admitted Don Bluth’s animation for “Pete’s Dragon” was good too, but hard to overlook the bad end-product. She’s a demon for a reason 😉
Good animation can’t save a bad story
@@beethovensfideliotruth
I love Xanadu, sure the costumes are cheesy and the story is not well developed, and it has some really bad acting on Becks part mostly. But the music (ELO and Olivia) is great! The dancing (though some is cheesy) is performed really well and professional (Gene and Olivia's dance scene together is one of the best on film in my opinion), and the film has an over all magical feel to it. And I love the I'm alive scene at the beginning.
Well said, and my sentiments exactly!
I'm Alive is my favorite song in the movie. My sister and I grew up during this period and we both loved Xanadu. I think the music really captured the spirit of that era. Whenever I watch the movie I just fast forward to watch the dance numbers.
@@jamesnoel5173 captured the era is right! I was 18, and 1980 and 81 was dark times! We needed something for escape. That's why some of the best music of all time came from there :)
I recently saw it for the first time. Is it the best movie? Absolutely not. Does it have its charms? Absolutely.
I WAS IN THIS MUSICAL AS A MUSE! Guys, this movie is AWFUL. But you can make the show good if you really make it energetic and corny. In the end, we all had so much fun with it. It's terrible, but can be really well done.
My late fiancé saw it on broadway, so I probably saw you.
How exactly is it awful?
You would say it's so awful, it's good?
OMG, which one are you? Can you point to a scene (say the dance at end) and tell us which one you were?
Who are you! I adore all the muse!!!
I think it would've been interesting if the movie followed Kira instead. I don't think I've seen a muse be the protagonist before.
Ghostwriter the stage musical does! and it has a much more compelling plot, too :)
"Down to Earth", 1947, with Rita Hayworth as Terpsichore.
Nothing special on WEBTOON
Yeah, either follow Kira or go with Diva's suggestion that it focuses on Danny as a big band musician from the '40's who falls in love with Kira (still a muse) but she vanishes and then meets him again when he's old and right before the moment he gives up on his music and dance entirely.
For all the movie's faults, Xanadu is the perfect show to do with a group of teenage theatre kids. I just played Kira in my production and it was so zany we had a lot of fun! Hands down my favorite production with that group
RIP to Olivia Newton John, who died today.😢
I actually find "All Over the World" to be one of The Electric Light Orchestra's better songs (a band that has no shortage of great songs) and one of the better parts of the film.
Honestly, I like Suddenly. The song, not the scene.
The big band/rock n' roll mashup when they're contemplating the location should have been a saving grace, it's so cool I get chills to this day
While the movie is overall a disaster by any measure, there are still some great moments throughout. Gene's dance with Olivia, carefully designed to show her off in the best light, and filmed after principal photography, being the best. The music is also quite good throughout.
Some time ago the popular german TV show called "The worst movies of all time" showed this whole movie with a few comments. At the end the hosts Oliver Kalkofe and Peter Rütten performed a parody of the theme song with the following (here translated) lyrics:
The two of us have see so many bad movies
And often we couldn't understand why people are making this
But today we were happy like two kids
We didn't regret any second
It was a wonderful time.
In our heads a little fairy is cooking vanilla tea
But the tea from the fairy didn't taste like vanilla but like LSD
Chorus: The sheep goes "Meh", the cow goes "Mooh"
And "Xanadu" makes you relaxed insane
The dog goes "wuff", the eagle owl goes "uhu"
And "Xanadu" makes your brain to mash
On rollerscates we go to Lala-land
And we lose our mind.
(it only fits to the music in German)
Gene Kelly’s character has the same name as his character in the ‘40’s movie Cover Girl with Rita Hayworth
Hmmmm...Terpsichore (Pronouced Terp-SI-kir-ee)...kir-ee....Kira....*Lowers Shades*...My God!
I saw the musical stage version on a small stage production in Pittsburgh. It was a laugh riot. You can tell the cast was having a ball with all the nonsense. One of the best parts of the changes they made was having two (or three? I don't remember) of Kira's sister muses be part of the story as well, and they were conniving jealous bitches. And all the characters took great glee in pointing out the absurdities of the plot. One of the best shows I've ever seen, hands down. I'd love to see it put on in a bigger venue.
"It's like Keanu Reeves trynna keep up with Ian McKellen."
I like Keanu Reeves :(
I do, also. Though in Diva's defense, this review was before Reeves' career resurgence. Nowadays I feel like Rob Schneider or someone like that would be a better comparison.
