Why Xanadu Bombed in the Box Office
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- čas přidán 8. 06. 2024
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Xanadu is a musical about a struggling artist by the name of Sonny Malone, played by Michael Beck. He hates his job of painting mediocre album covers. When he meets Kira, played by Olivia Newton-John, he is immediately drawn in by her beauty and strange energy. When he visits the auditorium looking to find her again, he discovers that she is actually a timeless Greek muse. She then encourages him to build a roller-skating disco with his old buddy Danny McGuire.
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The rest of the film is filled with song and dance numbers, awful special effects, poorly written dialogue, and head-scratching plotlines that leave a lot to be desired. The soundtrack may be one of its only redeeming features - as it spawned several Top 40 hit singles and even some Grammy nods.
Xanadu is often-times lumped into the 'Worst Films of all Times" lists and is in fact one of the reasons why the Golden Raspberry Awards exists. Rotten Tomatoes agrees that it's a pretty awful film. It currently holds a $28 percent.
This video is going to take an in-depth look at what Xanadu did right and the many things that it failed at. In many ways, it could have been an incredibly memorable film for all the right reasons, but in fact, it flopped like a fish and left Hollywood in a state of confusion. How could this happen? Why did Xanadu bomb as it did?
Why Xanadu Bombed in the Box Office - Zábava
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Please read my comment from just now.
Maybe because no one knew what Xanadu meant.
@@hydrolito I knew what Xanadu meant and I was in the 5th grade. Everybody knew what Xanadu meant because we read books back in those day from the library at school and in town and read all about Mythology. You didn't? Or are you too new?
The special effects were supposed to be the way they were. It ties into the whole new age idea of auras. That I am positive was a conscious aesthetic choice, so knocking it for making such a choice saying they weren't slick enough really highlights that you don't understand the choice. From an artistic pov, I think it's a brilliant choice. Also, for video knocking the special effects maybe get some of your own right? A couple of the chapter titles that flash on screen are obviously wrong. Just saying... 😂
I thought it was brilliant when i first saw it! I was probably 5 or years old 😂… best soundtrack!
I don't care what the critics say !! I was 13 when Xanadu first came out and I loved it. The music and the beautiful Olivia Newton-John made it one of the greatest memories I have of childhood.
Yah, I loved it, too. I was 12, and musta had at least three pairs of leg-warmers that year. But then again, so did half the girls in my Jr. High school. 😁
I love these replies! Ya'll are very positive :D I love the movie to this day.
I was 10 and loved it too
😂 the studio cared what the box office collection was, so there isnt any xanadu 2, no matter how much u love it!
@@victoriaregina8344 :...................(
This is my all time favorite movie and has been since it was released. My dad is an enormous Gene Kelly fan, so of course it was in our movie collection. In all its cheesy, 80s glory, it fueled my romantic fantasy imagination and deep love of music at a very early age. Dad and I used to sing the Gene and Olivia duet in the car. Great times!
Yes!!!
It shaped my life the muse's from the Pleidies 🌟 the high vibrational energy and aura
_Xanadu_ was my introduction to Olivia Newton-John. I literally just found out that she died, after a decades-long battle with Breast Cancer, at age 73. 😭
I was six when this film was in theaters and didn’t give two shits what critics said! _Xanadu_ began my childhood love affair with roller skates!
We had the Soundtrack on vinyl and I skated to it in our basement all the time!
RIP, Olivia Newton-John!
Gene Kelly was one of the sexiest men alive (in my opinion). 😘
I wan to see the movie but you need to call me..
They need to stop talking bad about this iconic film! I absolutely love it! I could watch it over and over again!!!!
Glad to know that you're a fan of Xanadu! What other types of video would you like to see?
Agree 100 percent
People can say what they want because I love this movie and always have. Just rented it from my library to watch it.
I loved the cheesy special effects. Worth the price of admission alone.
Not only *could* I watch it over and over, I'm here as I do just that.
I was a lonely man in a big city in '80, stuck in a job I hated, working for a crook. Xanadu was a consolation to me, despite its aesthetic shortcomings, and I watched it in the theaters five times. Rest in Peace and thank-you, Olivia and Gene. Underneath lie the Everlasting Arms.
