Xanadu (1980)

Xanadu is a 1980 romantic musical fantasy film written by Richard Christian Danus and Marc Reid Rubel and directed by Robert Greenwald. 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, a poem that is quoted in the film. The film's plot was inspired by 1947's Down to Earth. A stage musical based on the film—also named Xanadu—opened in 2007 on Broadway.

Xanadu stars Olivia Newton-John, Michael Beck, and Gene Kelly, and features music by Newton-John, Electric Light Orchestra, Cliff Richard, and The Tubes. The film also features animation by Don Bluth.

Xanadu was "the last hurrah" for "Disco". Everyone from Olivia Newton John to the "roller skating disco mimes" to Gene Kelley (and everyone involved in between) knew this going in. They didn't (and still don't) care. They all had one (last) big blast, had a great time doing so, and have never looked back since.