@@rogue7723
I liked Russel Brand in Get Him To The Greek...
I never saw that movie but I’m glad you did. You’re welcome to take my comparison with a grain of 🧂, I just picked any random celebrity I could think of at the moment.
Nothing can be all bad with ELO!
You either get Xanadu or you dont!!
... I found it rather charming. I rate it right up there with Little Shop of Horrors and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Weird, whimsical, ridiculous, but fun and entertaining.
I recently saw Xanadu on a double bill with Can't Stop The Music. I was in heaven. To see them on the big screen again was the best.
Well, that same double bill lead to the creation of the Razzie award.
How does no one know about you, you are funnier than the Nostalgia Critic.
Alex Horbacz that is the only reason I came here to leave channel awsdumd
@@baalgodofrain same, nc overtime got bland, jokes aren't as funny and too much time on dumb skits
Also more insightful and less one-note.
And the demon is damned with faint praise.
This film is pure magic and unique. LOVED IT!
Ditronics DFS same it's mine and my dads favourite movie, I know it's bad but I still love it
Agreed. Never has snark been more misdirected.
I wouldn't call this a "criminal misuse of Gene Kelly"; THAT was his previous movie, 1977's "Viva Knievel". The move from motorcycles to rollerskates was actually a step up for him.
A bit that got cut showed that the mural Kira came from was the one Sonny mentioned painting in his rant when he came back to work. The lack of emotion thing also doesn't make sense since doesn't creating art REQUIRE emotion?
Here's an interesting thought about how the movie could have been about Danny's story and interactions with Kira.
Kira inspired Danny when he was younger and then left without telling him anything about the fact that she's one of the Muses. Years later she returns to earth to inspire Sonny, who while asking around piques the interest of Danny (being far older than he is in this film) who realizes that it's the same type of situation he went through, therefore encouraging Sonny to go after Kira before she disappears while also helping to fund Sonny's project of opening his dance club.
Later in the story, Kira reveals to Danny and Sonny that she's a Muse and that she was the same one who inspired Danny in his youth. She then explains that she left because she was developing feelings for Danny. When questioned about this, she explains that the greek gods realized how much they'd screwed up human history with their antics, and as such set in place new rules that forbade them from entering into any sort of relationship with a mortal.
After this info has been revealed, Danny pleads with Zeus to allow him to be with Kira after he dies, as he would no longer be considered mortal at that point. Zeus eventually agrees, at which point Kira is recalled to Olympus and Danny and Sonny finish preparations for opening the club to the public. Danny, however, isn't able to make the grand opening as his age catches up with him and he passes away peacefully, knowing that he was finally going to be reunited with the woman he fell in love with all those years ago.
This is a compelling and engaging script outline.
@@sakunaruful thanks
@@digifreak90 You're welcome!
To this day, Olivia Newton John brings back memories of jump rope club. It was a cross between fitness class and dance class.
For the simple reason that it gave us some of ELO's best songs, I cannot find it in me to hate this movie.
After Apple, Can't Stop the Music, Xanadu, and Popeye, it's somewhat remarkable any other musicals got made at all in the rest of the 80s
This movie never made any sense. The soundtrack was great though.
"What's your last name?"
"Same as my father's and mother's!"
"Well what's _their_ last name?"
[giggle] "Same as mine!"
Geeze, if all conversations with Kira are as vague as that, trying to talk to her seems like it would get really frustrating really quick. (Assuming you're not a pretentious horny dude, I guess)
I honestly love this flick and fell in love with the music soundtrack to it
“I honestly love this flick” - I see what you did there.
I saw this movie in the theater at the age of 13. I loved it. Roller skating and ribbon barrettes were the rage. Didn’t find the leading man attractive but love the soundtrack with ELO
Unlike "Can't Stop the Music", "Xanadu" has more of a legacy beyond being one of the inspirations for the Golden Raspberry Awards. *5* of the 6 singles from its soundtrack were successful enough to make Year-End charts! Plus, it inspired a moderately successful musical of the same name that you briefly mentioned. That has to count for something! 🤓
Man, the really early 80s was a weird time for... everything. Fashion, music, movies, everything.
The Tubes' number should have been a saving grace
I love that most people reading this comment have no idea what you're talking about.
15:37 Imo at the end of the movie Danny figures out who Kiera is/was when he called her by her name and only she heard it
The I'm alive dance number works up into a synchronised point when the synthesized strings reach that point in the song just as the muses go off into their own directions
Agreed with every comment you made Xanadu is a train wreck. They should have worked on the script for another year instead of going for the fast buck by cashing in on Olivia's Grease success. Still the music is fantastic, Olivia is ravishing ...Xanadu remains a guilty pleasure.
