Xanadu at 40: a mesmerisingly messy musical failure | The Guardian

The bizarre 1980 flop starring Olivia Newton-John remains a fascinatingly misjudged attempt to combine a classic musical with the roller-discoFilm anniversaries tend to prey on a kind of incredulous public nostalgia for a past that doesn’t seem nearly as distant as it is. “How can Gladiator/Clueless/Pretty Woman be 20/25/30 years old?!” we’re supposed to cry, before grumbling to eye-rolling youngsters that we remember seeing them like yesterday. Very occasionally, the reverse applies, as we sheepishly marvel that Robert Downey Jr’s Oscar-nominated blackface stunt performance in Tropic Thunder wasn’t of a more bygone era than 2008. Related: Dressed to Kill at 40: Brian De Palma’s thrilling yet problematic shocker Continue reading…

The bizarre 1980 flop starring Olivia Newton-John remains a fascinatingly misjudged attempt to combine a classic musical with the roller-disco

Film anniversaries tend to prey on a kind of incredulous public nostalgia for a past that doesn’t seem nearly as distant as it is. “How can Gladiator/Clueless/Pretty Woman be 20/25/30 years old?!” we’re supposed to cry, before grumbling to eye-rolling youngsters that we remember seeing them like yesterday. Very occasionally, the reverse applies, as we sheepishly marvel that Robert Downey Jr’s Oscar-nominated blackface stunt performance in Tropic Thunder wasn’t of a more bygone era than 2008.

Related: Dressed to Kill at 40: Brian De Palma’s thrilling yet problematic shocker

Continue reading…