Synopsis
A beautiful muse inspires an artist and his older friend to convert a dilapidated auditorium into a lavish rollerskating club.
Votre Filmothèque
Cast
- Olivia Newton-JohnKira
- Gene KellyDanny McGuire
- Michael BeckSonny Malone
- James SloyanSimpson
- Katie HanleySandra
- Fred McCarrenRichie
- Ren WoodsJo
- Dimitra ArlissHelen
- Sandahl BergmanMuse 1
- Lynn LathamMuse 2
Recommandations
- 100
Film Threat
How does Xanadu qualify as the greatest movie musical? Simple: it offers nothing but pure wall-to-wall fun and nonsense to keep a smile on one’s face from the opening credits (which cleverly spoof the logo of Universal Pictures) through the end of the picture. [11 Aug 2005] - 75
ReelViews
The film is too energetic, too jaw-droppingly campy, and too silly not to be enjoyed and celebrated on some level. "Cheesy" doesn't even begin to describe it, yet that's at the heart of its perverse charm. Now, that's entertainment! - 63
Slant Magazine
While the soundtrack is evenly split between Newton-John ballads and power-pop from ELO, neither of which sounded particularly revolutionary at the turn of the decade, Xanadu's collage of musical styles and fads inadvertently suggests the utopia of post-disco no wave, hip-hop's emerging legacy of sampling and the DIY spirit of mash-ups. (I mean, if you want to be kind.) - 50
Chicago Sun-Times
A mushy and limp musical fantasy, so insubstantial it keeps evaporating before our eyes. It's one of those rare movies in which every scene seems to be the final scene; it's all ends and no beginnings, right up to its actual end, which is a cheat. - 40
The New York Times
Like "The Wiz," though, Xanadu is desperately stylish without having any real style. A dance number featuring two teams of dancers -one group dressed as punks, the other in 1940's garb - winds up a terrible mess, because the two groups aren't dressed or choreographed to have anything to do with one another. - 40
Washington Post
Xanadu cannot possibly be described as a good movie, but it can be recommended to those who can tolerate large amounts of intravenous marzipan. The music is highly enjoyable -- though perhaps more so once one gets the record album home and isn't bothered with the story -- and the film so unerringly airy that it has a beneficent, tranquilizing, bemusing effect. - 40
Empire
This modern musical - with tunes written by Where Are They Now pop band ELO - falls flat on its face simply because the premise is so utterly ludicrous. - 20
Variety
Xanadu is truly a stupendously bad film whose only salvage is the music.
