History Film / Xanadu

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xanadu_3.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Where time stops and the magic never ends."'']]
->''A place where nobody dared to go''\\
''The love that we came to know''\\
''They call it Xanadu''\\
(''It takes your breath and it'll leave you blind'')\\
\\
''And now, open your eyes and see''\\
''What we have made is real''\\
''We are in Xanadu''\\
(''A dream of it, we offer you'')
-->--The title song

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'''For the trope previously called Xanadu, please [[BuildingOfAdventure see here.]]'''

What has Music/OliviaNewtonJohn, Creator/GeneKelly, that guy from ''Film/TheWarriors'' (Michael Beck), roller skates, lots of glowing blue people, all to an Music/ElectricLightOrchestra soundtrack?

The 1980 movie musical ''Xanadu'' is a story about a frustrated artist named Sonny Malone (Beck) who paints album covers for a living and is unhappy about it. By tossing some of his drawings into the wind, he somehow brings [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYWA2c5w5bw a painting on a wall of nine girls to life]] and one of them -- Kira (Newton-John) -- finds and kisses him. Shortly after, he meets Danny [=McGuire=] (Kelly), a former big band leader. The two strike up a friendship and, with encouragement from Kira, make plans to convert an abandoned building (The Pan Pacific Auditorium) into a roller disco. Sonny and Kira, meanwhile, fall in love, with there being the slight complication that she's actually the Greek Muse of Dance and Choral Singing (yes, really) and was only sent to bring Xanadu into creation. Soon, she will have to return home, just as Xanadu will be opening.

The titular roller disco's title comes from the Creator/SamuelTaylorColeridge poem "Kubla Khan" and refers to a province where Khan establishes his pleasure garden. Naming a movie about a muse with a reference to a notoriously unfinished poem that was conceived under the influence of drugs was a very ironic (and some might say appropriate) choice.

Widely panned by critics, it found a cult audience. It has now been adapted into a stage musical that doesn't even ''bother'' to hide how camp the whole thing is.

After seeing a 99-cent double feature of this movie and the Music/VillagePeople movie ''Film/CantStopTheMusic'', publicist John J.B. Wilson was inspired to create the UsefulNotes/{{Golden Raspberry Award}}s, aka "The Razzies". (Both were nominated for the inaugural Worst Picture Award, with ''Can't Stop the Music'' winning.)

* [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7k0o3_xanadu-02-im-alive_shortfilms Here's]] a sample of ''Xanadu''.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m1UWSD-FaA Here's the title song]]

