Customer Reviews

Lost Horizon

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you enjoy movies similar to Seven Years in Tibet or any movie featuring faraway fantasy escapes where mankind seeks peace, then this movie might interest you. Lost Horizon is not the lavish classic it once was. Strangely enough, a movie about people who lived for 200 years was not protected or preserved properly and Robert Gitt's restored version is an extraordinary accomplishment. Robert Gitt worked for over 25 years to find enough footage to restore missing scenes.

The dramatic start and the confusion of the first few scenes draw you into the movie and then a surprisingly leisurely-paced plot keeps your attention to the last second. As a plane takes off by the light of the burning hangers, a few lives have been saved while the fate of those left behind is not really discussed. Once aboard, they realize this plane is flying in the wrong direction. To make matters worse, the plane crashes in the mountains and leaves the passengers stranded in the bitter cold.

Robert Conway (Ronald Colman) is almost unnaturally calm in the face of certain death and throughout the movie he displays the qualities of a hero who is faced with difficult choices. At first he is a captive of Shangri-La's choices and then later he puts his life at risk to follow his destiny. I did love when Conway said: "Not knowing where you are going is exciting..." Conway wastes no time anguishing over the unpredictability of life and is a great example of how we can stay calm in the adventure of life itself. I saw this movie as a metaphor for everyone who is seeking an escape from the conflicts of our planetary existence. In a way, the message in Lost Horizon reminded me of the messages in the movie Camelot.

The ideas of how we are killing ourselves with "indirect suicide" are still very relevant for today. Walking for 30 minutes and then practicing yoga for 70 minutes is sure to dissolve mountains of stress. If you do that before watching this movie, it can only help to dissolve even more stress. Yoga (a meditation of the body and not a religion) definitely makes you feel and look younger than your age.

The romance in this movie is quite mild and I actually preferred the alternate and more dramatic ending. There are a few flaws in the Shangri-La philosophy of life. How could anyone be happy giving away the woman they loved? While the heart may want peace, the heart may prefer conflict in such cases. It does seem that at times we humans thrive on inner conflicts and external controversy. We are born for the struggle, but Shangri-La definitely sounds like an interesting vacation escape, just don't make me live there without computers. ;) There are ways to find inner peace and I assume that if everyone did yoga, no one would have any time to start wars because they would be floating in some blissful state that is difficult to explain, but very real.

More peaceful escapes: Sarah Swersey's Nightingale CD.

~TheRebeccaReview.com

I was surprised how much this classic touched me. Afterwards, it reminded me of John Lennon's lyrics: "Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans." For example, one stranded traveller, who is initially bequiled by the gold he found at Shangri-La, gradually has his heart opened wide by the children of Shangr-La, and he sees/feels the real riches around him. The old sage's only rule, "Be kind" was simple and great. I didn't balk at the fact that the two "Hollywood nymphets" (as referred to by another Amazon.com reviewer) were not Asian; because the old sage, himself, was a Belgian missionary and many of Shangri-La's inhabitants were supposed to have been lost foreign travellers who had been rescued. The idea of Shangri-La as a sanctuary for the meek who shall inherit the earth after the strong destroy the strong mysteriously forebode World War II's horrors that happened not too many years after this 1937 film was released. With today's Global Positioning Satellite technology, a hidden, physical Shangri-La could probably never be in the cards. However, it can dwell where it most should--inside us. (No, they don't make 'em like they use to.)

One of the earliest movies I remembered enjoying was "Lost Horizon". I remember watching it on a Sunday afternoon on TV and finding myself engrossed in this story of a planeful of assorted refugees who are flown to a remote paradise in the Himalayas. Dinner was ready before the movie was over but, some years later, I was finally able to see the end. There is a very real poetic beauty to this film (as there also is to the book which I felt compelled to read). For years, in my adolesence, I held out hope that explorers would eventually discover a real Shangri-la. Such is the rapture that can engulf you with this movie.

There is a great deal going for this movie starting with great acting from Ronald Colman through the supporting cast of Sam Jaffe, Thomas Mitchell, Edward Everett Horton, etc. The directing is great as well. Could anyone other than Frank Capra have made this movie? There is action right from the beginning as the characters are hijacked and when the group is led through the mountains to the secret location. There is comedy, romance, and drama as well. But most of all there is hope.