Richard Hanna There's just something so beautifully crazy about Gene Kelly in a roller disco....
Wow, the writers didn't even TRY to read Greek myths did they? Zeus himself had enough feelings (mostly lust) for the entire planet.
The Thor movies ignored Norse mythology and no one complained about that. Also since no one worships the Greek Gods anymore, it kinda makes sense they'd become empty shells of themselves.
Really been enjoying binge-watching your channel, these are so much fun!
Fun fact - Sandahl Bergman (Valeria in Conan) was one of the muses.
She previously did "Mame" which was her debut in 1974 along with Doria Cook-Nelson, of course.
@@markelijio6012 4 years, man, and I'm still here!
@@fredleggett923 Yes!
"Down to Earth," the 40s movie that inspired "Xanadu," at least had Rita Hayworth!
And "One Touch of Venus" had, among others, MARY MARTIN!
"OTOV" on film had Ava Gardner!
Down to Earth was a sort of sequel to Here Comes Mr. Jordan, which was remade as Heaven Can Wait. Heaven Can Wait was remade by Chris Rock with the title Down to Earth. You can’t make this up.
Hey Kira, shouldn’t u be helping Jen fix the dark crystal?
Michael Beck said all the doors that were opened because of the success of "The Warriors" were firmly closed with the failure of "Xanadu"! I have to say I liked it!
Damn!
RIP Gene and Olivia 🙏
I was in this and it was so great as a musical. We had our Calliope and Melpomene be super awkward and hilarious. Like our Cal climbed onto her brother’s lap and just clung into him like a crazy lunatic.
But ya overall it was funny and the show is so dumb but fun to do
I love Xanadu but because when I was a young kid and saw it on our local UHF channel (24 or 30) and fell in love…should have known my future…
I loved this movie. The music was great. Come on,ELO and Olivia.
Bro, this is GREEK MYTHOLOGY they shat on; it isn’t hard to grasp. How do you suddenly add some absurd “we don’t feel” crap into it? Have they not read the story of Narcissus and Écho?
Frisby2007 Or....anything in Greek Mythology? Seriously, Zeus is the horniest god ever.
There are mythologies where "no feelings" can fit neatly. The only well-known one in the West is the Abrahamic tradition, but others exist if you look.
The lack of feeling would work better with a more... detached, mythology, where Zeus’ list of children doesn’t multiple A3 pages. Maybe a Fae story?
The reason Xanadu turned out the way it did was because they were actually writing the script at the same time they were filming. Yes, they LITERALLY were making it up as they went along!
In the 2008 documentary “Going Back to Xanadu” (th-cam.com/video/rrp-4dqHECM/w-d-xo.html ), the writers admitted that despite writing FIVE DRAFTS of the screenplay, they never finished it. In fact, only *45 pages* were written BEFORE production began.
That does explain why there is a lot of needless filler like the montage of the three leads trying on clothes, and the multiple scenes of Olivia singing and dancing in different outfits after she performed the title song.
Kenny Ortega gets sentenced to working with Michael Jackson on This is It begging the show owners to stop the insanity because it is a train wreck about to happen.
This was Swan's fault. The leader of the Warriors? We need a gay!
We need a gang! That's what you mean!
I just know as a little child (5 or 6) with a mom still obsessed with the 80s in the early 2000s, I was OBSESSED with Olivia Newton-John. I am not sure which album my mom had, but I loved it and I knew nearly all the songs.
One of my guilty pleasures.
Gene Kelly actually starred in my favorite movie musical of all time "Singing In The Rain" (which I luckily got to see as part of my Intro To Cinema class at the college I'm currently attending).
Xanadu in the film is a great analogy for Xanadu the movie...it was an abandoned wreck of a film for years, but over time, people have come to recognize some of the beauty in it and have resurrected it, bringing it more to life than when it was originally released.
Michael Beck has said this movie torpedoed the career that was about to blow up because of his starring role in "The Warriors." And he was GOOD in that...he must've thought Olivia Newton-John's presence was a sure hit. I feel a little bad for him.
Also, KIDD VIDEO!!!!
The set of Singing in the Rain, L.O.L.
3:53 Yes! He gave us Hocus Pocus!
Well that was nothing short of extremely entertaining. Thank you!
I love the music so much, and the movie is a rather guilty pleasure of mine.