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!!"Your tropes will shine for you, Xanadu":
* TheEighties: The movie stands at the nexus between '70s cheese and '80s cheese.
* AnimatedMusicVideo: The "Don't Walk Away" segment, created by Creator/DonBluth.
* BarSlide: During the big Xanadu opening number/medley, specifically during "Get on the first stage out of this town".
* BetweenMyLegs: A spider woman crawls through a tunnel of legs in the "All Over The World" segment.
* BittersweetEnding: Xanadu the club is a success, but Kira must go back to Mount Olympus, ''but'' Sonny afterwards meets [[DoppelgangerReplacementLoveInterest a waitress identical to her]].
* ButNowIMustGo: Kira was sent to Earth just to inspire Xanadu's creation, but she has to leave Sonny the night before the opening despite her feelings for him. Sonny refuses to give up on her and tracks her to her realm, but her father Zeus refuses to listen to his pleas to let her come back to him. It takes Kira singing about her true love to persuade Zeus to allow her to come back to Sonny for "a moment, or maybe forever", but since [[ExactWords he can't tell mortal time]], it's still a matter of time before Kira has to leave Earth again.
* {{Camp}}: This movie has been described as unintentional early '80s John Waters.
* ChickMagnet: Just about every woman Sonny meets, save for his two female coworkers, instantly become smitten with him. And though this never strays into EvenTheGuysWantHim, Sonny meets multiple men who try to introduce him to their daughters. Heck, the overall main plot of the film is about how Sonny's wiles manage to win over a ''literal Muse of Olympus''.
* ComicBookAdaptation: Adapted by Creator/MarvelComics for its ''Marvel Super Special'' series.
* ConspicuouslyLightPatch: The "mystical aura" variant happens to Sonny [[spoiler:as he enters the muses' world]], as seen [[http://www.agonybooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Xanadu_029.jpg here.]]
* CoolOldGuy: Gene Kelly is charming as ever playing Danny [=McGuire=].
* CoolTrain: During their first dance, Sonny and Kira encounter [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Road_class_A#/media/File:Hiawatha_Milwaukee_Road_Postkarte_1935.jpg a Milwaukee Road Class A]] [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment for some reason]].
%%* CostumeTestMontage: When Sonny takes Danny to get some new clothes.
%%* CostumePorn: Many of the numbers.
* DoppelgangerReplacementLoveInterest: Sonny ends up parting ways with Kira, only to meet a waitress identical to her at the end. Or the waitress actually ''is'' Kira, trying for a version of the relationship her family can at least pretend they don't know about, if her remarks about her parents are anything to go by.
* FantasticRomance: Sonny and Kira.
* GenreBlending: Music-wise, anyway. The soundtrack veers from pop to disco to big-band-swing to rock. A good single-song example: "Dancin'" could be considered Music/TheAndrewsSisters [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] Music/{{Loverboy}}
** ... Loverboy as performed by The Tubes.
* HaveWeMet: Early on after Sonny meets Kira, Danny shows him a photo of a woman he once sang with; that woman resembles Kira. Later when Sonny and Danny are discussing names for the nightclub, Kira steps in, and Danny, alarmed by the resemblance to his lost love, asks if he knows her. When she says he doesn't, Danny plays it off as a coincidence.
%%* HollywoodCalifornia
* IAlwaysWantedToSayThat
-->'''Danny:''' Opening night...whatever you want, it's on the house! You know, I've always wanted to say that line!
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Danny and Sonny.
* JukeboxMusical: The stage musical version is essentially one for the Music/ElectricLightOrchestra, whose leader, Jeff Lynne, produced most of the music for the film. The stage version adds "Evil Woman" and "Strange Magic."
* LandmarkOfLore: Pan Pacific Auditorium and the Hollywood Sign.
* MayflyDecemberRomance: Sonny is a normal human, while Kira, with whom he falls in love, is one of the Muses from Mount Olympus.
* MediumShiftGag: An interlude courtesy of Creator/DonBluth, his first post-Creator/{{Disney}} animation work.
* TheMusical: The only thing that was considered quality work was the music -- everything else, not so much. The Broadway version was a cheerfully absurd [[RuleOfFunny Refuge In Funny]][=/=][[RuleOfCool Refuge In Cool Music]] laugh-fest with a load of {{Take That}}s at the movie.
* NeverTrustATrailer:
** Sort of; in the opening title, there's a slight implication of aliens in the form of a UFO flying across a picture of Earth, which is further helped along by a robot-like thing showing up in a musical number. The "robot-like thing" is actually a steam locomotive.
** When CBS hosted the network television premiere in 1984, the network deliberately painted the movie in the promos as featuring a LoveTriangle with Sonny and Danny competing against each other for the ultimate affections of Kira. Of course, no such triangle exists in the movie proper, and in-universe, Danny knows that Kira's resemblance to his lost love is just a coincidence.
* NoFourthWall: In the end of the stage adaptation, Melpomene appears by herself, without Calliope, since her actress was doubling as Aphrodite, which she remarks on. Also, a remark is made about the shorter running time of the musical, since, at the time, they were playing next door to the revival of ''Theatre/{{Gypsy}}'', and they often remarked that "Patti [=LuPone=] has yet to let go of her daughter!"
* TheOner: The "Suspended in Time" scene consists of a three-and-a-half minute long slow zoom from a full-length shot of Kira to a closeup of her head while she sings the song.
* PhosphorEssence: Olivia Newton-John's character, due to being TheMuse.
%%* ThePowerOfLove
* PresentDay: Set in 1980, the year it was released.
* SadlyMythtaken: It is ''loosely'' based on Myth/ClassicalMythology.
** For example; Kira would be better off as muses Euterpre (Flutes and lyrics) and Terpsicore (Dance). Also; At one point, Zeus (a guy noted for his penchant for carnal relations on many levels) states that the Gods are above such things as carnal relations.
* ScreenToStageAdaptation: A Broadway musical in 2007 that, unlike most examples of the trope, had its tongue planted firmly in its cheek.
* SharedUniverse: Implied. Prior to this film, Gene Kelly also played a character named "Danny [=McGuire=]" in the film ''Film/CoverGirl'' (no relation to the cosmetics company). This film is later referenced in ''Down To Earth'' (sequel to ''Film/HereComesMrJordan''), which features Rita Hayworth (who was also in ''Cover Girl'') as "Terpsichore", but uses the name "Kitty" in her Earth form). See "Shout-Out" below. It should be mentioned that all three of the films in question were released by Columbia, while this movie was released by Universal.
* ShoutOut: Gene Kelly's character has the same name and much of the same backstory as the character he played in the 1944 film ''Film/CoverGirl''; Danny's backstory in Xanadu sounds suspiciously like a version of ''Cover Girl'' without the happy ending.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: As idealistic as it gets.
* SongStyleShift: "Dancin'" alternates between 40's-style swing and {{New Wave|Music}} rock.
* StepThreeProfit: 1) Meld GlamRock and BigBand. 2) ??? 3) Profit with a ''Theatre/StarlightExpress'' {{Expy}}.
%%* StopTrick
%%* SugarBowl: This may be an adult version of this.
* TheTelevisionTalksBack: When Kira tries to prove she really is a Muse, she uses her power to make a gangster on the television ask Sonny if he should off his captive or not. A moment later she pulls a similar trick in a different medium, when she opens the dictionary to the entry for "muse" and the text concludes with the question "do you believe me now, Sonny?"
* TronLines: Kira's entrances and exits are filled with glowing lines.
* WhatTheHellHero: Danny gives a big one to Sonny when Kira leaves him the night before the Xanadu grand opening. Knowing from experience how it feels to lose your true love and let your dreams die because of it, Danny urges Sonny to find Kira and never give up on her. Sonny does [[TheDeterminator take his advice]], setting up his ultimate pursuit for Kira.
* WhoWritesThisCrap: The musical version takes some scripted swipes at the movie and how lame it was.
* YouExclamation: So Sonny has been painting an album cover featuring Kira. Later, when he sees her on the street, he yells out "You!" (and she answers "Me!").
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* NeverTrustATrailer: Sort of; in the opening title, there's a slight implication of aliens in the form of a UFO flying across a picture of Earth, which is further helped along by a robot-like thing showing up in a musical number. However, unless you're The Nostalgia Chick, you may not have noticed. The "robot-like thing" is actually a steam locomotive--though one could see how the Chick might've been seeking any respite at that point...
** ...and when CBS hosted the network television premiere in 1984, the network deliberately painted the movie in the promos as featuring a LoveTriangle with Sonny and Danny competing against each other for the ultimate affections of Kira. Of course, no such triangle exists in the movie proper, and in-universe, Danny knows that Kira's resemblance to his lost love is just a coincidence.