"Xanadu" also faced huge competition from other movies released that summer- "The Empire Strikes Back", "The Shining", "Airplane", "The Blues Brothers", "Fame", "Urban Cowboy", "Caddyshack", "The Blue Lagoon", and the first "Friday the 13th" movie. That's why the film was released so late in the summer, too much competition.
Late summer is also traditionally a dumping ground for turkeys or perceived turkeys that the studios are either embarrassed by or have little to no confidence in.
Loved all those films except Blue Lagoon. Xanadu was awesome!
A lot of great albums came out in 80.
Right, the soundtrack songs had been on the charts for months before I ever saw a TV ad for the movie. I saw exactly one, in August 1980, and then it was gone!
@@timyoung3257 Some years back I read where it was suggested the big mistake was releasing the soundtrack almost 6 MONTHS before the movie, so it was unable to act as "cross-advertising", as had happened with "SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER". The album sold like crazy... but by the time the movie came out, it was already become a not-too-distant memory. (Crazy, huh?)
Xanadu is a Masterpiece compared to many of the films that are made today.
By a long shot. There is no creativity and imagination today.
@@ScorpioBornIn69 I was so googly eyed for the next 3 or 4 days by this movie; when I saw it at home in '81. (at 6 years old if ya see glowing ladies dancing, flying and kissing persons; IT REALLY HAPPENED. One of the nostalgia magics of my early life) ❤💯💥💫❤🔥
You got that right!!!
Nuff'said.
Music,if you call it music and movies are garbage today.
Honestly .. I never knew Xanadu flopped. I was born in the early 70's and aside from Grease, Xanadu was probably my favorite movie at the time. I never cared for the leading male actor but that's okay because ONJ and GK made up for it with great voices and dancing. I have to say the best part of Xanadu was of course ELO !!!
I thought the lead actor looked similar to Andy Gibb.
Same here. Saw it when it came out when I was 10 & loved it. Only years & years later did I hear it described as a bomb. Was news to me!
It flopped big time. That being said, it was miles better than Can't Stop the Music, which couldn't even get a "So bad it's good" cult following. The two of them killed musicals for a while. It took Little Shop of Horrors and Disney cartoons to revive the art form.
@@vapoet If you were a Village People fan (and under the age of 12) Can't Stop the Music was actually a lot of fun. My friends and I loved it as much as Xanadu.
Olivia was ageless and timeless as her life was beautiful and globally adored . Suspended in time should have been a hit too . Overall she is a perfect example of what a true American idol artist can live up to be with how she handled her worldwide fame . Constantly giving , singing and healing with a smile. Angel sent! RIP
Beautiful words, thank you for your message for Olivia! May she find peace 🙏
I loved Suspended in Time best too
Suspended in Time was the best song on the album; Magic was so overplayed on the radio I thought I would barf neon; but I never would have tired of Suspended in Time. I bought the CD in the 90s just so I could sing it in my car. ELO has not gotten the respect they deserved for their part; Don't Walk Away is the ultimate skating song after Can't Get It Out My Head.
She will always be an idol to Americans, and came to live stateside, but she is of British-Australian origin.
As long as we have her music, her video's, and.her movies. That part of her will never die.
One man's bomb...loved Xanadu....saw it opening day....the audience booed...I cheered...😂
Me too!
Totally LOVE it 💖
12 year old me loved it. Still do to this day.
Really they BOOED?! Ah man I love this movie 😂
The movie, was ahead of it's time.
Xanadu is one of my favorite movies. The music and dancing was amazing. How could you go wrong with Gene Kelly and Olivia Newton-John?
i think people wanted to see some movie that has a twist where everything goes wrong, and not so happy.
The ending was borrowed from the Broadway (and movie) version of "One Touch of Venus" {a mortal lookalike gives "Our Hero" a *very* happy ending}.
U bet Gene kelly amazing stuff!!!
I noticed in the Jeff Lynn documentary they never mentioned xanado
Probably because he asked them not to mention it.
I’ve always loved this movie. I was 8 years old and have watched it multiple times. And I still have never gotten sick of it. R.I.P Olivia, you were a one of a kind and a true legend.
