(no subject)

[jon_chaisson]

In response to wizardru's post about TRON, it got me thinking about all the movies I saw as a kid that I loved back then. Of course, I LOVED TEH CHEESE, because that's what constituted as COOL back then to young'uns. You know, when you're at that age when something that looks all flashy n' stuff makes you go "Cooooll....I gotta see that!!"

Strangely enough it got me thinking of two extremely cheesy movies that I loved back then that, while painful to watch, bring back memories: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Xanadu. (Well, I thought of Xanadu yesterday because a coworker was telling me how he met Olivia Newton-John in the Marina District a few years back...)

Sgt. Pepper is by far one of the worst-written movies EVAR, but you know what? It turned me onto the Beatles' music. And I just found out recently that George Harrison and Paul McCartney are actually in the final chorus scene, singing along. If this one is out on dvd, I'd be surprised, but just for old times' sake I'd buy it. I'm just sure that Emm wouldn't want to be in the same room if I watched it. :p

As for Xanadu, it's also poorly written (the dialogue is trying to evoke old musicals, but fails utterly), and it features a lot of rollerskating for no apparent reason other than it was hip then, but dammit, it's got some great ELO songs!! And the ONJ songs aren't that bad either... They also had an animated sequence for the kids, which I found out was done by Don Bluth (he who did An American Tail). I know this one is on dvd, I just have to look for it. I already have all the songs from it on my hard drive. :)

One more movie, which is known more for its soundtrack than the movie itself:
FM. If you needed only one classic rock album, this is it. Doobie Brothers, Eagles, Boston, Joe Walsh, Steely Dan, I could go on... :p I saw this movie once on TV, and it's sort of an R-rated WKRP In Cincinnati clone, but it was worth watching, just for the music...

Comments

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

I will always unapologetically adore Xanadu. Sure, it's cheesy, but no more so than most of the Hollywood musicals it was trying (and, yes, failing, although I disagree with the "utterly") to update.

All the elements you mention are important, but you forgot the most important of all: Gene Kelly's final appearance in a feature film! :-D

(And yes, we bought the DVD immediately upon its release. *g*)

[wizardru.livejournal.com]

We were one of the first families in the neighborhood to get cable (and more importantly, HBO) when we moved to NJ in 1977. That led to me seeing lots of movies I might not have otherwise seen, and in some cases in much greater occurence, such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease, You Only Live Twice and yes, Xanadu. I can't remember much about it, which is probably for the best.

Now, if you want to GO BLIND, you
can watch this, but don't hold me accountable. Seriously.

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

Now, if you want to GO BLIND, you can watch this, but don't hold me accountable.

I tried. You'll be relieved to know I got bored with the "string" intro before I got far enough to go blind. ;-)

Transformers were more my little brother's thing anyway. I tended to avoid them.

[wizardru.livejournal.com]

Did you make it to the actual music video?

Oh, the HUMANITY.

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

Nah, I wimped out during the credits. I have not the fortitude today. ;-)

[joncwriter.livejournal.com]

In response, I'll say that the musical part of it was done well...it's just the "amusing banter" between the characters when they weren't singing or dancing that was pretty bad. A lot of weak dialogue and smarmy one-liners.

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah. But there are a lot of those in the old ones too. They're just more acceptable there somehow. :-)

[emmalyon.livejournal.com]

It's always easier to take when Fred Astaire is involved....

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

*nods* And Lycra isn't.

[chaoticmoth.livejournal.com]

Okay, I will 'fess up. I liked the original animated Hobbit and LOTR movies. :)

[wizardru.livejournal.com]

What's to fess up over? My kids have watched the animated Hobbit about a million times. I mean, they stayed relatively faithful, used Tolkien's water colors and had some classic songs. There's some great stuff in there.

Now, the Bakshi movie......

[chaoticmoth.livejournal.com]

Did you catch the use notes of music from "Frodo of the nine fingers, and the ring of doom" in the ad for one of the LOTR triology movies?

[wizardru.livejournal.com]

Heh, no I didn't not.

Where there's a whip, there's a way is one of the greatest musical pieces, EVAR, though.

[chaoticmoth.livejournal.com]

I had to go digging but found the preview that used it. It is for Fellowship of the Ring, and here is the first site I found with it (click on the box under Gandalf)

http://www.videodetective.com/trailer-preview.asp?customerid=97135&publishedid=353873

During the trailer Frodo will say, "What must I do?" and the Gandalf says "The ring must be destroyed!" This is when you want to listen to the background music. Immediately after Gandalf speaks the music swells and is playing a series of notes slowly. While it may not be the exact notes from the song, there is no way anyone can convince me they didn't borrow from the original song for fun in the trailer! :)

Unfortunately I can no longer find a link to the original song! :(