Xanadu

 (127 customer reviews)

The film "Xanadu" received what I consider the best movie review of all time on its release in 1980: a single sentence that read... "In a word, Xana-don't"! To be sure, this campy roller-dancehall fairy tale still has its enthusiasts and remains a guilty pleasure for some. In the end, the film was a catastrophe but remains in the Hollywood Babylon pantheon of nostalgia and cult classics for three reasons. First, it ended up being Gene Kelly's swan song from a 4 decade career in film as in the movie, he dances to a charming time-warping tune with a soft-shoeing Olivia Newton-John (his last on screen partner.) Second, ONJ met her future husband Matt Lattanzi on the film set, and the tabloids feasted on their decade-plus age difference while rumors of Matt (and Olivia's) sexual orientation percolated under the surface during the hateful "outing" campaigns of the early 80s. Perhaps the most lasting legacy of the film, however, rests in this soundtrack - a uniformly strong collection...Read more

Firstly, let's face facts. 'Xanadu' the movie was pretty bad. Scrap that, it was painfully bad. Apart from the hideous acting (sorry Olivia, not even you get off the hook for that one), paper-thin storyline, and ridiculous dialogue - has anyone noticed the number of inconsistencies here?! How on earth did an out-of-work actor and a once-rich now clarinet-playing geriatric get the go-ahead with a rollerskating disco derby nightclub? Oh. That's right.They had a muse.Please, people, don't even get me started on the Don Bluth animation scene. Its relevance was, what, again?Curiously enough, for all the film's shortcomings the music itself made up for about ten times over. (And granted, the musical sequences in the film were superb - well filmed and well choreographed, perhaps an indication of the MTV generation about five years before it really erupted?) The album is split into two sides, giving equal credit to both artists whose music was primarily showcased here: Olivia...Read more

When you consider that the music on this CD comes from the cheesy (guilty pleasure for some) 1980 musical "Xanadu", starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly, you'd assume that it's soundtrack would not have a chance; however this is soundtrack simply astounds as each song is simply amazing.It features 10 tracks, including some of E.L.O.'s strongest songs ("I'm Alive, "All Over The World", among others), Olivia Newton John's #1 smash "Magic", a gorgeous duet by Newton John and Cliff Richard ("Suddenly") as well as the E.L.O penned "Xanadu" sung by Newton John. It also has a duet between Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly that would seem iffy at best on paper, but it also works.I can't say enough about this release, which was unavailable in the U.S until a few years ago. It may be in my top 10 soundtracks ever. Enjoy the magic!!!! When I compare this CD to a lot of the junk that is put out there by way of soundtracks, it's...Read more