** ...and when CBS hosted the network television premiere in 1984, the network deliberately painted the movie in the promos as featuring a [[LoveTriangle Love Triangle]] with Sonny and Danny competing against each other for the ultimate affections of Kira. Of course, no such triangle exists in the movie proper, and in-universe, Danny knows that Kira's resemblance to his lost love is just a coincidence.

%%* PresentDay: In 1980.

* TheTelevisionTalksBack: When Kira tries to prove she really is a Muse, she uses her power to make a gangster on a movie on a TV ask Sonny if he should off his captive or not.

* CostumeTestMontage: When Sonny takes Danny to get some new clothes.
* CostumePorn: Many of the numbers.

* SugarBowl: This may be an adult version of this.

** ...and when CBS hosted the network television premiere in 1984, the network deliberately painted the movie in the promos as featuring a [[LoveTriangle]] with Sonny and Danny competing against each other for the ultimate affections of Kira. Of course, no such triangle exists in the movie proper, and in-universe, Danny knows that Kira's resemblance to his lost love is just a coincidence.

** ...and when Creator/CBS hosted the network television premiere in 1984, the network deliberately painted the movie in the promos as featuring a [[LoveTriangle]] with Sonny and Danny competing against each other for the ultimate affections of Kira. Of course, no such triangle exists in the movie proper, and in-universe, Danny knows that Kira's resemblance to his lost love is just a coincidence.

** ...and when [[CBS]] hosted the network television premiere in 1984, the network deliberately painted the movie in the promos as featuring a [[LoveTriangle]] with Sonny and Danny competing against each other for the ultimate affections of Kira. Of course, no such triangle exists in the movie proper, and in-universe, Danny knows that Kira's resemblance to his lost love is just a coincidence.

* HaveWeMet: Early on after Sonny meets Kira, Danny shows him a photo of a woman he once sang with; that woman resembles Kira. Later when Sonny and Danny are discussing names for the nightclub, Kira steps in, and Danny, alarmed by the resemblance to his lost love, asks if he knows her. When she says he doesn't, Danny plays it off as a coincidence.

* HaveWeMet?: Early on after Sonny meets Kira, Danny shows him a photo of a woman he once sang with; that woman resembles Kira. Later when Sonny and Danny are discussing names for the nightclub, Kira steps in, and Danny, alarmed by the resemblance to his lost love, asks if he knows her. When she says he doesn't, Danny plays it off as a coincidence.

* TheOner: The "Suspended in Time" scene consists of a three-and-a-half minute long slow zoom from a full-length shot of Kira to a closeup of her head while she sings the song.

->''"A place where nobody dared to go..."''
-->-- '''The opening lyric to the title song'''

The titular roller disco's title comes from the poem "Kublai Khan" and refers to a province where Khan establishes his pleasure garden--never mind the irony of naming a movie about a muse with a notoriously unfinished poem.