"Xana-dude" here. Yep, that is the term for us male XANADU aficionados. Much like Rocky Horror Picture Show, this underrated film has become a cult classic in the past few years. Complete with late-night showings, and with the audience singing (and often dancing) along in full XANADU costume regalia. Grooving, not walking, down memory lane. Evoking misty water-colored memories of a happier, gentler, and more innocent time. Rose-colored glasses? Sure. They are my favorite shade.
I love that movie! It is one of my favorites. Whoever "bombed" it had no taste. A guy I have never forgotten took me on that date and we had a wonderful time.
Fabulous music and dancing. No nightmares from ugly scenes. There aren't enough good musicals these days.
Thanks for watching, Ann!
Awesome to hear! :D dont have to follow the crowd. I love that :)
Just said almost the exact same thing before I saw your comment!! Love how SO many ppl will know an speak the truth. LOVE IT💞💞💞
I was also on a date when I saw this movie.
Agree - I though Rocky Horror Picture show was corny. Love the music in the movie, but the acting was so over the top. They had a great line of actors in that movie, but it was just about as stupid as you can get.
I loved Xanadu. It came out when I was ten. I saw it several times at the theatre and had the sound track. I talked my dad into buying it on video when it was $80!
I was 10 also and loved it
I was 6 years old. I saw it at home on the tv. I was like: 😮😳🥰
It is now a "cult" movie. Rightly so! ❤️
Wow $80 was that VHS or Batta?
I remember video cassettes did really cost that much when they came out in the 80s.
I was 14 when this movie was released. I remember watching it at the old Capitol 6 Theatres on Granville St with my two cousins and a handful of other patrons. While the other people may have groaned through it, we loved Xanadu so much that we stayed and watched it again back to back! One of the best movie soundtracks ever!!!
I loved it then and I love it now! No matter what the critics say, it's one of my all time favorites. And correction, it was not disco. Although the film had loads of dancing in it, Disco was on its way out before this movie even went into production. Xanadu also gave us an early glimpse of what was to come, New Wave, two years before MTV hit the scene.
and I wouldn't exactly classify the skate scenes as "roller disco" either.
I love “Xanadu”......since it first came out........boo on the critics.......excellent show!
U can do whatever u like, there isnt a xanadu 2 nor will there be
This movie is a masterpiece & was ahead of its time. I loved it on first watch as a very young girl, & the same thrill, entertainment, joy & inspiration it gave me on first watch, I still get upon every subsequent watch or soundtrack listen to this day. I made sure to visit many of the film locations on one of my LA trips & will visit them & any others I can locate on future trips. The depth of this movie beyond the entertainment value is significant - fashion, LA history, art deco architecture, acceptance & inclusion, Greek mythology. Not everything that is deep has to be presented in a serious & conservative way.
We agree, KS!
Not to mention, the acid connection. This movie was made with the idea that at least some of the viewers would be tripping when they saw it and thus would take an entirely different meaning from it.
Jesse's I agree great insight casting was my issue Andy Gibb who can sing and has chemistry with Olivia like John has with Olivia !!!😽🎶💜
It really was just a collection of what would become MTV music videos. This is true of Sgt Peppers and the Village People's movie.
Alone or watched as an album they are fine.
I've noticed most that love it were 12 or 13 at the time. It is pretty much the romantic fantasies of a tween imagination with a safe boy from Teen Beat and an old star from B&W reruns.
The special effects were NOT ahead of their time.
I was born a year after it came out so never got to see it in theaters, but came across it somewhere in my 20's and absolutely fell in love with it! It remains one of my favorites t this day.
The critics may have hated it but A LOT of fans loved it. I went to the theater to see it and never wanted my money back! The story might have been a little weak but Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly were great! It is one of my all time favorite films! RIP ONJ!
John Lennon loved 'Magic', and asked a friend to go and buy it for him so he could draw inspiration from it for his new album.
Thanks for sharing this, P R!
