Lost Horizon (1937)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Frank Capra classic about a group of British citizens, led by diplomat Robert Conway (Ronald Colman), who flee a rebellion in China only to have their plane crash in the Himalayas. They are taken to Shangri-La, a magical place isolated in the mountains where people can leave behind the worries of civilization. They learn they will live for hundreds of years there but only if they never leave. The world-weary Conway is intrigued by the promise of this utopia but not everyone in his group feels the same way.It's an ambitious undertaking for Capra, who made no other movies on the scale of this one (or with the budget). The costumes and Art Deco sets are beautiful. Great script from Robert Riskin, adapted from James Hilton's novel. Lovely, haunting score from Dimitri Tiomkin. Ronald Colman, an exceptional actor who never did a bad job that I've seen, gives a moving, sincere performance that ranks among the best of his impressive career. Sam Jaffe is also excellent in his small but important role as the High Lama. The rest of the wonderful cast includes John Howard, Jane Wyatt, Edward Everett Horton, H.B. Warner, Isabel Jewell, and Thomas Mitchell (the first of four movies he did with Capra). Jane Wyatt's swimming scene is probably the sexiest thing she ever did on film. The opening scenes are exciting and the climax is powerful. The middle of the film is where many people complain that it's slow or that it loses focus. I admit there is a chunk of the middle of the film, dealing with Colman and Wyatt falling in love, as well as everyone adjusting (or not adjusting) to Shangri-La that drags just a bit. But I never felt bored and I don't think it derails the film at all. The dialogue and performances in these scenes is still great. The original cut ran much longer and I can only imagine whether that version would be better or worse. As it is, seven minutes of footage is still missing from the current version. The dialogue for these scenes is intact, with production stills in place of the missing footage.It's escapism, pure and simple. Many viewers will poke holes in the idea and philosophy behind Shangri-La, calling it naive and childish. Perhaps they're right; perhaps the cold, cynical reality of selfish human nature means such a utopia is impossible. But the thing about most of Frank Capra's films, and why he is probably my favorite director ever, was that he believed in telling uplifting, optimistic stories about us helping each other overcome our baser nature; that good can triumph over evil and there are such things as happy endings. While Lost Horizon is not really one of his "Capra-corn" movies, I think the basic Capra elements are still there, right down to the final shot. Most other directors would have likely gone for the sad or tragic ending, but Capra gives us one that is hopeful.

Special effects today play an important role in most movies today and they are all pretty much computer generated. However, back in the 30's and 40's before computers, special effects were borne out of the minds and hearts of talented individuals who relied ultimately on imagination and physical hard work to achieve similar, if not better results. As a young girl, seeing the movie Lost Horizon made me think that paradise on earth could be a reality was also due to the acting talents of such actors as Ronald Coleman, Jane Wyatt (Father Knows Best) and others. The acting talents, in addition to its special effects, made Lost Horizon not only entertaining, but made paradise on earth a future reality in my mind and heart.I hope there will not be a remake. Rarely is a remake better than the original.