This is a movie that came out at a time the world was about to go crazy and we were reminded that if we could get away from all the craziness we could still find peace and sanity. In time the movie has come to symbolize the Shangri-la that exists for all of us. As we are caught up in the stresses and strains of modern living, we dream of an escape to serenity. For many the struggle to find it is difficult, for others it may seem to find them, while others find it but fail to recognize it. Well, if you're having trouble finding your peace, you might just discover it in this movie.

One of the all time great four hanky tearjerkers, "Random Harvest" (1942) is a bittersweet tale of love and sacrifice, set against that mythical backdrop of jolly ol' Britain that never was. It stars Ronald Colman as Charles Rainier, a war veteran who is suffering from amnesia. Paula Ridgway (Greer Garson) is the unfortunate dance-hall hostess who falls in love and marries Charles - renamed John Smith. But true love never runs a straight course and John and Paula's brief chance at divine happiness is overturned when a car accident jogs John's memory. He returns to the life he once knew, oblivious that his new and fragile world with Paula ever existed.

Colman's gentlemanly congeniality, as always, astounds with genuine canter and frank grace and maturity - qualities soarly lacking from the leading men of today's cinema. Garson is charming; blowing in as a summer's breeze and just as passionate, divine and charming as Colman. Director Mervyn LeRoy modulates each plot point and circumstance with subtle panache and quiet rectitude for his subject matter. There's never a point at which the melodrama becomes cheap, exploitive or overwrought. Ah, but the years may pass and memories fade, but "Random Harvest" has proven to be that rarest of eternal cinematic treasures - genuine and outstanding in every way.

Warner Home Video delivers a marvelous DVD transfer. The gray scale has been impeccably rendered with fine tonality and attention to fine detail. The picture is generally sharp and pleasing on the eyes. Blacks are very rich, deep and solid. Whites are on the whole clean. Occasionally one will detect a note of edge enhancement and the odd age related artifact, but these are bare quibbling on an otherwise flawless presentation. The audio is mono and very nicely balanced. A hint of background hiss is detected in quiescent scenes, but again, for a film element that is pushing 70 plus years, there's really nothing to complain about here. Two vintage short subjects, a trailer gallery and audio only broadcast of the film round out the extras. A very nicely put together trip down memory lane from the good people over at Warner Brothers. Top marks and highly recommended!

Columbia Pictures Corporation presents "LOST HORIZON" (1937) (128 min/B&W) -- Starring Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, Edward Everett Horton, John Howard, Thomas Mitchell, Margo, Isabel Jewell, H.B. Warner & Sam Jaffe

Directed by Frank Capra

British diplomat Robert Conway (Ronald Colman) and a small group of civilians crash land in the Himalayas, and are rescued by the people of the mysterious, Eden-like valley of Shangri-la. Protected by the mountains from the world outside, where the clouds of World War II are gathering, Shangri-la provides a seductive escape for the world-weary Conway.

Ronald Colman's longfull heartbreak glance as he leaves Shangri-la, a soulful expression not easy to get out of one's mind.

Director Frank Capra takes us into a place of danger and turmoil and gives us a glimpse of what dreams are made of, we can all make it happen with just a little effort on our part.

'Lost Horizon' is indeed a remnant from the Golden Age of Cinema.

A truly great adventure with Colman at his best in the role of Conway

Academy Awards for Art Direction (Stephen Goosson) & Film Editing (Gene Havlick & Gene Milford)

Nominated for Oscars Best Actor in a Supporting Role (H.B. Warner), Best Assistant Director (Charles C. Coleman), Best Music, Score (Dimitri Tiomkin), Best Picture (Columbia), Best Sound, Recording (John P. Livadary)

For fans of Ronald Colman, Lost Horizon is just right for you. Highly recommend!

