Xanadu (film)

This article is about the 1980 film. For other uses, see Xanadu (disambiguation).

Xanadu
Xanadu DVD cover
Directed by	Robert Greenwald
Produced by	Lawrence Gordon
Written by	Richard Christian Danus Marc Reid Rubel
Starring	Olivia Newton-John Gene Kelly Michael Beck
Music by	John Farrar (songs) Jeff Lynne (songs) Barry De Vorzon (score)
Cinematography	Victor J. Kemper
Editing by	Dennis Virkler
Distributed by	Universal Studios
Release date(s)	August 8, 1980
Language	English
Budget	$20,000,000
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Xanadu is a 1980 musical/romance film directed by Robert Greenwald. Xanadu stars Olivia Newton-John (fresh from her role in Grease), Michael Beck, and Gene Kelly, and features music by Newton-John, Electric Light Orchestra, UK pop idol Cliff Richard, and the San Francisco-based art-rock band The Tubes.

• Tagline: "A fantasy. A musical. A place where dreams come true."

The film was a box office failure, and was nominated for six Razzies at the first-ever Golden Raspberry Awards (winning one), but the film has endured to become a cult classic. It is a "roller disco" film with emphasis on disco music and extensive choreographed roller skating sequences.

Fans of the film argue that its early commercial failure and hostile reception in many quarters relate not only to the declining popularity of disco at the time of its release, but also to the film's emotional honesty. A contributing factor may have been a difficulty experienced by audiences in placing the film in its intended idiom, i.e., the more innocent musical romances of the 1930s and 1940s. Indeed, one of the film's themes is "'40s-meets-'80's".

The film's soundtrack was more of a commercial success and went platinum, with many hits for both Newton-John and ELO, including the title track "Xanadu", "Magic" (four weeks at #1 in the US), "Suddenly", and "I'm Alive".

Cast

Starring

• Olivia Newton-John - Kira
• Gene Kelly - Danny McGuire
• Michael Beck - Sonny Malone

with

• James Sloyan - Simpson
• Dimitra Arliss - Helen
• Katie Hanley - Sandra
• Fred McCarren - Richie
• Ren Woods - Jo

The Muses

• Sandahl Bergman - Muse 1
• Lynn Latham - Muse 2
• Melinda Phelps - Muse 3
• Cherise Bates - Muse 4
• Juliette Marshall - Muse 5
• Marilyn Tokuda - Muse 6
• Yvette Van Voorhees - Muse 7
• Teri Beckerman - Muse 8

The Tubes

• John 'Fee' Waybill
• Rick Anderson
• Michael Cotten
• Prairie Prince
• Bill Spooner
• Roger Steen
• Vince Welnick
• Re Styles

Rest of cast

• Marty Davis - Male Guard
• Bebe Drake-Massey - Female Guard
• Mickey McMeel - The Accountant
• Aharon Ipalé - The Photographer
• Lise Lang - Popcorn Girl/Xanadu Dancer
• Melvin Jones - Big Al
• Matt Lattanzi - Young Danny McGuire/Xanadu Dancer
• Ira Newborn - 40's Band Leader
• Jo Ann Harris - 40's Singer #1
• Cindy Leake - 40's Singer #2
• Patty Keene - 40's Singer #3
• John 'Fee' Waybill - Rock group 80's Rock Singer
• Stephen Pearlman - Foreman
• Church Ortiz - Worker #1
• Randy T. Williams - Worker #2
• David Tress - Nick
• Madison Arnold - Vargas
• Wilfrid Hyde-White - Male Heavenly Voice (voice)
• Coral Browne - Female Heavenly Voice (voice)
• Marla V. Langston - Dizzy Heights
• Darcel Wynn - Dancer

Plot summary

Sonny Malone (Michael Beck) is a talented artist who dreams of fame beyond his job, which is painting larger versions of album covers for record-store window advertisements. As the film opens, Sonny is broke and on the verge of giving up his dream. Having quit his day job to try and make a living as a freelance artist, but having failed to make any money at it, Sonny returns to his old job at AirFlo Records. After some humorous run-ins with his imperious boss and nemesis Simpson, he resumes painting record covers.