Yes.. that is true.. he loved the lyrics
I was a skater at the time, skaters liked it, especially because skate dancing spans generations. There were an amazing number of skaters active at Gene Kelly's age. But it didn't quite catch on with non skating disco fans. But that's OK, it was still a movie worth making.
Now THAT may hjave been part of the reason I loved it; I was a relatively decent skater, and loved ELO, and ONJ. How could it miss with me?
I loved this movie and the music that went with it. I found it a happy movie without violence or nudity. Olivia Newton John sang beautifully as usual, Gene Kelly was superb in both dance and on skates, and Michael Beck was good at being a dreamer who was struggling to make a dream
come true. Add all the rest it was a 80's movie, maybe not an award winner, but fun to watch and get into a happy mode. Still enjoy the movie and sound track to this day and I'm 58.
Andy Gibb was also slated to co-star with Livvy. You can tell by the casting of Michael Beck... but it was thought that TWO leads with limited acting experience would be tricky. Andy might have been better... and the chemistry would have been amazing.
That's interesting, I always thought Michael Beck looked so much like Andy Gibb! Maybe Andy turned it down and they cast Michael Beck.
Beck was the lead in the movie "The Warriors" an all time cult classic. He was miscast in that Xanadu flop because they offered him 10 times what he made acting in The Warriors. He was miscast and that bomb cost him his acting career. Beck looked like Andy Gibb on steroids.
@@mahnazhasan5845 Same! They look like they could be brothers.
@@philosoraptor2285 His acting was much better in The Warriors than Xanadu. Some of his lines are painful to watch when I watch Xanadu as an adult.
@@mahnazhasan5845 Andy didn't turn it down. Producers/directors turned Andy down because he couldn't stop snorting cocaine.
I still love it. Wore out my 8 track as it never stopped playing in my car. Also had the DVD and watched it regulatly. Gene Kelly was my idol. Happy to be part of this cult.
Me too! I watch this all the time with my millennial daughter who also loves it. I also have a 4 year old who hasn't seen it yet, but loves the exerpt from the I'm Alive opening scene that Ive shown her. Gotta get all the generations hooked lol.
Aside from from the mega-galactic crush I had (and still do) on ONJ, I was a teen being infused with the likes of Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, etc. Xanadu was as 80's as Aspen soda and Trapper notebooks. I will always love this quirky movie 🍿
One of my favorite movies, no idea what the critics were watching, great music, great special effects and good acting.
The movie had heart. More people should be as kind. We're ready to tear each other apart. A hefty dollop of peace and love would do this country good.
Would do this WORLD good
I was really in love with Olivia at the time, the movie really displays her beauty compared to her other films.
Yes! Thank you! It started for me around late 1971, when I was 11. I grew up on Guam, and was the type that went for the 'pretty, yet nice girl'. Olivia filled that 'role throughout my teen years; even beating out the blonde in ABBA. Because of her frequent travel, she would occasionally stop on Guam overnight before heading to her destination. Never saw her in person, but always hoped to. So perfect to me! It was as close as love could get for someone my age, and it lasted until my adult years. She seemed kind, polite, and attentive to those around her. And that, coupled with her beauty made her extremely desirable to me. God Speed to her.
This is the most 80s movie I’ve ever seen in my life. I love it!! I was 9 when the movie came out. I’m 50 now and I still have white roller skates with pink wheels and I don’t care who thinks I’m too old for all that 😂😂
BUT, do you still have the leg-warmers!?!
Yes!!!
@@Rodimus75 no I don’t but let me go order some
I don't give a damn that these critics, including this lady lambast Xanadu. It means a lot to me and fans all over the world. We were young and innocent.
I’ve burned through 3 albums, several VHS tapes and remain a huge fan simply due to the musical performances of ELO and ONJ. Olivia was absolute MAGIC in the film and I remain HOPELESSLY DEVOTED to our XANADU forever.
Classics like this simply don't materialize, these days ! 😬
I'm very proud to have been one of the three people who loved Xanadu! Was it shaky?? Yep....Was the story line a bit "creative" Right in two. Did it have great music, dancing, ELO, Oh yeah. Well if it's a cult film then sign me right up! That'll look good on my resume'! LOL.....
Clearly there are a lot more than three of us.
