|
Xanadu (film)
''Xanadu'' is a 1980 American musical fantasy film written by Richard Christian Danus and Marc Reid Rubel, and directed by Robert Greenwald. The film stars Olivia Newton-John, Michael Beck and Gene Kelly in his final film role. It features music by Newton-John, Electric Light Orchestra, Cliff Richard, and the Tubes. The title is a reference to the nightclub in the film, which takes its name from Xanadu, the summer capital of Kublai Khan's Yuan Dynasty in China. This city appears in ''Kubla Khan'' by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an 1816 poem that is quoted in the film. ''Xanadu'' was released in the United States on August 8, 1980, by Universal Pictures. A box office disappointment, it earned negative critical reviews and was an inspiration (along with ''Can't Stop the Music'') for the creation of the Golden Raspberry Awards to recognize the worst films of the year. Despite the lackluster performance of the film, the soundtrack album became a huge commercial success around the wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Greenwald
Robert Greenwald (born August 28, 1945) is an American filmmaker, and the founder of Brave New Films, a nonprofit film and advocacy organization whose work is distributed for free in concert with nonprofit partners and movements in order to educate and mobilize for progressive causes. With Brave New Films, Greenwald has made investigative documentaries such as '' Uncovered: The War on Iraq'' (2004), '' Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism'' (2004), '' Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price'' (2005), '' Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers'' (2006), '' Rethink Afghanistan'' (2009), ''Koch Brothers Exposed'' (2012), and '' War on Whistleblowers'' (2013), Suppressed 2020: The Fight to Vote' (2020), Suppressed and Sabotaged: The Fight to Vote' (2022), Beyond Bars: A Son's Fight for Justice' (2022) as well as many short investigative films and internet videos. Before launching Brave Films in 2000, Greenwald produced and/or directed more than 65 TV movies, miniseries and films as we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire from the Borjigin clan, and lasted from 1271 to 1368. In orthodox Chinese historiography, the Yuan dynasty followed the Song dynasty and preceded the Ming dynasty. Although Genghis Khan had been enthroned with the Han-style title of Emperor in 1206 and the Mongol Empire had ruled territories including modern-day northern China for decades, it was not until 1271 that Kublai Khan officially proclaimed the dynasty in the traditional Han style, and the conquest was not complete until 1279 when the Southern Song dynasty was defeated in the Battle of Yamen. His realm was, by this point, isolated from the other Mongol-led khanates and controlled most of modern-day China and its surrounding areas, including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terpsichore
In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; grc-gre, Τερψιχόρη, "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word " terpsichorean" which means "of or relating to dance". Appearance Terpsichore is usually depicted sitting down, holding a lyre, accompanying the dancers' choirs with her music. Her name comes from the Greek words τέρπω ("delight") and χoρός ("dance"). Family Tradition portrays Terpsichore as the mother of the Sirens (including Parthenope) by the river-god Achelous. In some accounts, she bore the Thracian king Biston by Ares. By another river-god, Strymon, Terpsichore mothered the Thracian king Rhesus. In popular culture Historical *The British 32-gun frigate commanded by Captain Bowen participated in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797). Places * Terpsichore is the name of a street in New Orleans' historic neighborhoods of Faubourg Lafayette and the Lower Garden District. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and dominated jazz in the early 1940s when swing was most popular. The term "big band" is also used to describe a genre of music, although this was not the only style of music played by big bands. Big bands started as accompaniment for dancing. In contrast to the typical jazz emphasis on improvisation, big bands relied on written compositions and arrangements. They gave a greater role to bandleaders, arrangers, and sections of instruments rather than soloists. Instruments Big bands generally have four sections: trumpets, trombones, saxophones, and a rhythm section of guitar, piano, double bass, and drums. The division in early big bands, from the 1920s to 1930s, was typically two or three trumpets, one or two trombones, three or four saxo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920s and 1930s. Through styling and design of the exterior and interior of anything from large structures to small objects, including how people look (clothing, fashion and jewelry), Art Deco has influenced bridges, buildings (from skyscrapers to cinemas), ships, ocean liners, trains, cars, trucks, buses, furniture, and everyday objects like radios and vacuum cleaners. It got its name after the 1925 Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris. Art Deco combined modern styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. During its heyday, it represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in socia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world's most populous megacities. Los Angeles is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With a population of roughly 3.9 million residents within the city limits , Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, being the home of the Hollywood film industry, and its sprawling metropolitan area. The city of Los Angeles lies in a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the west and extending through the Santa Monica Mountains and north into the San Fernando Valley, with the city bordering the San Gabriel Valley to it's east. It covers about , and is the county seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with an estim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cult Following