At work, Sonny is told to paint an album cover with a beautiful woman on it. This same woman collided with him earlier that day, kissed him, then roller-skated away, and Malone becomes obsessed with finding her. She finds him and identifies herself as Kira (Olivia Newton-John), but will tell him nothing else about herself. Unbeknownst to Sonny, Kira is one of nine mysterious and beautiful women who literally sprang to life from a local mural near the beach in town.

Sonny befriends a has-been big band orchestra leader named Danny McGuire (Gene Kelly). Danny lost his muse in the 1940s; Sonny has not yet found his muse. Kira encourages the two men to form a partnership and open a nightclub. She falls in love with Sonny, and this presents a problem because she is actually Terpsichore, the Muse of dance. The other women from the beginning of the movie are her sisters and goddesses, and the mural is actually a portal of sorts and their point of entry to Earth. As it turns out, the Muses visit Earth often to help inspire others to pursue their dreams and desires. But in Kira's case, she had broken the rules, as she was only meant to inspire Sonny, but ended up falling in love with him as well. Her parents (presumably the Greek gods Zeus and Mnemosyne) recall her to the timeless realm of the gods. Sonny follows and professes his love for her. A short debate between Sonny and Zeus occurs with Mnemosyne interceeding on Kira and Sonny's behalf. Kira then enters the discussion, saying that the emotions toward Sonny that she has experienced are new to her and asks if they could only have one more night together to let Sonny's dream of Xanadu becoming a success come true. But Zeus ultimately sends Sonny back to Earth. After Kira expresses her own feelings for Sonny in song(Suspended In Time), Zeus and Mnemosyne agree to let her be with him.

In the finale of the movie, Kira and the Muses perform for a packed house for Xanadu's grand opening and they return to the realm of the gods in spectacular fashion. Sonny is understandably depressed thereafter, but that quickly changes when Danny has one of the waitresses bring Sonny a drink. The waitress turns out to be none other than Kira.

Interpretations

• Some interpret Xanadu as an allegory for multigenerational projects for human progress, in the cause of liberty, equality, and brotherly/sisterly love.

Relationship to Down to Earth and Cover Girl

Xanadu and the 1947 film Down to Earth have certain plot elements in common. Other similarities suggests to some people that some of Xanadu may have been partly inspired by 1944's Cover Girl. However, the relationship between the films (if any) is a matter of controversy. Some argue that Down to Earth is completely unrelated to Xanadu. Regardless, it is inaccurate to describe Xanadu as a remake of Down to Earth.

• The muse Terpsichore also appears in Down to Earth, where she is played by Rita Hayworth.
• Cover Girl also stars Rita Hayworth.
• The other eight muses also feature prominently in both film Down to Earth and Xanadu.
• In both Xanadu and Cover Girl, Gene Kelly's character is named Danny McGuire. Such a coincidence in Xanadu may be considered an homage to Kelly's appearance in Cover Girl.
• The Internet Movie Database (incorrectly) lists this film as being a "remake" of Down to Earth, and a "spinoff" of Cover Girl.

Trivia

• Xanadu is set to become an Off Broadway musical in Spring 2007.

• This film is dancer Gene Kelly's last starring role in a motion picture. (He had a minor appearance in the film Action U.S.A. nine years later.) Xanadu features his last dance on film (among them "Whenever You're Away from Me"). In this film, Kelly is also shown on roller skates during a musical number, a reference to a similar routine he performed in It's Always Fair Weather.