@@emmitstewart1921 Well, there are at least 5.
I love this movie. I had to rent it after Olivia Newton John passed away. I was 6 years old when it premiere. This movie had everything. Architecture, fantasy, romance and great soundtrack. Dame Olivia was a muse. No more pain Olivia. May she rest in peace.
I loved Xanadu, and I could care less what critics say about any movie. It was funny, romantic, and musically superb. And Olivia Newton John was, as always, amazing!
Oh come on it was a great movie..some people r just so damn hard to please..🙄
Olivia Newton John also earned a Grammy nomination for the song "Magic" for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1980
See? I was right!
The song "Magic" got such play on the radio. I still remember hearing it everywhere I went, someone was playing it. It was just a wonderful time for me, being young, and things were looking up. That's what "Magic" means to me.
That art deco auditorium used as the night club was also used for the camper show scene in the 1954 Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz movie, "The Long, Long Trailer". Absolutely adored Olivia Newton John's voice doing the 3 part Andrews Sisters style harmony!!! 😀 👍
Honestly. I really like this movie since I was a child. And I still do. My favorite scene is when they mesh a 1940's style song with a 1980's rock song and it sounds amazing together. Now that is a very difficult thing to do. Writing two separate songs and then when you play them together it not only works but sounds even better. That's the kind of thing that would make Amadeus, Mozart, & Beethoven look at each other and say... "Now that's impressive."
Seriously Can anyone name an artist has ever done that? If so, I would love to know and listen to them. Combining 2 songs. Now that's pure genius.
I was living in the SF Bay area when this film came out. The San Francisco Chronicle critic DESTROYED it. His scathing review was hilarious in its derision. The film truly is so bad, it's good. Regardless, who doesn't love ONJ. I encountered her on the beach in Malibu years later (she had a spectacular house there at the time), and she couldn't have been more pleasant. Arguably the nicest person in show business. I wish her nothing but good health and happiness.
I absolutely love Xanadu! It's always been one of my favorite happy movies. The CD is in my car and I listen to it often- it makes me smile! It's very surprising to me that people hated the movie because I thought it was fabulous. I'd love to know the difference between the Star Wars budget and the Xanadu budget. Not that it matters- there is a place in this world for cheesy happy movies and I'm tired of the criticism. Who could hate a movie with such fabulous roller skating skills?!
Loved the movie/ music!! It was a fun movie back in the day!!! Not to many fun movies lately in this day of 2021...
Just watching this now. I'm Alive made me cry after Covid19 it now has even more meaning to me ❤️
3:51 I think this incident weakened her sacrum energetically and physically, old injury sites can be vulnerable later on to health issues. The dance choreographer didn’t follow the skate trainer’s safety rules and recommendations for padding equipment. And YES, she pushed through and filmed the rest of the scene and movie in pain while sitting on a donut pad between takes! Ironically, she did the very same pushing through pain there again now. She had impeccable work ethic and integrity! Admirable, any other leading actress would have made a fuss and cost the production money … respect her so much ❤️😔🙌🏻
Even though Xanadu is a classic now the whole roller disco trend was pretty much over by 1980. It would have done much better if it came out in the mid 70's.
That can happen with trends and fads. Sometimes 6 months can make a huge difference.
Xanadu was
Fun
Entertaining
Romantic
Innocent
All to rock and roll and 40s Swing
Perfect to counteract the movies of the time
It was it's own recipe!
I think critics were just jealous back then 😏
I loved the film. I bought the DVD and still watch it on occasion even after 40 years.
This film had a super soundtrack lots of eye candy and a love story. I have seen worse. Also who knew we would be still talking about this film so many years later. 🥰🥰🥰💕💕💕
Audiences have also booed other classics. History is the best judge of film.
Xanadu was ahead of it's time. Too progressive and inclusive for the limited intellects of the time.
It wasn't a doomed film. History has judged it to be a classic. The dual band merge scene was genius.
The execution of the film IS what it was meant to be.
Xanadu did a song mash-up looong before Glee did them!