If you are wandering why the animation segment is out of place was because they basically had to shoehorn a song into the film when the film had long wrapped filming. the Don't Walk Away segment of the movie occured because Jeff Lynne(of ELO) put a clause in the contract for ELO to write the music that if Universal and Laurence (Larry) Gordon productions(producers of Xanadu) that if they did not use all of ELOs songs they could not use any of the songs (dont walk away was one of songs written the film), the problem was that the film had wrapped and was in post production getting the workprint ready for sound mixing and final scoring, Joel Silver contacted Gary Goldman for an idea of making it an classical animated scene would be after Kira and Sonny fall in love to incorperate the song due to Lynnes contract(it would have been much easier since the live shoot alreeady wrapped. and the actors and crew were at other projects, They had not shot the sequence in live action as they had to make the film quickly to meet the summer 1980 deadline), Goldman met Silver at the post production studio where the editors played a 35mm copy of Alice in Wonderland set to the Don't walk away song, While it made no sense, it was a less expensive solution rather than make a complicated shoot to an already finished film with actors and crew who moved to other projects.
The Bluth studio was well into production of Nimh and was preparing to animate the tractor scene when they got the contact, because of this Don Bluth and a small crew did the sequence at Bluth's culver city home to not detract production from Nimh. Bluth did all of the key animation with Heidi Guidel assisting, and for Effects Dorse Lanpher animated with Bruce Heller assisting, Several more crew members were hired including Emily Juliano, Vera Pacheo, Skip Jones, and Dave Spafford many were Nimh Crew members, 12 assistants helped with the sequence. It was animated in 12 weeks and Bluth animated 10 feet a day, they hired a cook to come with breakfast, lunch and dinner, they worked 7 days a week,
The rough animation and key clean up was brought to the bluth studio for final inbetweens and final clean up, the final inbetween, final clean up, animation checking, Ink and paint, xerox, scene planning, color models, backgrounds, camera, xerox camera, and the rest of the process were done at Don Bluth Production,
Joel Silver called Goldman after the premiere, at 11:30pm(while the bluth studio were still working) and told him that the biggest reaction at the films premiere was the animated segment, which thrilled the artists, And they did not miss a beat with the Secret Of Nimh, It was somewhat hard as they were making Nimh without bluth during the production,
But Universal and LARGO Entertainment were still co producing a number of projects, including "Field of Dreams" which Universal distributed many
projects from "Xanadu" thru today both in the United States and Canada as well as around the world.
I don't care what people think about this movie I loved everything about it the music was awesome I'd love this movie
I'll give Xanadu this. It's completely aware of it's insanity and it's rolling with it (even if some of the actors aren't). It doesn't constantly wink at the camera or let you in on the joke. Instead, it's selling it's own camp completely earnestly. Kinda like Flash Gordon.
That makes it kind of an endearing movie in spite of it's flaws. Certainly a thousand times better than Can't Stop the Music (which is so cynically made that the only enjoyment (outside of some of the songs) you can get is seeing Catlyn Jenner somehow managing to act worse than the Village People).
"The big band Zoot suit aesthetic with rock & roll & bondage?"
😳I don't think I've demanded "BOTH!" faster.
Also I remember seeing this movie when I was about 5 or 6, & even back then I recognized Don Bluth's animation style.
I was in a junior version of this show and all I can think of now is the guy who played sunny said meta terrarium instead of mediterranean when we were running through the script
In the mid 2000s, there was a broadway version of Xanadu. It kept the basic story structure and the songs , but rewrote parts of the book to include pointing out how ridiculous and campy it all is, but did it lovingly. And it actually improved it. It wasn’t deep, but it was a good piece of escapism
I’m doing this musical at my school, it’s the only time our director straight up said “don’t watch the movie.”
6:18 "an abandoned wreck" HOW VERY DARE YOUUU!!!! that is the Pan Pacific Auditorium, the very poster child example of art-deco architecture, that building is storied, hallowed ground, beloved, and even recreated at two Disney parks, including the grand entrance facade of Disney's California Adventure. HOW DARE YOU!!!! XD hehe love u
My youngest daughter saw that when she went to Disney on her school band trip. She surprised the teachers knowing what movie it was from.
I didn't know much about "Xanadu" until now. It looked interesting! 🤓
Xanadu is an absurdity: so fun but also so dull at the same time. But the music is so fine....
This is honestly my favourite movie I know it's bad but I really love it
Give it more than a moment in time. There are more than a few that love this film; ELO, Gene, ONJ. All I say is I love this movie. Give it a moment... Give it a rainy Saturday afternoon... Give into letting go...
