---
title: "Xanadu"
year: 1980
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/xanadu"
fi1m_score: 38
critics_score: 35
critics_reviews: 10
published: "2026-09-16T14:22:43.859342+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-16T14:22:55.802086+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Xanadu (1980)

Directed by Robert Greenwald · 1h 36m · MPA PG · Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance

**Fi1m score: 38** · Critics 35 from 10 reviews

*In a sentence:* The songs make a persuasive case for closing our eyes

> Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly give *Xanadu* moments of pleasure, but Robert Greenwald cannot turn its roller-disco fantasy into a working musical. The songs deserve better staging, and the romance barely registers.

## Synopsis

Artist Sonny Malone (Michael Beck) finds inspiration in Kira (Olivia Newton-John), a muse who appears on roller skates with a supernatural glow. Muses come to life to ‘I’m Alive’, and Sonny’s creative ambitions become entangled with his attraction to Kira. Danny McGuire (Gene Kelly) joins the pair in a story centred on a roller disco, where the musical styles of the 1940s and 1980s meet. Sonny wants to pursue his art and his romance, but the woman inspiring him belongs to a supernatural world. Singing, dancing and skating accompany their encounters.

## Review

*Xanadu* is a poor musical with enough good music to make its failures irritating. Robert Greenwald tries to bring romance, living muses and roller disco together with the ease of an old-fashioned song-and-dance film. The mixture is not the problem: a musical can accommodate a good deal of nonsense when the performers and the staging carry it. Here the scenes between the songs are slack, and too many of the numbers struggle to get going.

Olivia Newton-John, playing Kira, is much more persuasive when she sings than when she has to sustain a conversation. Her voice gives the fantasy a sweetness that the dialogue keeps testing, and she deserves some credit for taking it seriously. Michael Beck, as Sonny Malone, is a less helpful presence, so stiff that the romance struggles even before the writing gets in its way. Watching them together, we can hear what the scene is trying to establish without feeling much attraction.

Gene Kelly, as Danny McGuire, brings a welcome ease to proceedings that otherwise look effortful. His duet with Olivia Newton-John has some of the pleasure the rest of the film keeps promising, because he looks comfortable performing alongside her. The charm is modest, but it matters. His relaxed presence gives the number a warmth that the romantic dialogue elsewhere struggles to achieve.

We perked up when the muses came to life to ‘I’m Alive’: the song gives the fantasy a confidence the surrounding scenes lack. This is the sort of invitation the film ought to be able to sustain, an unreasonable event made briefly convincing by music. Barry De Vorzon’s score helps keep things amiable, and the songs supply most of the energy. The trouble comes whenever the film expects that energy to last through another stretch of dialogue.

Victor J. Kemper’s photography makes the bright surfaces legible without giving the dancing much excitement. Dennis Virkler’s editing is more damaging: the numbers feel assembled from pieces that do not let a movement develop or settle. The skating needs a clearer sense of space, and the musical staging needs the confidence to let us watch a performer complete a phrase. The result is tiring even when the tune is doing its best to help.

John W. Corso’s production design at least gives the roller disco some cheerful excess. The meeting of 1940s and 1980s musical styles has possibilities, and the garish surroundings are more enjoyable than the cautious romance. Writers Marc Reid Rubel and Richard Christian Danus give the performers too little character to make the quieter scenes worth waiting through. Even at 96 minutes, the film feels stretched because its people cannot hold our interest once the singing stops.

Its appeal as camp is understandable, though treating awkwardness as entertainment only gets us so far. We would rather have more of the pleasure found in the music and the duet, which needs no indulgence to work. A musical this fanciful need not explain itself at length, but it does need to make staying with it enjoyable. Come for the songs only if patience with the rest is part of the bargain.

*Fi1m score 38, published 16 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics find Xanadu a muddled musical fantasy whose songs offer more pleasure than its story or staging. Praise clusters around the music, with some reviews also finding charm in Olivia Newton-John and brief rewards in Gene Kelly’s appearances. Those concessions rarely rescue the film: thin plotting, awkward romance and poorly handled musical numbers dominate the assessments, with choreography and editing repeatedly blamed for draining the spectacle of energy.

The spread is wide, though heavily weighted towards disappointment, and the chief division concerns whether the film’s bad taste becomes enjoyable camp. Slant Magazine embraces its garish production design and unintentional naivety, while Collider finds enough fun in the absurdity, Newton-John’s performance and the ELO soundtrack to encourage a reassessment. Newton-John herself divides opinion: Empire finds her lacking in screen presence, whereas several other reviews treat her appeal as one of the few reasons to keep watching.