I agree that it was horrible. Bad writing, acting, directing, cinematography - all of it. But I just love it. The movie does something that requires a muse - inspires wonder ond joy even in the utterly mundane. I saw it when it opened and still love it 40 years later
It should be new arranged with better actors and in a new movie.
You're nuts
It was ahead of its time. I swear, I loved it then and I love it now. It was all cosmic and just got lost in the fold.
According to vet filmmaker Robert Greenwald, who says "they loved the picture in many cities." Now pretty much he did learned
his lesson well after this. His company, Brave New Films, which was based at Sony Pictures Studios nearby the
Rita Hayworth Building in Culver City, California (Mid-November 1989-present).
@@SusiBlumentopfhelp Andy Gibb he has chemistry with Olivia like John he can sing hmmm.Need to remake in heaven they will be singing together up there 🧡😽🎶
RIP Olivia - I've just returned back to the UK after 10 years in prison. I did two and a half years solitary confinement in that time. Whilst I was in solitary, I "replayed" this video segment with the roller skaters in my mind to cheer me up. Thanks for that Olivia x
I still Love Xanadu after all these years. I'm 55 and watched it in 1980. Olivia, the dancing, Gene Kelly and ELO make this a Fantastic movie and it always will be.
Well said.
I forgive Xanadu for being 99% terrible for the 1% of glorious perfection that is Olivia Newton John.
Amen to that, brother. I even named my daughter after her ;-) ;-)
Xanadu was 100% an awesome movie.
I must be one of the small percentage of people that really like the film back then, I was 14 years old and I saw it with my mother back to back the same day.
Loved the music! So Good!
I really don't have anything bad to day about it, the critics were wrong.
Rest In Peace Lovely Olivia Newton-John😢❤💯
I loved the movie when it first came out. The different music eras and the dancing and everything else I loved. I also never listen to critics. I like what I like.
"Don't Stop The Music" is a classic...PERIOD...
Don't Stop The Music is a song by Rhianna... Do you mean Can't Stop The Music featuring the Village People with Steve Guttenberg, Valerie Perrine, Bruce "Caitlyn" Jenner and Marilyn Sokol???
I love the movie and I also love Can’t stop the music. Both are cheesy but who cares. It’s fun to watch.
Totally agree with you. I saw both in theaters when they came out ad still love both. They just make me happy.
I couldn't enjoy Can't Stop the Music. Part of the problem is that none of the cast could act. It didn't help that they they were gay men playing some nebulous quasi-straight guys. So you get homoerotic imagery while trying to pretend it isn't actually fabulously gay. If they didn't mask it, it could have been another midnight movie cult film, ala Rocky Horror.
@@vapoet In Australia 'Can't Stop The Music' is played on a free-to-air tv channel around midnight EVERY New Year's Eve. I don't know why, but it is, lol. ps. No, I'm not a big party-goer, so that's how I've noticed it's on every NYE, lol.
@@monicawood9942 Me too. The I Love You To Death and Magic Night scenes are awesome. I introduced my millennial daughter to both when she was a teen and she loves them as much as I did, and so did most of her friends. I don't think either were meant to be Oscar Nominees, just a hell of a good time.
I loved Xanadu when it came out; I was 13. Now , not so much but the music I have continuously listened to for the past 40+ years. The soundtrack is phenomenal. RIP ON-J 🥰
I loooove the finale roller derby dance and Olivia’s singing .. they were having so much fun!!
I was 11 or 12 years old when this movie came out. I didn’t see it in the movie theater but ended up watching it later on when it came out on VHS. It was corny but I still enjoyed it. Thank you for another great video Facts Verse and I hope you and your subscribers have a wonderful day 🌟
Oh wow!
Facts Verse thank you so very much for the ❤️
I still find it odd that the soundtrack to this movie sold insane amounts of copies but people didn't flock to theaters to see it. I think if Olivia had been paired with a more famous actor than the perfectly capable but unknown Michael Beck, this would have been a big movie. But as many here note, time has been quite kind to this little snapshot in time. I mean, really, who would think to have roller disco, Greek mythology, big band and tap dancing, the Tubes, of all bands, and the classical stylings of the fabulous ELO all in one movie?
