Xanadu [Blu-ray]
[{'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2016', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I was so excited to finally see one of my all-time childhood favorite films in spectacular Blu-ray! As kids, my brothers and I remember watching this movie in the theater and also watching a very dark Betamax copy at that time when that obsolete format came out in the early 80s. I remember my aunt warning us it was a sleep-inducing film when we watched the Beta copy in her home (we had the tape but didn\'t have a player yet) while my mom was more positive when she said she enjoyed seeing it on the plane. We were still ONJ fans then after her triumphant and fantastic debut in Grease. When you are kids, you dont really care about the plot. It was the music that we were looking forward to. So 36 years later, we gathered in front of our 50" TV and played the Blu-ray version of this childhood favorite. As we watched, all the memories and familiar scenes just came back. This time in all it\'s clarity with great sound. The best thing about Xanadu is the memorable music. It\'s an ode to our childhood hearing classic ELO (I\'m Alive, All Over The World) and ONJ (Magic, Suspended in Time) songs. We enjoyed this movie all over again in spectacular Blu-ray. It looks like a brand new film. Highlights are the opening song I\'m Alive when the muses come to life, Gene and ONJ singing and dancing to Whenever You\'re Away From Me, Dancin\' (mash-up of big band and 80s music featuring The Tubes) and the grand finale of varied songs featuring Xanadu. It was interesting to find out that Kenny Ortega (High School Musical) co-choreographed this film when he was still very young. Days after seeing Xanadu on Blu-ray, the songs still ring in my head especially I\'m Alive, Suspended in Time and Whenever You\'re Away From Me. I looked for the cd and imported the songs into my iPod. The cd needs a remastered version by the way. Anyway, go and relive the memories! I hope they release Sgt. Peppers and Can\'t Stop The Music on Blu-ray soon!'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2016', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "Another great musical classic which by the way didn't do well at the box office but who cares it's a musical with a lot of great tunes in the film. It would have been good if the film had been re-released in the 90's and through the 2000's to see if the audience now will be more accepting with this kind of film cause apparently back in the day when it was released it probably didn't get good enough publicity and marketing ploy back then. This is better than those Lady Gaga or Taylor swift music videos and I would rather watch this than high school musical! And oh even though Michael Beck is good on this one but did you know that they originally asked the late Andy Gibb to play Sonny Malone? I bet it would be good since Andy Gibb could sing."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2017', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "This is the real La La Land.....in its campy, somewhat disorganized way, Xanadu emerges as a true reflection of Los Angeles art culture. It also happens to contain one of the best movie soundtracks ever made. When you throw out your traditional criteria for judging the value of a motion picture and think of Xanadu as a work of artistic expression from one of the world's most unique cities, you not only enjoy Xanadu, you receive sensual pleasure."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Technically, the blu-ray transfer and format is fantastic. Great image and sound quality. Not much else to say about that. As far as the film itself... well... I understand both sides of the argument. If you look at Xanadu as a "movie" then it is quite terrible. However; if you look at Xanadu as an extended (extra-long) music video...it\'s pretty good. The music is quality and performed by quality talent. As a music video it excels, it\'s when you start viewing through the lens of a movie that it becomes truly fair game for its criticism.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2020', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I absolutely love this movie I seen it in the theater when my Husband and I were dating. He actually liked it too so watching it brought back memories of them day’s when we were together. He passed away 4 years ago so this movie brought back memories. The music is awesome and the skating was so so good too. I’d watch it every day and not get tired of it myself. Ha'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2014', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'by now most have heard of this movie,\neither through the broadway show\nor otherwise..\n\nit really is magical.\n\nthe effects are beautiful, ONJ is too.\n\neven michael beck is fun to watch on skates.\n\ntheres a quality to this movie\nthat some might find off-putting,\nbut to some like myself it is endearing.\n\naside from all of that,\nthe soundtrack is from another universe.\n\nthis version of the movie has a making-of\nmini movie that sheds some light\non its weird journey\ninto the annals of weird hollywood history.\n\nxanadu is gorgeous, hack-y, ethereal, moving and goofy at the same time, somehow.\n\nim 100 percent sure there isnt another movie remotely like it, anywhere,\nfrom any time.\n\nremarkable.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2021', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "What can the fans say?? This is NOT a great movie. It's not even a good movie. But Olivia Newton John holds the story, whatever that is. ELO saves the movie. We pay no attention to the many faults!!!\nWe love ❤ it anyway."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2017', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I purchased the BluRay version and it is crystal clear. The sound quality is excellent. I saw the movie in theaters when it originally came out in 1980. My older sister got caught up in the hype and talked my father and me into taking her to see it. She thought my father, who played in a big band in his younger days, would like some of the music. Well, he liked the big band part, but the 1980s part of the movie was too much for my 1940s father. If only my father had known that the movie was actually very forward looking. Parts of the movie seem like precursors to the creative MTV videos of mid 1980s.\nThe movie has several running themes, and overall comes across as a 1970s rock musical on roller skates. But to me it is Gene Kelly that makes this movie memorable. I suspect he had a hand in directing it, because the highly unusual and creative dance numbers are done with humor and remind me of On the Town starring Gene Kelly in 1949. I think there are also some nods to Singin’ in the Rain. It is poignant that Xanadu was Gene Kelly’s last movie. He was able to look forward to the 1980s and look back to the 1940s at the same time, and he did it with real class. With a smile. His generation was truly the greatest that I’ve known in my lifetime.\nGet the BluRay and watch it on a big screen with a good sound system. Turn it up and let it take you back!'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "This may not be the best transfer of the movie. And the film itself is a divisive creation. But for pure camp, amazing set pieces, and pure joy, it would be very hard to fault this as entertainment.\n\nI listened to the Broadway version - which is a dark business that I honestly can't see why anyone liked it - and this will always be my Xanadu."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "I don't know why it flopped at the boxoffice ! It's a classic. Olivia Newton John is very talented. Gene Kelly was good. Loved ELO's music. Just a nice family musical."}]