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Summary: The almost 'Lost Horizon'
Review: The Utopian vision may be hopelessly naive, the dialog may seem a bit creaky and pompous today,the FX may be dated, but 'Lost Horizon' remains a marvelously entertaining fantasy/adventure film. It is among the most beautifully photographed movies I have ever seen. The set built for Shangra Lai's palace and grounds is still stunning - simple, elegant, dramatic and visually arresting. Within the framework of the script, Shangri Lai and its people are quite believable. It is only when one considers the earth-shattering world events that would occur a few years after the movie's release does its vision of peace and harmony seem absurd. Yet, there is at the film's core an almost fanatical belief in the essential goodness of mankind that lights up some hidden dreams of harmony buried deep within many of us. Several minutes of the movie seem to have been lost forever. The audio portion survived, and the restorers added still photos to these sections. While it's nobody's fault, these still are a poor substitute for the original footage and make a dramatic case for the need for film restoration.
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Summary: Best Lines...
Review: This movie was certainly accurate on what would happen during WWII and the wars to follow. Yes, we all need a Shangri La to lay our weary minds to ease. Two of my most favorite lines are " Welcome, to Shangri La" and in the Flynn Robin Hood, when Robin swings into view across the screen, opens his arms and says "Welcome to Sherwood!" To be seen over and over, till sight leaves one....
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Summary: Welcome to "Shangri-La" the Fantasy Classic. Now on DVD!
Review: James Hiltons novel "Lost Horizon" has been beautifully transferred into a Classic 1930's Fantasy film under the Direction of Frank Capra and Columbia Pictures. This film was almost lost forever due to film deterioration and studio neglect. After years of gathering every known bit of film and audio tracks we have a digitally restored "Directors Cut" 132 minute film. With all the best prints & audio available we have a wonderful film presentation to enjoy forever. This is a collectors DVD! Hollywood film at its best! Summary: English hero and popular Diplomat Robert Conway (Ronald Coleman)is due to return to England from China for a very important diplomatic appointment. A revolt occurs and Conway must make a hasty departure to Shanghai by airplane before being captured. Surprisingly he & his fellow passengers are high jacked & kidnapped to Tibet. The aircraft crash lands in the snow ravaged Himilayan mountains. Mysteriously they are rescued almost immediately in a blizzard. They are dressed warmly and escorted to this utopian valley of "Shangri-La". A place where time is almost frozen and the aging process is slowed drastically. Conway finds that he was intentionally brought here. Why? A very curious situation. The the story of "Shangri-La begins. This tale is a Classic one which even today stands the test of time. Now digitally restored to the Directors Cut of 132 minutes. The extras are informative & loaded with historical information about the film. A family film classic to enjoy for generations thanks to the dedication of film restoration teams & the American Film Institute (AFI). Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Lost Horizon
Review: For any of you who have never seen this, this is the movie about Shangri-la. It is worth seeing simply to know what the reference means, but is also nice on its own. I'd rather not spoil it for any who have never seen it.
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Summary: Objectionable apology for authoritarianism,
Review: This is a movie with the reputation of being a "classic"and I know that many people do not merely like this movie, but love it.
The other reviews make this clear and I respect these views but on a personal note I did not merely dislike the picture but hated it with every fibre of my being.
The reasons are in part aesthetic,as I found it soporific in pace and not terribly well acted or scripted ,.Colman ,an actor I normally admire ,is dull here and Jane Wyatt ill suited to her role The characters are types rather than rounded individuals although the support players struggle gamely with insipid dialogue and sketchy roles.
My fundamental objection is to its political and philosophical leanings.The government of Shangri-La is an autocracy and an oligarchy,ruled by a self-perpetuatind clique who decide what is best for the people.The scenes of the local populace going about their labours are eerily reminiscent of the type of propaganda newsreels churned out at around the same time as the movie by the European dictatorships.
Shagri-La is not an earthly paradise ;it is an autocracy prepared to kidnap those it feels well serve them,and keeping its subjects in thrall to their leaders dictates The movie it most reminds me of is "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" but here the only ones who have the insight and intestinal fortitude to oppose the regime(Maria and George)are treated with little or no symathy by the script If you love the film you will keep on doing so despite what anyone else thinks and rightly so,but I really found this autocratic wolf in moralistic clothing deeply offensive.
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Summary: A BEAUTIFUL FANTASY/ADVENTURE STORY...