It sure is a cornucopia of fascinating and exciting elements. Of course, for those who haven't figured out the main element of its allure, it tells an idyllic story about falling in love, because although the character Kira has to return to the mount, when Sonny is sitting alone towards the end of the movie, after the multi-barrelled song and dance act, it's her who comes and offers him a drink. It kind of hints that she's as in love with him as he is with her and leaves room for some possibility of them having a "happily ever after".
You make a really good point. She went from John Travolta to Michael Beck who, maybe was famous for The Warriors, but still was not an A- list star, which may have made a difference.
I have a guilty love ❤️ fondness for this retro film.
Guilty pleasure 🙏 ☺️ 😊
Love this film.
Rejoice In Paradise Olivia.
I was a cinema projectionist and showed this film when it came out. I loved it, especially the ELO tracks.
I always loved this movie. I even have it on a VHS
I really loved this movie!! I've seen it more than once,and I'll see it again
I was 13 in 1980. I saw Xanadu in theatres twice. I loved this movie. It might have been cheesy but I loved it. I used to roller skate to the sound track I taped on a physical tape recorder. We did not have mp3 players in 1980. It was a cassettes and tape recorders. I own the vinyl record that I play on my record player. You can pan this movie all you want. Us kids in the 1980's loved it.
I and my 4 1/2 year old daughter were enthralled, amazed an astonished. We were both so happy as we exited the theater that afternoon back in 1980 🎭
My 6 year old watched it today & was totally into it
I love Xanadu! I was 15 when it came out and I even won the soundtrack album in a bet with one of my brothers!
Happy 40th Birthday Xanadu. I was 15 and in northern NZ when it came out. It was the 14th August 1980 and I went to the theatre day after day after day to feast on this marvel of the movie. Yes I concur with the critics .....it is bad but I guess one sees what they want to see in anything, right? Loved ONJ and how could you not admire Gene Kelly. Even dry Michael Beck had appeal and I replicated his style and look to perfection. You have to love the soundtrack.....40 years on.....I know every note and every lyric. My best friend Morgan (in 1980 and n 2020) agrees with me. We lived our teenage years to the beat of this movie. I met Olivia on a plane once when I was crew. She tried apologising for the movie but I politely shut her down. She was a treasure. Xanadu forever (whether you like it or not)
I was 11 when this came out and thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. ONJ looked like an angel, I loved the graphics and colors and the aesthetics of the "Dancin' to Do' contrasts. It held a constant flow and tone and I thought it was a fantastic production! I would try and sing Suspended in Time as perfectly as Olivia, and tried some of the roller moves on my own skates in the driveway! I likely rubbed off to the cute guy, too!!
The Soundtrack was a WorldWide Success...
Olivia Newton Johns songs,Magic and Xanadu were Number Ones
I LOVED this movie as a kid and I now have the soundtrack on vinyl LOL
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I guess my fondness for the movie derives from the fact that it's about never letting old dreams fade away. Even in my old age now I still hold on to my dreams.
Im a millennial child and freaking adore this movie. Don’t let box office succes define a movie to be good or bad. This movie is a hidden gem.
You are right when you say it was so bad it was good. It is fun to watch, nostalgic in the fashions and roller skating that was popular at the time. It is one of my all-time favorites!
Xanadu and Grease 2 are my two guilty pleasures. They are so bad they are great. Whenever I am channel surfing and either one is on, no matter what point in the movie it is, I have to watch. And I am obsessed with the song Whenever You’re Away From Me.
YAASSS! Grease 2! I don't care what people say about Grease 2, that movie is fantastic. Cool Rider is still one of my favorite songs.
Yessss!! I love then both
@@amandabeachum188 I adore Michelle Pfeiffer and Max Caulfield in Grease 2... Lorna Luft is good value too
In those days I liked anything with Olivia Newton-John...
I love Xanadu! It’s a movie that’s got great music and no crazy violence. Sure, it won’t win an Oscar, but sometimes I just want to watch a movie that takes me away from reality and allows me to dream. This movie does that. I have this on DVD and still watch it from time to time and it’s 2022. This just reminded to to re-watch especially since Olivia just passed. RIP
I saw this lovely film at a theater in LA when it came out. I loved it then and I love it now, critic’s aren’t always right.
