Can you imagine the line for the people who wanted to play Sonny? "Hey, we need an average looking guy with a normal haircut to wear comfortable clothes and make out with Olivia Newton John for literally hours".
I wouldn't call Michael Beck average looking but that's just me. (..and I always just thought he was called Swan in the Warriors because he was the pretty one.)
@@Zycyzyx TV Tropes has an entry called "Hollywood Ugly". Look up one article there and Tyr next thing you know it's next Wednesday and there's a puddle.
That is so strange because I recently discovered this movie and the whole feel is, well, incredibly uplifting especially to the amazing soundtrack. Best I have heard in a long time. It takes a lot for a movie that was not well recieved to have that sort of impact still to this day with some people.
I remember when he said during his "don't stop the music" review that Xanadu was the better movie. After watching both, Xanadu is Citizen Kane compared to the Village People movie.
+SOHR Minnesota True! Apparently the concert at the finale was filmed on Fire Island, which at the time had a thriving gay community.The cameramen were instructed to edit out anyone dressed in drag or naughty flamboyent attire. It's also ironic that the athlete formerly known as Bruce Jenner plays a chraacter deeply uncomfortable with any of that. It's a film that utterly insults the gay audience that gave the band its start.
Don Bluth animation, The Tubes as a New Wave band, roller disco, in many ways this movie was behind or ahead of it's time. To fully appreciate it, it has to be realized this is a 1980 attempt at a musical, before Flashdance showed us the performers themselves did not have to sing. And I always saw the "Fool Country" song as an omage to ONJ's career as a country star before she went pop, as well as the influence of Urban Cowboy. I always loved this movie, seeing it many times in the theater. It is a great eacape movie, with great music.
This movie is actually really enjoyable. It's the best kind of bad, as in the acting is decent and the soundtrack is great but the movie itself is so ridiculous that you can't help but feel charmed by how campy it is. It's fun and hilarious, and certainly not cringeworthy or infuriating like certain other movies
100%. Yeah, there are some heckle-worthy moments and feels more like an after school special with a budget, but I found it to be better than the reputation. I can see why it got a razzie... but if other movies were box office flops and went on to be cult classics, Xanadu isn't all that different. Even with the trendy roller skates. :D
plenty of people, including myself, find that male lead, whose narcissism far exceeds any talent shown, nfuriating to watch with someone like Olivia Newton-John. i don't know anything about the actor really, but the character is one of the worst in a movie.
I was seven years old when my Mother took me to the theatre to see this movie. I left with the biggest crush on Olivia Newton-John and I drove my Mom crazy talking about her constantly. Listening to her side of the soundtrack makes me feel like I did back then.
The stage musical is great fun. They tweak the plot a bit to condense the action and flesh out other characters, add a LOT of self referential humor, and add more ELO songs. It's unapologetically campy. As one character describes the proceedings: it's like children's theater for forty-year-old gay men.
In high school I was actually in a production of Xanadu. The reason the broadway musical is so much better is because it basically parodys itself. It's hilarious
This guy is where most Millennials wish they were. He actually has a job somewhat related to his dream, and lives alone in a nice beach house (instead of working a dead-end job and having to share a shoebox apartment with roommates).
The guy's also from an era when people needed someone who could draw or paint just to make a shitty album cover. Now I'd need a BFA to do the chalkboard doodles at my local Whole Foods.
I remember listening to the soundtrack to Xanadu before I ever heard it was a musical, I just had gotten a bunch of ELO CDs and I especially loved Xanadu. Imagine my surprise when I found out it was a movie! Glad to see that even if it's not good at what it was trying to go for and got panned, it's still a fun and enjoyable film.
I feel like when they went in the studio, there were some Gene Kelly references? The bench from "When You Were A Tulip" from For Me and My Gal with Judy Garland & Gene, the big fan from "You Were Meant For Me" from Singin in the Rain, and the umbrellas and rain from Singin In The Rain
Ah yes, the origin of the infamous Golden Raspberry awards. I've got to admit that I do love the soundtrack mainly because of Electric Light Orchestra.
