{"id":39217,"date":"2017-08-23T10:59:18","date_gmt":"2017-08-23T17:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=39217"},"modified":"2021-02-03T19:41:16","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04T02:41:16","slug":"lost-horizon-1937","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=39217","title":{"rendered":"Lost Horizon (1937)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Did you ever go to a totally strange place and feel certain you had been there before?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Poster-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-39219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Poster-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Poster-768x1158.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Poster-679x1024.jpg 679w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Poster.jpg 1815w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA diplomat (Ronald Colman) helps a group of Westerners &#8212; including his brother (John Howard), a financial felon (Thomas Mitchell), a paleontologist (Edward Everett Horton), and an ailing prostitute (Isabel Jewell) &#8212; flee an attack in China by boarding a plane which lands in a remote Tibetan paradise known as Shangri-La, where they are welcomed by a serene old man (H.B. Warner). After meeting with the founder of Shangri-La (Sam Jaffe) and learning more about its magical properties, Colman &#8212; who has fallen in love with a beautiful teacher (Jane Wyatt) &#8212; is tempted to stay and live in paradise, but Howard and his new love (Margo) are desperate to leave. Where will Colman&#8217;s loyalties land?\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Escape<\/li>\n<li>Fantasy<\/li>\n<li>Frank Capra Films<\/li>\n<li>Jane Wyatt Films<\/li>\n<li>Ronald Colman Films<\/li>\n<li>Sam Jaffe Films<\/li>\n<li>Thomas Mitchell Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary begins his review by noting that &#8220;archivists are still looking for lost footage&#8221; of Frank Capra&#8217;s film, which was &#8220;originally 130 minutes&#8221;; thankfully, a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1986\/09\/03\/movies\/cuts-in-film-lost-horizon-restored.html\"><\/a>restored version is now available, albeit with stills used in some places <em>a la<\/em> the restoration of <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=20285\"><em>A Star is Born<\/em> (1954)<\/a>. However, as Peary writes, this &#8220;classic&#8221; &#8212; based on <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lost_Horizon\">the 1933 novel by James Hilton<\/a> &#8212; &#8220;has dated badly&#8221;, with &#8220;the most exciting scenes&#8221; coming before the troupe &#8220;reach the utopia in the Himalayas&#8221;: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Plane.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Plane.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-68423\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Plane.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Plane-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Plane-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Plane-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Plane-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He notes that &#8220;the time the characters spend in this land where people are healthy, exist in harmony, and live for 200 years is dull in comparison&#8221;. Peary&#8217;s review is spot on: the opening scenes during the revolt are thrilling and fast-paced, but Shangri-La itself comes across as little more than a beautiful spa; plus, it&#8217;s distressing seeing the &#8220;happy natives&#8221; all working or in school while the whites live in luxury. I&#8217;m also not a fan of Jaffe&#8217;s casting as the High Lama, though he does come across as appropriately deluded. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Jaffe.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Jaffe.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-68422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Jaffe.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Jaffe-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Jaffe-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Jaffe-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Jaffe-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The twist near the end is exciting, and Joseph Walker&#8217;s cinematography is gorgeous &#8212; but otherwise, this film is primarily of interest as a historical document.   <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> According to Wikipedia, the film &#8220;exceeded its original budget by more than $776,000, and it took five years for it to earn back its cost.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The exciting opening get-away sequence<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Opening.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Opening.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Opening.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Opening-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Opening-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Opening-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Opening2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Opening2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39228\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Opening2.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Opening2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Opening2-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Opening2-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Majestic sets<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Sets2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Sets2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Sets2.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Sets2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Sets2-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Sets2-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Sets.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Sets.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Sets.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Sets-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Sets-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Sets-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Joseph Walker&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Cinematography-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Cinematography-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Cinematography-2.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Cinematography-2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Cinematography-2-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Cinematography-2-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Horton.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Horton.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-68424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Horton.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Horton-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Horton-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Horton-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Horton-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>H.B. Warner as Chang<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Warner.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Warner.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Warner.png 960w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Warner-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Warner-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lost-Horizon-Warner-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though it&#8217;s worth a one-time viewing. Selected in 2016 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0029162\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1937\/03\/04\/archives\/the-screen-columbias-film-of-hiltons-lost-horizon-opens-at-the.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/moria.co.nz\/fantasy\/losthorizon1937.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/3770\/lost-horizon#articles-reviews?articleId=17870\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/mTNghO-3Fr8\">Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Did you ever go to a totally strange place and feel certain you had been there before?&#8221; Synopsis: A diplomat (Ronald Colman) helps a group of Westerners &#8212; including his brother (John Howard), a financial felon (Thomas Mitchell), a paleontologist (Edward Everett Horton), and an ailing prostitute (Isabel Jewell) &#8212; flee an attack in China by boarding a plane which lands in a remote Tibetan paradise known as Shangri-La, where they are welcomed by a serene old man (H.B. Warner)&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=39217\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39217"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68425,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39217\/revisions\/68425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}