BIOS:
1. Frank Capra [aka: Francesco Rosario Capra] (Director)
Date of Birth: 18 May 1897 - Bisacquino, Sicily, Italy
Date of Death: 3 September 1991 - La Quinta, California

2. Ronald Colman [aka: Ronald Charles Colman]
Date of Birth: 9 February 1891 - Richmond, Surrey, England, UK
Date of Death: 19 May 1958 - Santa Barbara, California

3. Jane Wyatt [aka: Jane Waddington Wyatt]
Date of Birth: 12 August 1910 - Campgaw, New Jersey
Date of Death: 20 October 2006 - Bel-Air, California

4. Edward Everett Horton
Date of Birth: 18 March 1886 - Brooklyn, New York
Date of Death: 29 September 1970 - Encino, California

5. John Howard [aka: John R. Cox Jr.]
Date of Birth: 14 April 1913 - Cleveland, Ohio
Date of Death: 19 February 1995 - Santa Rosa, California

6. Thomas Mitchell
Date of Birth: 11 July 1892 - Elizabeth, New Jersey
Date of Death: 17 December 1962 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California

7. Margo [aka: María Marguerita Guadalupe Teresa Estela Bolado Castilla y O'Donnell]
Date of Birth: 10 May 1917 - Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Date of Death: 17 July 1985 - Pacific Palisades, California

8. Isabel Jewell
Date of Birth: 19 July 1907 - Shoshone, Wyoming
Date of Death: 5 April 1972 - Hollywood, California

9. H.B. Warner [aka: Harry Byron Warner]
Date of Birth:26 October 1875 - London, England, UK
Date of Death: 21 December 1958 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

10. Sam Jaffe [aka: Shalom Jaffe]
Date of Birth: 10 March 1891 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 24 March 1984 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 128 min on DVD ~ Columbia Pictures Corporation ~ (October 10, 2006)

Director: Frank Capra
Format: Black & White
Studio: Columbia/Tristar Studios
Video Release Date: June 28, 1994

Cast:

Ronald Colman ... Robert Conway
Jane Wyatt ... Sondra
John Howard ... George Conway
Margo ... Maria
Thomas Mitchell ... Henry Barnard
Edward Everett Horton ... Alexander P. Lovett
Isabel Jewell ... Gloria Stone
H.B. Warner ... Chang
Sam Jaffe ... High Lama
Dennis D'Auburn ... Aviator (We Can't Take More Than Seven)
Val Durand ... Talu, Hijacking Pilot with Gun
Neil Fitzgerald ... Radio Operator
Willie Fung ... Bandit Leader at Fuel Stop-over
Lawrence Grant ... First Man
Joe Herrera ... Candle Maker
Boyd Irwin ... Assistant Foreign Secretary
Noble Johnson ... Leader of Porters (Return Journey)
Manual Kalili ... Servant
Richard Loo ... Shanghai Airport Official
Richard Master ... Servant
John Miltern ... Carstairs (Club)
Ray Mitchell
Henry Mowbray ... Englishman
Leonard Mudie ... Foreign Secretary with Prime Minister
John T. Murray ... Meeker (Club)
Wedgwood Nowell ... Englishman
Milton Owen ... Fenner, Hijacked Pilot
Max Rabinowitz ... Seiveking, Pianist with Sondra
Arthur Rankin ... Passenger
Richard Robles ... Porter
Chief John Big Tree ... Porter
Alex Shoulder ... Servant
Wyrley Birch ... Missionary
James Smith ... Porter
Norman Ainsley ... Steward (Club)
Carl Stockdale ... Missionary
John Tettener ... Montaigne (Club)
David Torrence ... Prime Minister
Eric Wilton ... Englishman
Barry Winton ... Englishman
Victor Wong ... Bandit Leader
Ernesto Zambrano ... Servant
Hugh Buckler ... Lord Gainsford (Toast at St. George Club)
Sonny Bupp ... Young Boy in Sondra's Choir
John Burton ... Wynant (Club)
Eli Casey ... Porter
George Chan ... Chinese Priest
Darby Clark ... Radio Operator
David Clyde ... Steward (Club)
Robert Cory ... Englishman
Margaret McWade ... Missionary
Ruth Robinson ... Missionary
Beatrice Blinn ... Passenger

Patricia Curtis ... Passenger
Mary Lou Dix ... Passenger

The story of Shangri-La is a fantasy tale. Robert Conway (Ronald Colman), his brother George (John Howard), Alexander Lovett (Ed Horton), Henry Barnard (Thomas Mitchell), Gloria Sone (Isabel Jewell) and their Tibetan pilot crash land in Tibet. The pilot dies. Then, their adventure begins.

They are taken to a monastery, where despite the winter weather, it is spring inside the valley. They are told that they were abducted, and that they will not leave.

The story goes on from there, with love interest and Colman's realiztioon that he has met his destiny.