Heavens, its a fantasy musical for goodness sake, you have to just sit back and enjoy it for what it is. If I want reality I can look out the window. Gene Kelly and Olivia, are wonderful, the music, the fashion are all fantastic. It is just a blast. If you are having bad day it will cheer you up. Plus it is nice that fantasize that maybe dreams can come true.
In fact: 15:15 This sequence of the song Don't Walk Away, Joel Silver ask Don Bluth and his animation team (while in pre-production on The Secret of NIHM) to make 2-3 minutes of animation to the movie Don Bluth was fear of this scene going to be a disaster for him, but lucky the reaction from the test audience loved the scene and he's thankfully relief of the result and he's carrying on making the Secret of NIHM...
Chris McWilliams i watched it a couple months ago with my husband and i was surprised to see how sexual and graphic that movie was. it kicked ass though! o:
Oh yeah, it is on all counts. The only thing that really creeps me out though was the skin stuff. I have a thing about cutting, tearing or burning skin. That's my creepy trigger.
I didn't know "Suddenly" was also from the Xanadu soundtrack! I loved that song! "All Over the World" is my fave ELO song. I love ELO's music & Olivia Newton-John, but I never did see the movie. I was surprised to learn about 10 years ago that Gene Kelly was in this! I always liked him too. Was great to see him dance w/ Olivia. Robert Greenwald is my friend on Facebook! I'd forgotten he did this film. Still not interested in seeing it. LOL
I just watched it - The soundtrack is easily the best part, especially the ELO songs because, well, ELO songs are always good. My whole family loves them, they're very underappreciated.
Michael Beck was once quoted as saying "The Warriors opened a lot doors for me which Xanadu suddenly closed" This film came out on the same day as The Fiendish Plot of Dr Fu Manchu which was Peter Sellers last film (Still would love it if Brad reviews that someday)
I'm watching the Nostalgia Chick's review on this movie while watching this review. The 40's vs. 80's dance reminds me of a musical version of Harvey Finevoice vs. 80's Dan.
Fun facts: One of the muses was played by Sandahl Bergman, who played Valeria in Conan the Barbarian. Also, the Pan Pacific Auditorium, the old art-deco club they used for the exterior shots of Xanadu, was destroyed by a fire in 1989.
Sonny Malone in a hardcore gangster film is a better thought than Michael Beck signing up for the film because he thought he was in the sequel to *Bugsy Malone* ...unless he was hoping the cast would all be adults... Also, next musical March in September, you need to snob *Bugsy Malone* I'd also recommend George Kranz's film *Magic Sticks* but I can't find any trace of that film other than a German dub on George's own official RU-vid channel. The set pieces in this film are too much like Cliff Richard's video for Wired For Sound.
It was most likely Gene Kelly's last appearance in a movie but his last contribution to a movie was providing choreography for the animated characters in 'Cats Don't Dance'. It's funny how much nostalgia can contribute to a film. I realize how cheesy and simple this film is but I still remember my dad taking me to see this and it still holds up as a fun watch for that reason. I actually did start to dig E.L.O. after this too. Trauma or sentiment? Who cares! Also, the animation done in this helped Don Bluth make 'The Secret of Nimh', so if there's anything positive to say about this film, that's definitely it!
Funny thing about Xanadu supposedly being a sequel to "Cover Girl" with Rita Hayworth. She actually starred as Terpsichore in another movie called "Down to Earth", the sequel to "Here Comes Mr Jordan"
I find it hilarious that the commercial I got before watching this vid was for God's Not Dead 2. I watched that review like 3 times, and now I get a Pure Flix logo in the upper right corner of my page XD
+TheGlitched64Reads My guess would be that he uploaded on the 28th, but it remained unlisted for several days and so when he made it available it didn't appear as new to people on their subscription lists.
+Princess Celestia I'm sure Brad will correct me if I'm wrong but I heard this was held up by RU-vid copyright crap for a little while. When I watched this on his site I think it was the other player he uses as a backup when that happens.
D-Did the Cinema Snob just referenced Death Note...and...The Powerpuff Girls? TWO....MAIN STREAM SERIES!?!?.....Who are you and what have you done to the real snob!
