A struggling artist living in Los Angeles meets a girl who may hold the key to his happiness.A struggling artist living in Los Angeles meets a girl who may hold the key to his happiness.A struggling artist living in Los Angeles meets a girl who may hold the key to his happiness.
- Awards
- 1 win & 10 nominations
Renn Woods
- Jo
- (as Ren Woods)
Lynne Latham
- Muse #2
- (as Lynn Latham)
Cherise Bates
- Muse #4
- (as Cherise Bate)
Bebe Drake
- Female Guard
- (as Bebe Drake-Massey)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAfter Kira tells Sonny she is one of the Greek muses, she starts to say, "My real name is Terp" but Sonny shushes her and she never reveals her real name. She is there to help him open a dance club, and she is obviously a dancer, so her name is most likely Terpsichore, after the Greek muse of dance--although in the stage adaption of the film she was Clio, muse of history.
- GoofsAt the beginning of the movie, the muses in the painting on the mural are detailed and fully rendered. Later, when Sonny is about to jump into the mural, the muses in the painting are sketchy and lack detail.
- Quotes
Danny McGuire: Hey, do you like Glenn Miller?
Sonny: Do you like rock 'n' roll?
Danny McGuire: I love rock 'n' roll.
Sonny: I love Glenn Miller.
- Crazy creditsOpens with the 1930s-era Universal logo, with an airplane circling a globe; then it becomes a 50s-era passenger plane, then the Concorde, then the fourth time around as it becomes a spaceship. Instrumentals of "Whenever You're Away From Me" and "Xanadu" play under this, with musical styles matching the period of each aircraft.
- Alternate versionsThe original theatrical release uses the 1963 Universal logo at the end and then shows the PG rating slide. The 1994 VHS release (while retaining the Universal logo at the end), strangely replaces the PG rating slide with a GP rating slide (the original name for the PG rating from 1969 to 1972), also including an advertisement for Universal Studios. The 1999 DVD restores the proper PG rating slide, however the 1963 Universal logo is removed. The 2001 Australian DVD does not have any rating slides or Universal logos at the end. The 2008 DVD restores both the 1963 Universal logo and the original PG rating slide, making it a more accurate representation of the original theatrical release.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Making Xanadu: The Musical Fantasy Movie (1980)
Featured review
Give XANADU a Chance!
XANADU is one of the most critically and commercially panned films in Hollywood history, a 'Nouveau Art' musical with Art Deco themes, a weirdly conceived animated interlude, and performances of such widely varying caliber that a viewer might wonder if the actors were all reading from the same script! But all that being said, I would like to offer a minority opinion, and say that I didn't find the film THAT terrible, and there are some aspects of it I actually enjoyed...
First and foremost, it offers the legendary Gene Kelly, in his last musical, as charming and wonderful as ever. As retired musician/businessman Danny McGuire, Kelly has the film's best moments, including a 'classic' song-and-dance scene with Olivia Newton-John and some silly but endearing 'post-disco' routines with the talented young dancers of the cast (including future CONAN star Sandahl Bergman). Seeing him on roller-skates again, leading everyone around the club he builds, to the music of the Electric Light Orchestra, makes one realize just how irreplaceable he is. Kelly could do it all, and with style!
The premise of the film, of a Muse coming from Olympus to inspire an artist, is far-fetched, but had been done on film several times in the past (ONE TOUCH OF VENUS, with Ava Gardner and Robert Walker, and DOWN TO EARTH, with Rita Hayworth, are the examples most often cited), and while Olivia Newton-John is oddly cast in the role, she tackles it gamely, with a smile and a wink, and isn't THAT bad. On the other hand, Michael Beck, best-known as the gang leader in cliched but powerful THE WARRIORS, is totally miscast as the artist she falls in love with. An actor with limited range and no singing or dancing talent, Beck lacks the charisma to pull off the role (one wonders why British pop star Cliff Richard, who voices Beck's animated duet with Newton-John, 'Suddenly', wasn't utilized to play the part).
While the film often veers off in bizarre directions, the 'Battle of the Bands' scene between popular 80s rockers, the Tubes, and a 'Tommy Dorsey/WWII'-style orchestra (as Beck and Kelly envision what the 'look' and 'sound' of their club, XANADU, should be), actually works, and is fun to watch. The entire score, by Barry De Vorzon and John Farrar, and Jeff Lynne (with ELO) is terrific (and made the soundtrack album a hit).
Sure, the ending is hokey, but it was also the same ending of ONE TOUCH OF VENUS and DOWN TO EARTH, so XANADU can't be totally faulted!
All in all, XANADU isn't the WORST film ever made, and if you give it a chance, you might find it a guilty pleasure!
First and foremost, it offers the legendary Gene Kelly, in his last musical, as charming and wonderful as ever. As retired musician/businessman Danny McGuire, Kelly has the film's best moments, including a 'classic' song-and-dance scene with Olivia Newton-John and some silly but endearing 'post-disco' routines with the talented young dancers of the cast (including future CONAN star Sandahl Bergman). Seeing him on roller-skates again, leading everyone around the club he builds, to the music of the Electric Light Orchestra, makes one realize just how irreplaceable he is. Kelly could do it all, and with style!
The premise of the film, of a Muse coming from Olympus to inspire an artist, is far-fetched, but had been done on film several times in the past (ONE TOUCH OF VENUS, with Ava Gardner and Robert Walker, and DOWN TO EARTH, with Rita Hayworth, are the examples most often cited), and while Olivia Newton-John is oddly cast in the role, she tackles it gamely, with a smile and a wink, and isn't THAT bad. On the other hand, Michael Beck, best-known as the gang leader in cliched but powerful THE WARRIORS, is totally miscast as the artist she falls in love with. An actor with limited range and no singing or dancing talent, Beck lacks the charisma to pull off the role (one wonders why British pop star Cliff Richard, who voices Beck's animated duet with Newton-John, 'Suddenly', wasn't utilized to play the part).
While the film often veers off in bizarre directions, the 'Battle of the Bands' scene between popular 80s rockers, the Tubes, and a 'Tommy Dorsey/WWII'-style orchestra (as Beck and Kelly envision what the 'look' and 'sound' of their club, XANADU, should be), actually works, and is fun to watch. The entire score, by Barry De Vorzon and John Farrar, and Jeff Lynne (with ELO) is terrific (and made the soundtrack album a hit).
Sure, the ending is hokey, but it was also the same ending of ONE TOUCH OF VENUS and DOWN TO EARTH, so XANADU can't be totally faulted!
All in all, XANADU isn't the WORST film ever made, and if you give it a chance, you might find it a guilty pleasure!
helpful•22121
- cariart
- Sep 13, 2003
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Xanadú
- Filming locations
- Pan-Pacific Auditorium - 7600 W. Beverly Boulevard, Fairfax, Los Angeles, California, USA(Destroyed by fire in 1989)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $20,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $22,762,571
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,471,595
- Aug 10, 1980
- Gross worldwide
- $22,765,400
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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