Lost Horizon is a fantasy dream of epic proportions, making for an appealing blend of blithesome pleasures and complex symbolism. From one side, it's a beautifully photographed adventure in the same vein of a Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger collaboration, but on the other, it has the cerebral heaviness of a playful Metropolis.Directed by Frank Capra, master of the feel-good masterpiece (It Happened One Night, It's a Wonderful Life), Lost Horizon was the result of a passion project, marred by serious budgeting and running time issues. Originally, the film was nearly six hours in length, with an ardent Capra shooting every scene from an overzealous number of angles. For a scene lasting just four minutes, Capra would use over 6,000 feet of film, the amount normally used for an hour's worth of photography. The budget swelled to almost $3 million, thanks to the extensive use of exterior shots and the hazardous dilemmas caused by the snowy sets. I could go on, but a happy ending is in store, and, if you're more curious than you'd like to admit, Wikipedia is readily available.Ultimately, Capra, along with Columbia boss Harry Cohn cuts hours upon hours of footage, much of it lost over the years. The film was restored in 1999 and again in 2013, inserting still pictures in certain scenes to fill in gaps left by regrettable cuts. Presently, Lost Horizon is a woozy combination of crisp repairs, slightly murky discoveries, and awkwardly placed pictures. In many cases, impartiality can be highly destructive. Lost Horizon is one of the lucky ones. It's so self- assured in nearly every other category that the cruelty it was once thrust into in the editing room is completely forgivable. Capra despaired over the film until the day he died, but it's hard to believe that a movie as stimulating and as effortlessly paced as this one could have been marked by even the slightest of a difficulty. It's a forgotten classic.Adapted from James Hilton's 1933 novel of the same name, the film focuses on five refugees who escape a violent revolution in China. After a long night of flying, Alexander Lovett (Edward Everett Horton), the stuffy intellectual of the group, looks out the window as is astonished by what he sees — it appears that they are traveling in the completely opposite direction of their destination. They have been kidnapped. The plane eventually crashes in an undiscovered zone in the Himalayas, killing the pilot. The group is quickly discovered by a Chinese caravan, who then leads them to an oasis within the mountain range, known as Shangri-La. Shangri-La is ethereal, to say the least. It's an entrance to an entirely new world, where the skies are always sunny, the flowers are always in bloom, the people are always good-hearted, and aging isn't a consideration. The leader of the group, Robert Conway (Ronald Colman) is instantly smitten — but will he, along with his fellow travelers, last in this too-good-to-be-true idyllic land?Films in the 1930s were almost strictly uplifting, dressed to the nines in screwball comedies, musicals, and set designs that suggested that poverty didn't exist and even the nobodies could afford butlers and caviar. Turn to any Rogers & Astaire pairing, any Ernst Lubitsch romp — that was 90% of what audiences were used to. Everyone wanted a break from The Great Depression, after all.Lost Horizon retains the uplifting persona of the era, but avoids all the first class garbage that felt delicious at first but eventually left a bad taste in your mouth. It is, first and foremost, an adventure film, making you feel like a child again at every turn. Shangri-La is a bewitching world that makes the fantasy genre seem delightful all over again, and the fact that it lies somewhere deep in the Himalayas makes it all the more special, all the more untouchably engaging. It is heaven for people who have goodness in their hearts, but it's a hell for those who are too self-serving and sinful. But forget all the heaven and hell comparisons — Lost Horizon is escapism of the highest common denominator. You'll want to be swept away, not sit there with analytical expectations.Much of the film's success is largely due to Capra, who, despite the setbacks he faced while filming, makes a movie so easy to devour that you can't help but want to have more. He's always been able to piece together a popcorn film with brains, but Lost Horizon is certainly his most ambitious moment. Though his own unrealistic goals pushed film's budget to places it couldn't afford, the result is something of a wonder. The sets are absolutely stunning, combing Asian decor with art deco modernness, and the photography, however indulgent it may be, is lively and plenty dreamy, the black-and-white giving it an innocent, fantastical ambiance. Lost Horizon could have been damaged goods, but it overcomes those damages and becomes goods for the ages. Capra may have sweat a bullet or two, but one can hardly remember It's a Wonderful Life when swept up into the luster of Lost Horizon.Read more reviews at petersonreviews.com

The Appeal of the Message Hypnotizes Audiences with the Belief that They are Visiting or Witnessing a Utopia. Because Ultimately what is Shown Fails, Except on the Most Superficial Level Imaginable. What Amounts to Nothing More than some Interesting Long Process Shots, Modern Architecture, and a Deer Park. There is Hardly Anything Ethereal or Heavenly about it.The Movie Seems to Gain Artistic and Philosophical Reverence in its Journey from the Screen by way of the Eye, to the Brain and it Takes Up Residence in the Subconscious and Conscious Recollection and Reflection are Nothing Like what is Actually Up there being Projected. Because the Film is Extremely Unrealized, Disjointed, and Flat.It takes a High Road to be Sure, but the Exalted and Elevated Locale is Rather Bland, Boring, Dull and is Barely Picturesque. Not the Ideas or the Message but how it is Expressed Cinematically. If Director Frank Capra couldn't put together a Better Movie than this from a 6 Hour Initial Cut, there's Trouble in Motion Picture Paradise.It is Heady and at Times Inspirational, Moving and Interesting in a Few Spots but Overall this is Overrated and Over Praised, and that is Probably More of and Insight into the Hopes and Dreams of the Audience than the Excellence of the Film. With its Mega-Budget Seemingly Wasted because so Much More could have been Shown with Only Moderate Financing.