• The title of the film is a reference to the poem "Kubla Khan, or A Vision in a Dream. A Fragment." by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which is quoted in the film. Coleridge had begun work on this poem, intended to be of epic proportions, when he was interrupted by a man from Porlock who detained Coleridge long enough for him to lose his train of thought after returning to his desk. The poem was never completed; it might be said that Coleridge had "lost his muse." Yet the poem is considered by many to be one of Coleridge's best. Xanadu is the name of the Chinese province where Khan establishes his pleasure garden in the poem.

• The film was shot on location in Los Angeles and its Venice Beach. Gene Kelly took the role of Danny McGuire because filming was a short drive from his home in Beverly Hills, so he could be close to his family. In his biography, he admitted that Xanadu was a bad film, but found Olivia Newton-John a joy to work with. For her part, Newton-John has said she immensely enjoyed working with Kelly as well, although she was initially intimidated by the prospect of starring in a film with a legend like Kelly.

• Xanadu contains the first known appearance in the popular media of what later became known as the "Flock of Seagulls haircut." The hairdo is sported by drummer Prairie Prince of The Tubes during their performance of the song "Dancin'" in the film.

• The film contains a short animated sequence by former Disney animator Don Bluth and his new animation studio. It is accompanied by the song "Don't Walk Away" by Electric Light Orchestra (not to be confused with the song recorded by Jade more than a decade later).

• Matt Lattanzi, who was to become Olivia Newton-John's husband and father of her daughter Chloe Rose Lattanzi, played the young flashback of Danny McGuire in the film scene just before Danny visualise he and Kira dancing together again years later.

• The film owes its cult status partly to audiences who were peculiarly touched by it as children during its short theatrical run in 1980. Xanadu also has a large following in the gay community.

• Sandahl Bergman, who starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1982's Conan the Barbarian, plays Muse 1. She also had a prominent role in All That Jazz.

• Olivia Newton-John promoted the film and the songs on a 1980 episode of The Midnight Special hosted by Wolfman Jack. In the show, Olivia (via trick photography) played all three Andrews Sisters-type singers in a segment featuring the song "Dancin'" from the movie.

• Xanadu is one of three other roller-disco films released 1979–1980. The other two are Skatetown U.S.A. and Roller Boogie.

• The exterior of Los Angeles' Pan-Pacific Auditorium was used in film for shots of the Xanadu nightclub. The art deco] Streamline Moderne building burned down in 1989, though a front spire section was saved and used on the recent Pan-Pacific Park community building which now stands in its place.

Quotes

• "The Warriors opened a lot of doors in film for me, which Xanadu then closed."
  —Michael Beck

• "I certainly wouldn't die of overexposure in Xanadu. Not enough people saw it. I don't regret it or anything else I've done. ... I learned a lot and the music was successful. I would've been upset if the music flopped."
  —Olivia Newton-John^[1]

Awards and nominations

• Ivor Novello Award Best Motion Picture Film soundtrack Jeff Lynne
• Young Artist Awards

Nominated: Best Major Motion Picture - Family Entertainment

• Golden Raspberry Awards

Won: Worst Director (Robert Greenwald)

Nominated: Worst Picture

Nominated: Worst Screenplay

Nominated: Worst Actor (Michael Beck)

Nominated: Worst Actress (Olivia Newton-John)

Nominated: Worst "Original" Song ("Suspended in Time")

Nominated: Worst "Musical" of Our First 25 Years

Notes

1. ^ Bronson, Fred. The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Essay on "Magic", Olivia Newton-John's four-week US #1 single from the film.

External links

• Xanadu at the Internet Movie Database
• Xanadu at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Xanadu Preservation Society
• A sympathetic article on Xanadu at 80s Movies Rewind
• Xanadu
• Entry at badmovies.org - a representative negative review, plus sound clips, screenshots, and a short video clip from Xanadu's opening musical number, "I'm Alive"
• A Man and His Muse
• The Love That We Came to Know
• The Xanadu Picture Show
• Detailed information on Xanadu, including Don Bluth's involvement

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