Waste of time

Just so...so bad

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

As of this writing "The Lost Horizon" is about to be released on blu-ray in its all new 4k restoration. The film (as well the remake) had major cuts made prior to there general release! Eventually both have footage lost or destroyed so a full directors cut of either film will never happen. Both film were box office failures on their initial releases. (The Remake is also not as bad as some people think) In 1942, the film was re-released as The Lost Horizon of Shangri-La. A lengthy drunken speech delivered by Robert Conway, in which he cynically mocks war and diplomacy, had already been deleted in the general release version. Capra felt the film made no sense without the scene, and in later years film critic Leslie Halliwell described the missing 12 minutes as "vital". They were restored years later.In 1952, a 92-minute version of the film was released. It aimed to downplay features of the utopia that suggested Communist ideals, a sensitive point after a Civil War in China resulted in the ascension of Mao Zedong's Communist Party in that country in 1949.In 1973, the AFI initiated a restoration of the film. The project was undertaken by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and Columbia Pictures and took 13 years to complete. Although all 132 minutes of the original soundtrack were recovered, only 125 minutes of film could be found, so the seven minutes of missing film footage were replaced with a combination of publicity photos of the actors in costume taken during filming and still frames depicting the missing scenes. This was also a device that Robert Harver did for his restoration of "A STAR IS BORN". That film had 30 minutes edited. Almost 30 years later he found most of the lost footage but when he did not have footage for the deleted scenes he also used stills.In 2013, digital restoration of the film was done by Sony Colorworks. It was frame-by-frame restored at Prasad Corporation to remove dirt, tears, scratches and other artifacts. This restoration I hope is better than the last one. Because of the deleted footage that was re-inserted back into the film was from different sources. The picture quality changes through out the film and that is distracting. The still sequences come off better! For the film itself it is a joy to watch. It is a marvel. You so desperately want "Shangri-La" to exist. The story is a tad slow here and there but it is still a classic film that in general will hold your attention.The film (When it was made) was a modern day look at the world we were living in! It is 1935. Before returning to England to become the new Foreign Secretary, writer, soldier, and diplomat Robert Conway (Ronald Colman) has one last task in China: to rescue 90 white Westerners in the city of Baskul. He flies out with the last few evacuees, just ahead of armed revolutionaries.Unbeknownst to the passengers, the pilot has been replaced and their aircraft hijacked. It eventually runs out of fuel and crashes deep in the Himalayan Mountains, killing their abductor. The group is rescued by Chang (H.B. Warner) and his men and taken to Shangri-La, an idyllic valley sheltered from the bitter cold. The contented inhabitants are led by the mysterious High Lama (Sam Jaffe).Initially anxious to return to civilization, most of the newcomers grow to love Shangri-La, including paleontologist Alexander Lovett (Edward Everett Horton), swindler Henry Barnard (Thomas Mitchell), and bitter, terminally-ill Gloria Stone (Isabel Jewell), who miraculously seems to be recovering. Conway is particularly enchanted, especially when he meets Sondra (Jane Wyatt), who has grown up in Shangri-La. However, Conway's younger brother George (John Howard), and Maria (Margo), another beautiful young woman they find there, are determined to leave.Frank Capra's production design seems to have influenced "The Wizard of Oz" which was made 2 years later. There is certain sequences that "oz" echos.

and if it is more than fiction ? or useful propaganda tool against Communism ? or exotic story ? certainly, it is a different Capra. more cold, precise and realistic. but defined by the same spirit like his entire world. a plan clash. and a hidden world. a real Heaven at the first sigh. a sort of golden cage at the second. and interesting/provocative use of an old theme of humanity.a film about beauty and illusion and truth. remembering the work of Jules Verne and Sci. Fi. literature but giving more than another nice story. and this does Lost Horizon one of the films who has the status of experience. one who wake up memories from childhood.

Favorite movie quote - "There are moments in every man's life when he glimpses the eternal." Welcome to Shangri-La, a Utopian paradise where everyone adheres to one, simple rule - Be kind. (Yep. It sure sounds easy enough, but, hey, it can get mighty tough slugging at times) In spite of its glaring flaws and ludicrous improbabilities, Lost Horizon, in the long run, was, surprisingly enough, quite a thoughtful movie in many ways.Even though it preached of serene happiness, the virtues of avoiding excesses, and the basic principles of Christianity, its earnest message seemed both sincere and genuine.Usually films which include obvious undertones of Christianity as the basis of its story don't go over very well with me. But, I found Lost Horizon to be something of an exception to the rule.With Lost Horizon now being 77 years old, one must make a point of keeping its time-frame firmly in mind in order to get any worthwhile entertainment value out of this vintage production.Unfortunately, this film's 132-minute running time worked against its story being an overall success. Had about a half-hour's worth of this fairy tale been edited out of the final product, then I think that this would have helped things immensely.One of Lost Horizon's most notable performances was that of Ronald Coleman who played the Robert Conway character.This is definitely one of those films that one must experience for themselves in order to make a fair and honest judgement of its content.