Review: This is a superb, academy award winning film, directed by the late, great Frank Capra. Based upon James Hilton's book of the same name, it is as fresh today, as it was nearly sixty five years ago when it was first released in 1937. The film opens up in Baskul, China, somewhere near the Tibetan border in 1935, where a minor revolution appears to be occuring, and foreigners are being evacuated. A world weary and dashing diplomat, Robert Conway, magnificently played by the ever handsome, melliflously voiced Ronald Colman, is directing the evacuation efforts. He, his brother George, and three others, two men and one woman, manage to board the last plane out of this rife torn area of China. Unbeknownst to them their pilot has been overcome by another person, who comandeers the plane. They finally realize something in wrong when they notice that the plane is traveling west instead of east. Moreover, they are unable to do anything about it, as no one on board other than the pilot can fly a plane. Thy seem to be flying in the Himalyan region, as they are surrounded by snow capped peaks, flying at an altitude of about 21, 000 feet. Suddenly, their plane lands in the mountains, the pilot dead at the controls. Strangely enough, they are met by a crowd of people, as if they were expected. At their head is a Mr. Chang, a very dignified gentleman, masterfully played by W.B. Warner, who provides them with appropriate clothing for a high altitude climb through a very daunting and precarious mountain pass. Fortuitously for all, Mr. Chang speaks English beautifully. After a seeming death defying trek through the mountains, in what appear to be blizzard conditions, they arrive at a beautiful and peaceful valley protected from inclement weather. They have now reached the mythical and utopian kingdom of Shangri-La. It is here that Robert Conway meets Saundra, the woman of his dreams, played by a very young and beautiful Jane Wyatt. It is love at first sight. He also discovers that his plane was comandeered with the express purpose of bringing him to Shangri-La, as it is the wish of their dying leader, Padre Perro, a Belgian priest, played with saintly spirituality by Sam Jaffee, that Conway should be the new leader of this utopian paradise, where people seem to live long, very long, lives. Touched by the saintliness of Padre Perro and in love with the beauty and peace he sees and feels all around him, Conway is very much interested in remaining. It is as if he had finally found that for which he had been searching all his life. His brother, George, however, has no wish to stay, the only on board the plane who feels that way. An attractive young woman whom he met in this idyllic spot, and who has fallen for George, professes to want to leave, as well. Together the two of them persuade Robert to leave. Giving in to them out of a sense of obligation, he leaves with them, but what happens on the way back to the world that they knew, convinces Robert that he must return to Shangri-la and the woman he loves at any cost. What happens next will not disappoint. This film is a masterpiece that keeps the viewer enthralled. While some of the events that occur during the film are higly improbable, that does not dampen the enthusiasm that one is sure to develop for this well made movie. It is, without a doubt, a cinematic classic.
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Summary: Read the Book
Review: Although the basic story line has been retained, almost nothing else about this film recommends it. The characters are changed. The characters are miscast. And we are treated to a Hollywood version of a Hollywood paradise with a Hollywood quota of Hollywood bathing beauties ... with nude bathing scenes yet. None of the magic of the original story survives. Roald Coleman is cast as a dynamic, world famous diplomat whereas the original character has a more unassuming and less driven personality and is considered a failure doomed to serve in backwater locations. The main character's colleague has become his brother. This role is played in an extermely hysterical and melodramatic way. An equally hysterical hooker replaces the original prim female missionary. The exquisite Chinese girl is replaced by the typical girl-next-door American bathing beauty. The American swindler survives and is perhaps the best played role but has very dated dialog. A new character, a nervous British archeologist is added, probably, for comic relief. Of course, everyone speaks the most amazing English, even the children. My recommendation is to read the book ...
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Summary: Fascinating Yet Flawed
Review: James Hilton's astonishing novel is essentially a fantasia on several rather complex philosophical and political themes, and translation of such largely intellectual material to the screen is problematic at best. Consequently, no one should be surprised that the 1937 Lost Horizon has a number of serious flaws. What is surprising is that it nonetheless succeeds in bringing Hilton's extremely cerebral novel to the screen with concepts largely intact. Yes, there are problems with the movie. At times it seems slow. Some of the performances seem out of place; other performances have dated badly. And the script leans, inevitably, toward a certain talkiness. But... when the film moves, it moves at a lightning pace. Most of the performances, particularly Ronald Coleman's, stand the test of time extremely well. And there is a point to the talkiness: the mission of Shangri-La itself, conveyed through conversation. And as pure cinema, Lost Horizon is hard to beat. The film's opening scenes of riot possess a truly unnerving quality seldom found in similar scenes of any other film. The bleakness of the downed plane, the arrival of the porters, the entrance into Shangri-La itself--these alone should be enough to all but the most jaded. When you add in the film's thought-provoking concepts, it is easy to see why Lost Horizon is often ranked with cinema's greatest films in spite of its sometimes obvious flaws. More than worth the effort, but a word of warning: take care that you obtain the restored version, which offers a considerably more complete vision than the later heavily edited and extremely choppy release. And avoid the extremely ill-advised 1970s musical version starring Peter Finch, Liv Ullman, and Michael York like the plague!
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Summary: Lost Horizon & special features¿ What more can you ask for?
Review: Yes the real life base is wonderful and mysterious. Yes movies usually pale compared to the book. That being said this movie fits all the criteria of a great classic. Excellent film footage for the time (even is some is missing). When I look at the Shangri-La setting some times my mind wanders and I wonder if this is the idea behind the valley in [Atlas Shrugged ISBN: 0525934189]? I drought that they could have picked any better actors for the parts. They fit the time and surroundings and were actually believable. A later remake of this movie was o.k. But just did not have the presence of these actors. Ah. Now the DVD features: Digitally remastered Audio & Anamorphic Video Production Notes Restoration Before and After Comparison Three Deleted Scenes Photo Documentary with narration by Historian Kendall Miller Many more By the way I personally enjoy watching and re-watching this movie.
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Summary: Glad They Made the Effort
Review: It is good to see that some people and motion picture studios still care and took the time and effort to come up with this restoration. From what I remember of seeing this film many years ago this was quite an extensive job and the efforts have paid off. Film lovers and future film lovers owe a debt for this labor of love. I still remember parts of this film and I really loved Dimitri Tiomkin's score. I now have a better understanding of what he was trying to accomplish after seeing Frank Capra's images again (along with some I do not remember or have never seen). Together Capra's vision and Tiomkin's music capture the dream-like myth of Shangri-La. These images will linger for a long time and then some.
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