My high school did an 80s inspired production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and it reminded me of this movie. In a not so positive light. The musical is obviously better.
One thing which always gets glossed over - It predicted swing music being popular again about a decade before it happened.
everything becomes popular again at least 20 years after the first time it was popular
Even though the Xanadu musical came out around 30 years later, I feel there are certain parts of the movie that I would not have understood without seeing the musical first
One word review in Esquire Magazine in 1980:
XANADON'T!
That's where the real problem starts: the film opened in theaters in Fall 1980
with such mixed reviews. The real solution was the soundtrack was very popular than
the film itself and nominated for an 1981 Grammy Award.
So I'm fourteen and when I was a really, really little kid my parents had this movie on DVD. The reason I say 'had' is because I watched it so much that the disk broke. This was my favorite movie and continued to be until I discovered The Sound of Music, which is NOT broken, thankfully, because it is way too long to be watched over and over again. Anyway, for as much as I watched Xanadu, I cannot remember a single scene. The disk broke when I was four and I haven't watched the movie since. There is one exception though. I remember the part where the muses come alive, but I don't remember their dance. I still remember the music though. My mom has the soundtrack on a record and she plays it every so often. I have the music memorized by heart but I have absolutely no recollection of the visuals that are supposed to accompany it, so watching this video has been really weird for me. Thanks for making it :)
So, even the Golden Raspberries founder--
From Xanadu's opening, its entire destiny has been haunted for FORTY YEARS by not being able to escape Can't Stop the Music, especially that cheap @$(&%in' double-feature re-release.
(Despite the fact that between Olivia and ELO, there is no actual disco music in the entire movie.)
To be fair the trying on clothes montage hadn't yet become a tired cliche!
hilarious review! i was a teen and the soundtrack was out months before the movie. ELO was already huge anyway plus ONJ. Went to the movie and was hugely disappointed. maybe i'll watch it again 40 years later now that you've explained it to me!
Ok but the Broadway adaptation slaps it’s so funny!
This soundtrack was the first album I owned.
Biggest sin? The red big eyed fish shirt!
The problem with Xanadu isn't the choreography, which is generally fine, it's the horrendous cinematography - shooting from below so there's too much empty top screen (you can see where the sets end in the finale), close-ups which are obscured and interrupted for no reason by passing dancers, the camera barely moves with the dancers (so we don't feel like we're in among the action) and not enough group shots from above so that you can see all the dancers - the Gene Kelly/ONJ number is better shot (apparently Kelly insisted on dictating the cinematography for this number and he knew what he was doing) but the set for that number is boring. I like a lot of the songs in Xanadu and visually there are some fun bits but the musical numbers are just ugly to watch and goddammit but Michael Beck's character is a whiny unsympathetic arsehole.
My school did a production of the junior version of the stage production, and it was definitely a lot better plot wise. It was still a drug trip, but Sonny was also less insufferable, and two of the other muses were acting as villains and got a really fun villain song. There was also a lot more emphasis on the muses and the Greek gods, who were actual characters instead of distant voices. I did find it annoying that Zeus of all people was trying to enforce a “no romantic involvement with mortals” rule, but at least the rule wasn’t “no feelings,” and hey, since when does Zeus follow his own rules very well?
A Hell apropos of Hell:
What happened to the structure Xanadu - the Pan Pacific Auditorium - in real life.
The film may suck, but the stage musical is awesome (probably because it made fun of the movie several times)
ONJ's accent reminds me of Emilie de Ravin as Belle, I mean it's comically thick Australian!
"im alive" sounds like "underwater friends" from metalocalypse and i cant unhear it
Danny is about 800 times more handsome than sunny, which is a trashy thing of me to notice but im just saying, it seems out for him to be playing 'second banana' to the main character, especially if hes friendly and sunny is whiney, because i think anyone in the audience would just be thinking 'why isnt he the main character?'. If hed been a more normal looking old dude then it wouldnt have been a problem since sunny is good looking enough for the lead in normal circumstances
Kira is very spooky as she leads him to the factory and dances in the dark for him. I would suspect succubus. Dont go near her please.
oh god the inspirational recording room looks like a trashy set for a bikini magazine, not like anything could be recorded or filmed there!!!
So what you're saying is Metalocalypse ripped a song off from Xanadu, then?
To me this is a so bad it's good movie, the early 80s overdose is really charming to me lol
Your infernal punishments are the best.