This is Frank Capra at his best (and he's "at his best" in so many of his classics!), and he gets even better when his source material for a movie is as exquisite as James Hilton's famous original novel. You can feel there's a *lot more* behind this movie than what got into the final cut usually shown today -- the restored version of around 127 minutes. There's an overabundance, richness and depth of material to choose from -- after all, the initial cuts of the movie were 3.5 hours, or even 6 hours long. Too bad none of that footage is available today -- it would be a delight to watch.Capra, his screenwriter of many movies Robert Riskin, and Hilton are all "tuned to the same wave length", so what comes out is undiluted joy and harmony. Even if you don't know that Capra sometimes took *days* to shoot a single scene of a few minutes' length (overshooting his budget outrageously, and almost bankrupting Columbia studios), the tremendous care on his part is palpable throughout: he pays as much attention to action-packed scenes, as to properly leading the actors in every piece of dialogue.The actors' performances are as spectacular in _Lost Horizon_ as is the snow-deluged, but then again sunny and paradise-like, scenery. Ronald Colman is riveting as Robert Conway, and you can see why Capra only counted on him to play the role; there is, in particular, one pivotal scene of about 40 seconds' length, with the character of Conway considering whether to stay in Shangri-La; there's absolute silence throughout the scene -- but the play of expressions on Colman's face is fascinating; his face is like a mirror of his mind, or like the sky with clouds passing over it; I'm not sure if all of that was just Colman's improvisation or Capra's direction, but the scene may be the movie's top highlight.The other two actors present in that pivotal scene, John Howard (as the leading character's angst-ridden brother) and Margo (as the Russian "girl" Maria), are thoroughly convincing, too; the *intensity* with which they enact the two characters, is overpowering. So much so, that watching _Lost Horizon_ becomes incredibly suspenseful, surprising the viewer at every turn -- there seems to be a "new twist" every 5 minutes or so (particularly towards the end), as if _Lost Horizon_ was a mystery movie. You have a central leading character here (Robert Conway), in between two opposed sets of characters, each group trying to pull him in a different direction, claiming that *that's* where *true civilization* lies. Which way is Bob going to go? You're never really sure! The credit for that must go to both Colman and the fantastic actors portraying both sides of the divide -- you're as apt to "fall for" each of the two groups, as Bob's character did, at one stage or another.There are magnificent performances from others, too. It's as if Capra was able to squeeze the best out of every actor -- regardless of whether they only appear on the screen for a few minutes. Hugh Buckler only gets a few minutes of screen-time towards the end as Lord Gainsford, but how compelling is he! Thomas Mitchell has so many top-shelf movies to his credit, including possibly the greatest movies of all time (such as _Gone with the Wind_ and Capra's own _It's a Wonderful Life_), but nowhere have I seen him -- primarily a character actor -- shine so much as here in _Lost Horizon_ as the swindler Barnard. Isabel Jewell is similarly affecting as a terminally (?) ill patient getting rejuvenated by Barnard's (virtuously redirected) energy.H. B. Warner is wonderful as Chang, and makes the miracle of Shangri-La seem believable. His statement on the Westerners' celebration of birthdays is delivered unforgettably, as are others. The most difficult role in _Lost Horizon_ was that of the High Lama, played by Sam Jaffe. It's not surprising Capra went to extreme lengths (even swapping actors at one point) to get the High Lama's scenes right, and he eventually did. Although during _Lost Horizon_ previews the audience laughed at scenes meant to be serious, which drew Capra into depression, I believe that in the restored version of _Lost Horizon_ commonly shown today, the High Lama scenes strike just the right point to be perceived as serious and moving, while avoiding (just barely, but they do!) slipping into the ridiculous.The movie, besides being visually spectacular despite only being shot in black-and-white, also seems surprisingly fresh and bold for the standards of 1937 when it was made. Capra certainly didn't hesitate to show whatever he wanted to show: a naked Jane Wyatt (another great performance!) cavorting in a stream; a horde of naked children; and the High Lama extolling "Christian" virtues -- neither of which features would probably be considered politically correct today.The character of Sondra, enchantingly played by Jane Wyatt, is particularly admirable in that it was the film-makers' invention -- Sondra does not appear in Hilton's original book. On the superficial level, it's *just* the type of character that you might expect a clichéd Hollywood production to insert into the screen version of a novel, to make it more conventionally appealing; but in Riskin's and Capra's capable hands, clichés turn into magic, pure gold. See not only the nude bathing scene, but also the "Why?!" scene with Conway playfully "wringing the neck" of his beloved.Watching _Lost Horizon_, even 70+ years after it was made, is like getting a breath of that fresh mountain air that is alleged to keep you forever young in body and spirit in Shangri-La. Watching _Lost Horizon_ makes you feel as if you paid a visit to Shangri-La yourself -- can there be a higher achievement for an artist in any type of art?