I loved Xanadu when it came on TV I watched it every time it came on .I loved the soundtrack , the actors and actresses . To me it was and always be a great movie . And I would watch it to this very day if I could . And that is coming from a 62 yr old man .
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I was stationed in Germany with the USAF and saw it in the base theater. It wasn't the best film out there, I did enjoy it, but the soundtrack was great. I still have the album on vinyl in my collection. It May have more value now since ON-J has passed. With that, I would rather have her still on this earth than just her music. She is already missed.
Can we just applaud Gene Kelly still giving the moves on those roller skates!!! Phenomenal and Genius!!
I still like the movie. And there aren’t many movies with dancing rollerskating scenes. And it’s nostalgic. I always will love this movie. RIP OLIVIA.
The movie is a cult classic which is why it has become a very popular Broadway musical. The music still redeems it thanks to the brilliant songwriting of John Farrar and Jeff Lynne.
Yes, you're being a little too harsh but its an easy film to take pot shots at. Trouble is it didn't stop people from loving it. Many films don't find an audience at the time that become guilty pleasures and this one's a biggie. People (like myself) who loved it then REALLY loved it for all the reasons you state you didn't. I loved the special effects. Cheap, um, maybe but at the time I thought it was cool. It truly was a ridiculous movie from top to bottom but as I sat in theaters (twice) to see it I realized how happy it made me. It has lived on 42 years later. There were films that made more money and critics loved back then that probably no one is still talking about. I loved Ordinary People but there are no Ordinary People showings today with people dressing up as Mary Tyler Moore or Tim Hutton.
One of my VERY FAVORITE movies and soundtracks!! What's better than 80s cheesy magnificence? I will always love ONJ and Xanadu!
My wife and I both loved 👍 the movie and continue to watch it from time to time. Terrific music and dancing.
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This is one of my favorite movies plus I love the soundtrack!!! Could care less about the Empire strikes back!
I will always love Xanadu for the concept it attempted to portray. It was a very high concept; very difficult to translate into any realistic form, but they tried their best, and it worked out pretty good. I think roller disco helped, but again, it wasn't up to the high concept it attempted to portray. I will always love Xanadu for what they tried to achieve.
I love this movie.... how dare you... Olivia and Mr Gene Kelly singing and dancing together... is Hollywood history
This movie has always held a special place in my heart, as well as Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal, because both movies are where my parents (loves of sci-fi and fantasy) got my first name: Kira. My parents got my particular spelling from the Satellite TV guide description of Xanadu! Love this movie so much and it mildly hurts my heart to hear that it was not as loved by the general public, as I have loved it.
I'm watching this video for the first time on 9/4/22, several weeks after Olivia Newton-John passed away.
I love this movie when it first came out I saw in the theater and I own it on VHS yet it’s still one of my favorite movies love a soundtrack love the whole picture I thought it was absolutely wonderful how could you go wrong you had Olivia Newton-John and the wonderfully talented Gene Kelly. ❤️❤️❤️
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I almost wonder if it would have been better if they had cast someone other than Michael Beck to play Sonny. They really lacked chemistry together, and he wasn't a big A-List star like John Travolta. I can't imagine Mel Gibson in the role either, but they could have cast better than they did.
It’s a cute movie because of Olivia. The music is truly amazing and the closing number is spectacular…
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this was in good company. in 1980 somewhere in time also fell flat on it's face. but over the years the movies have gone on to great success. i love both of them.
It's as The local DJ ,Barry Scott did say "It's the Movie nobody saw. Also my Mom Mary had put it upon seeing it "Sometimes the movies that nobody saw can still be great."Xanadu itself is even a catchy song
My wife makes fun of me because I like the movie lol
I AM ONE BIG FAN FOREVER FOR O.N. JHON and E.L.O ... THEY are my colege years ...
I was ten when when this came out. I loved it! I had no idea people thought it was bad. This movie is a warm memory of my childhood and I still occasionally listen to the sound track. ELO!!!
Magic & Suddenly... 2 of the decades Greatest songs
Xanadu may have been bad but, it was no worse than this video.