This is a good story, well acted. Well directed by Capra. Although released in video in 1994, it is an old black and white. Franklin Roosevelt, when asked where Doolittle's Tokyo bombers came from, in 1942, said "Shangri-La."

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

"Lost Horizon" is a Fantasy and a Fable at the same time. Directed by the legendary Frank Capra, this movie belongs in the classic films category, and in its particular genre (fantasy), "Lost Horizon" ranks in the top, with movies like "It's A Wonderful Life", "The Wizard Of Oz" and "E.T.".

"Lost Horizon" tells the story of a group of five people that escape from a Chinese airfield on a plane, eventually they realize that the pilot of the plane is actually kidnapping them. The plane crash-lands in the snowy Tibetan interior, and after a while the group is taken to Shangri-La, a beautiful and mysterious land. Months later, the group feels like they were in home in Shangri-La, and they realize that this is a magic place, where the time seems to stand still, and there is nothing to worry about. So the question is: are they going to stay in Shangri-La, or are they going to return home?

"Lost Horizon" presents spectacular landscapes, good performances, an excellent story and philosophical subjects. The first half of the movie seems to go nowhere, but after a while all the Frank Capra's magic begin to appear on screen, because the second half of "Lost Horizon" is just fantastic, and the essence of the story is revealed in front of our eyes. If you like fantasy films, if you like Frank Capra's work, or if you are looking a special movie, then this movie is for you.

Recommendable.

Few films of the 1930s expressed hope for humanity more beautifully than LOST HORIZON. And despite the events of the following few decades that would seem to put the lie to its beautiful optimism, it somehow seems to evoke a vision of human longing that is truer than many of the actual events that followed. This is a movie I truly love, and that despite the fact that one could easily critique it for its political and social simplicity, or any of a myriad of simplifications that make Shangri-la work cinematically although it could never work in actuality. I don't think anyone would claim that this was a realizable ideal. So what is its appeal?

First, Capra in this film gave voice to the tendency towards escapism that lives within all of us, though not escapism in a bad sense. We look around the world, we sense the hard-to-escape stupidity of the whole affair, and we wonder why it isn't possible for all of us to live in harmony, lovingly, kindly. So, one of the things that Capra does is affirm not an actual political agenda, but those sentiments he sees as constituting humanity at its best. He makes us yearn for a better world. Second, Capra, having called us to recognize our own best qualities, asks us to aspire to realize those qualities in our lives, to be less obsessed with grasping after money, to be less vicious towards our fellow humans, to be less in a rush to get to god-knows-what destination, to take more care to know ourselves. In other words, we need to focus more on what is truly crucial in life, not what we have deemed important. We are all sleepwalkers, and Capra wants to use a vision of Shangri-la as a means to help us wake up.

The cast does more than its share in selling Capra's vision. It is inconceivable that anyone could have been a better Robert Conway than Ronald Colman. That voice! Colman had been a star of the silent screen, but unlike many silent actors, he was much better suited for sound. That inimitable voice, that tended to go up on syllables that most English speakers would go down, gave his voice a singsong and poetic quality that was utterly unique. The supporting cast is solid, with veteran character actors like Edward Everett Horton and Thomas Mitchell adding their usual superb embellishments. But apart from Colman, the acting kudos unquestionably go to Sam Jaffe, who although only 46-years-old, unforgettably portrays the High Lama, who is hundreds of years old. The ethereal otherworldliness he imparts to the role is crucial in making Shangri-la feel real instead of merely silly.

There is a great deal of silliness in the film, if one is determined to find it. All the nonwhites seem delighted to serve the white men. The design of the buildings looks curiously like the art deco of the 1930s. Shangri-la itself looks amazingly like certain parts of California. But this is one of those cases where I take Coleridge's advice to willingly suspend my disbelief, and take a couple of hours to enjoy a more optimistic hope for humanity.

This DVD is the one you should watch. The DVD not only has the 132 minute version, as close as you can get to the initial release. The DVD has great special features, a photo documentary, restoration commentary, the alternative ending, subtitles in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Thai!
And just look at the stars: Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, John Howard, Margo, Thomas Mitchell, Edward Everett Horton and more!
True, John Howard's character is a tad trigger happy, but the rest do a very good job.

THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER MADE! If anyone out there does not yet have it, by all means get it (for repeated home viewings). The theme is eternal and Frank Capra did a good job presenting it in movie format. It's been preserved and restored for viewing by all later generations.