[.ca] Lost Horizon (Full Screen) (ISBN 6305416222)

Amazon.com Essential Video:
James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon proposes a perfect hidden community within the uncharted Himalayas, a land where peace reigns and the inhabitants live for hundreds of years. So indelible is this mythical land that its name has entered the culture: Shangri-La. Director Frank Capra, riding high during his mid-'30s hot streak, spared no expense in creating Hilton's paradise onscreen, taxing the coffers of Columbia Pictures and the patience of mogul Harry Cohn. The results, however, are magical: shimmering, seductive, and maybe a bit foolish, truly the creation of an idealist (understandably, the spectacular art direction won an Oscar). And Capra's hero is an idealist, too. Ronald Colman, at his most marvelously elocutionary, plays a wise diplomat whose plane crashes in the snows of Tibet. He and the other survivors are guided to Shangri-La, where they wrestle with the invitation to stay. The young Jane Wyatt plays Colman's love interest, but leaving a more lasting impression are H.B. Warner, as the benevolent Chang, and Sam Jaffe, in great old-age makeup, as the wizened High Lama. This version has been restored as closely as possible to Capra's original cut; the film had circulated for many years in a trimmed form. Lost Horizon was remade, notoriously and hilariously, as a big-budget musical in 1973; it was a complete flop. --Robert Horton

Additional Features:
It seems almost inconceivable that a film as great as Lost Horizon would be nearly lost to the ravages of age and studio neglect. Fortunately, Columbia has compensated for past misdeeds with this superlative DVD release, which restores Capra's classic to near-complete form and provides a thorough--and thoroughly fascinating--account of the film's production and eventual restoration. Of particular interest to film buffs will be the engaging photo essay and accompanying narration by film historian Kendall Miller, whose affectionate (and infectious) obsession with Lost Horizon is expressed here for the benefit of posterity. Equally engrossing is the full-length restoration commentary by UCLA film preservation expert Robert Gitt, whose efforts to restore this film were nothing less than heroic. Unfortunately, Gitt is teamed in the commentary with retired Los Angeles Times film critic Charles Champlin, whose contribution is amiable but superfluous. That quibble aside, this edition of Lost Horizon is one of the most rewarding DVDs of any classic Hollywood film. Although several of Frank Capra's other films have achieved a higher profile, Lost Horizon just gets better as the years go by, and with its wealth of supplemental features, this DVD is a definitive archival tribute. --Jeff Shannon

BOUNTIFUL HARVEST IN THIS CLASSIC WEEPIE!:
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!

A sweet, enduring classic:
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.)

Enduring Masterpiece & Calming Movie Escape:
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

An early Capra directed movie:
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

Worst Adaptation Ever:
This film should have been left to the ravages of age and studio neglect. Why anyone would want to restore this abortion of an adaptation is beyond me. Although the story line is largely intact, many of the characters have been changed. The Chinese girl ... I don't have the book before me so can't remember the name ... is replaced by a Hollywood nymphet with a supposedly nude bathing scene. I defy anyone to suspend disbelief when confronted with this sort of baggage in deepest Tibet or wherever. Another problem is the rather hysterical acting although some of the actors are credible and sympathetic. This book has not fared well in Hollywood ... this adaptation is the worse of any film I have seen ... the later musical \o!!\c adaptation is the next worst.