### Reviews we read (10)

- **Slant Magazine**, Eric Henderson (80/100, inferred): The critic notes that Xanadu has undergone a radical reappraisal as camp thanks to its Broadway adaptation, unlike its 1980 peers. They single out its garish production design and unintentional naivety as making it an ideal camp masterpiece. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/xanadu/)
- **Empire**, William Thomas (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the musical falls flat due to a ludicrous premise and Newton-John's lack of screen presence in the ethereal role. It singles out the cynical, exploitative pastiche of Golden Age MGM musicals with no real affection, despite highlights like the Gene Kelly duet. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/xanadu-review/)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (30/100, inferred): The film is a mushy and limp musical fantasy that evaporates before the eyes with thin plotting and poor execution. It offers little beyond Olivia Newton-John's appeal and a few Gene Kelly moments. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/xanadu-1980)
- **The AV Club**, Scott Tobias (30/100, inferred): The critic views Xanadu as a monument to bad taste with inept musical numbers and wooden romance, though it has some so-bad-it’s-good appeal and a few enjoyable sequences. They single out the indignity of Gene Kelly’s role and the film’s overall lack of style. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/xanadu-1798219436)
- **The Guardian** (30/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as a bizarre and epically derided flop that fails as a screen musical despite its slick songs. They single out the haphazard staging and editing of its choreographed numbers for particular complaint. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/aug/08/xanadu-olivia-newton-john-musical-flop-1980)
- **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (30/100, inferred): The movie is muted and desperately stylish without real style, with desultory musical numbers and skating sequences. It relies heavily on Olivia Newton-John as its only clear drawing card but lacks pizazz. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1980/08/09/arts/miss-newtonjohn-in-xanadu.html)
- **The Telegraph** (30/100, inferred): The piece portrays Xanadu as one of Hollywood's most notorious flops on release, a mad and incoherent mishmash. It singles out the film's cult reassessment and camp appeal on home video for note. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/why-xanadu-almost-ended-olivia-newton-johns-hollywood-dream/)
- **Time Out**, IB (20/100, inferred): The film is an experience so vacuous it's almost frightening. It singles out Olivia Newton-John's inability to deliver a line, hold a note or dance convincingly despite the script and songs being abysmal. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/xanadu)
- **Variety** (**): The film is stupendously bad with only the music as salvage; the plot involving a muse inspiring an artist at a roller disco is inane and scriptless. Newton-John's role involves glowing effects and roller skates but fails to cohere. [Read](https://variety.com/1979/film/reviews/xanadu-1200424571/)
- **Collider**, Lauren Waters (65/100, inferred): The critic calls Xanadu a campy, so-bad-it's-good musical that deserves a second look, praising its fun absurdity and cult appeal while noting its bizarre plot and visuals earned it the first Razzie. Olivia Newton-John's versatile performance, voice, and star power, along with the ELO soundtrack, are singled out for praise. [Read](https://collider.com/xanadu-musical-movie-olivia-newton-john/)

## Details

- **Director:** Robert Greenwald
- **Director:** Robert Greenwald
- **Writer:** Richard Christian Danus, Marc Reid Rubel
- **Cinematography:** Victor J. Kemper
- **Editor:** Dennis Virkler
- **Music:** Barry De Vorzon
- **Production design:** John W. Corso
- **Costume design:** Bobbie Mannix
- **Producer:** Lawrence Gordon
- **Cast:** Olivia Newton-John as Kira; Gene Kelly as Danny McGuire; Michael Beck as Sonny Malone; James Sloyan as Simpson; Katie Hanley as Sandra; Fred McCarren as Richie; Renn Woods as Jo; Dimitra Arliss as Helen
- **Runtime:** 1h 36m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG
- **Release (the US):** 8 August 1980
- **Genres:** Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance
- **Budget:** $20 million
- **Box office:** $23 million

## Where to watch in the US

Not streaming, renting or buying in the US at the last check.

Also available in: GB. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor 1981: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor (nominated)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress 1981: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress (nominated)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director 1981: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director (won)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song 1981: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song (nominated)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture 1981: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture (nominated)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay 1981: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *The Band Wagon* (1953): For a musical that knows how to give its dancers room.
- *The Young Girls of Rochefort* (1967): Romance and bright colour, with characters worth following between the songs.
- *The Red Shoes* (1948), Fi1m 92: Another dance fantasy, with far more at stake than a pleasant evening. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-red-shoes.md)
- *The Wiz* (1978): More uneven musical fantasy, but with songs that justify the detours.
- *Strictly Ballroom* (1992), Fi1m 83: Outlandish costumes and romantic sincerity held together by properly staged dancing. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/strictly-ballroom.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/xanadu