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. A film, book, musical artist, television series, or video game, among other things, is said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fanbase. A common component of cult followings is the emotional attachment the fans have to the object of the cult following, often identifying themselves and other fans as members of a community. Cult followings are also commonly associated with niche markets. Cult media are often associated with underground culture, and are considered too eccentric or anti-establishment to be appreciated by the general public or to be widely commercially successful. Many cult fans express their devotion with a level of irony when describing entertainment that falls under this realm, in that something ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xanadu (Olivia Newton-John And Electric Light Orchestra Song)
"Xanadu" is the title song from the soundtrack of the 1980 film '' Xanadu''. Written by Jeff Lynne of the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), the song is performed by English-born Australian singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John, with Lynne adding parenthetic vocals in the style of his other songs on the ''Xanadu'' soundtrack, and ELO providing the instrumentation. It was Lynne's least favourite of his own songs. "Xanadu" reached number one in several countries and was the band's only UK number-one single, when it peaked there for two weeks in July 1980. It was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. It also peaked at number eight on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Background "Xanadu" was written by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)'s Jeff Lynne for the soundtrack of the musical film of the same name. It was sung by lead actress Olivia Newton-John as the character, Kira with instrumentation and vocals from ELO (including Lynne). "Xanad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magic (Olivia Newton-John Song)
"Magic" is a song recorded by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John for the soundtrack to the 1980 musical fantasy film, '' Xanadu''. Written and produced by John Farrar, the song was released as the lead single from the album in May 1980. It peaked at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for four weeks beginning on August 2, 1980. On August 30, it was displaced from the top by Christopher Cross's "Sailing". ''Billboard'' magazine ranked "Magic" as the third most popular single of 1980, behind only " Call Me" by Blondie and "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" by Pink Floyd. In Canada, the single spent two weeks at number one on the ''RPM'' Top Singles chart. It also reached number four in Australia and number 32 in the United Kingdom. The single also became Newton-John's biggest ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary hit to date, spending five weeks at the top of the chart, and also topped the ''RPM'' Adult Contemporary chart for a week. John Lennon named "Magic" a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xanadu (soundtrack)
''Xanadu'' is the soundtrack to the 1980 musical film of the same name, featuring the Australian singer Olivia Newton-John and the British group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in June 1980 on MCA Records in the United States and July 1980 by Jet Records in the United Kingdom. The original LP release featured on side one the songs of Newton-John, and on side two the songs of ELO. In 2008 the soundtrack album was digitally remastered as a bonus CD as part of the film's DVD release titled ''Xanadu: Magical Musical Edition''. Although the film was a critical and commercial disappointment, the soundtrack was a worldwide success and received positive reviews from music critics, earning double platinum certifications in the United States and Canada. The singles "Magic" and " Xanadu" reached number one in the United States and United Kingdom, respectively. It was the fifth most popular US soundtrack of 1981.Casey Kasem's American Top 40 - The Top 100 of 1981 from 26 D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Raspberry Awards
The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, the Razzie Awards' satirical annual ceremony has preceded its opposite, the Academy Awards, for four decades. The term ''raspberry'' is used in its irreverent sense, as in "blowing a raspberry". The statuette itself is a golf ball-sized raspberry atop a Super 8mm film reel spray-painted gold, with an estimated street value of $4.97. The Golden Raspberry Foundation has claimed that the award "encourages well-known filmmakers and top notch performers to own their bad." The first Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony was held on March 31, 1981, in John J. B. Wilson's living-room alcove in Hollywood, to honor the perceived worst films of the 1980 film season. To date, Sylvester Stallone is the most awarded actor ever with 10 awards. History A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Can't Stop The Music
''Can't Stop the Music'' is a 1980 American musical comedy film directed by Nancy Walker. Written by Allan Carr and Bronté Woodard, the film is a pseudo-biography of the 1970s disco group the Village People loosely based on the actual story of how the group formed. Produced by Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment (formerly EMI Films), distributed by independent distributor Associated Film Distribution (AFD), the film was released after disco's peak and, along with '' Xanadu'', is known for inspiring the creation of the Golden Raspberry Awards, winning the first Razzies for Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay. Plot Songwriter Jack Morell—a reference to Village People creator Jacques Morali—gets a break DJing at local disco Saddle Tramps. His roommate, Samantha "Sam" Simpson, is a supermodel newly retired at the peak of her success. She sees the response to a song that he wrote for her ("Samantha") and agrees to use her connections to get him a record deal. Her connection is her ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_interior.jpg "Click for more on -> Art Deco")
