Product Description

Romantic adventures of a group of people kidnapped in India and taken to an idyllic civilization in the mountains surrounding China.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: UN
Release Date: 31-AUG-1999
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2942 in DVD
• Brand: COLEMAN,RONALD
• Released on: 1999-08-31
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Georgian, Chinese, Thai
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 134 minutes

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

DVD 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

Customer Reviews

A "Lost Horizon" Which Was Almost Lost Itself
I have loved this film and the James Hilton novel upon which it is based since I was a child. "Lost Horizon" is one of the truly great moviegoing experiences. I think we all want to believe in Shangri-La, a paradise which brings out the best in mortals, offering a chance of redemption.

The film has a great cast: Ronald Colman (what a voice!), lovely Jane Wyatt, Thomas Mitchell, H.B. Warner, Edward Everett Horton, Sam Jaffe and the almost forgotten (but very good) Isabel Jewell - she also appeared with Colman in "A Tale of Two Cities."

The set design has to be seen to be truly appreciated. Shangri-La is a prime example of Art Deco at it's most beautiful.

The film, as it exists today, is a bit like Frankenstein's monster, stitched together from a wide variety of sources, some of them in better condition than others. The story of the quarter-century restoration of the film is a fascinating example of the dedication to see a project through to it's completion.

The only complaint I have about the film, and it's a minor one, is about the number of expository sequences in the film. It seems that one character or another is always talking about what has gone on or what is going on. H.B. Warner's character, in particular, seems to exist for the most part to explain the backstory of Shangri-La. But that's, as I said, a minor complaint. This is a superb motion picture.

Almost A Lost Film
LOST HORIZON is a very special and very philosophical movie based on the James Hilton novel. The movie makes a few changes from the book, but in many ways the film actually improves on the novel, not the least of which is having the great Ronald Colman flesh out the part of Robert Conway. It's not Colman's most memorable performance (see TALE OF TWO CITIES for that) but he wears the part like a comfortable suit. Supporting him are some other great players like Edward Everett Horton, Thomas Mitchell, Sam Jaffe and Isabel Jewell to name a few. What would YOUR reaction be when you discover that the commandeered airplane that took you to a mysterious, beautiful land in the middle of the wintry Himalayas was not an accident, but a plan? The lost world of Shangri-La is something different to everyone, and it's not always a land of bliss and happiness as you'll see. The film itself has gone through many difficult years, and the painstaking reconstruction (sometimes down to still frames with audio) receives a fine presentation on DVD. It's the restoration and the extras that make the disc worth viewing. A brief section shows how some frames were restored, and we get to see some rare pristine footage of the funeral procession. A good feature commentary and documentary are also included. Overall, then, it's a fine film and a fine DVD supplying fine extras. What's not fine? Well, it's only fair to comment on the extremely variable quality of the image (as I said, it's a combination of several decent prints, some 16mm prints and the occasional still-frame section). That's not the fault of Columbia, as it is most likely the best they could do. But upon comparison to my VHS tape of the restored film, I was surprised to see that the quality is only *slightly* better, not dramatically better. That's why I say in all fairness that it's really the extras that make it worthwhile, but that's coming from someone who already had a video copy of the restored film in his collection. If you've never seen the film, I recommend it unreservedly.

Great DVD presentation of a cinema classic!!
Frank Capra's LOST HORIZON is finally given its due on DVD. This is the most complete version of this great film available. The source material varies from excellent to barely watchable, but at least it is complete. Some sections are represented with still frames as the footage still remains missing. This is quite frustrating as the movie was photographed so beautifully, but Columbia Pictures did very little to keep the negatives complete and in good condition. So we should be thankful LOST HORIZON looks as good as it does. The cast, with the exception of John Howard (David Niven should have played Howard's part) is flawless. Ronald Colman was one of Hollywood's greatest actors. One never tires from watching and "listening" to his performance. This great DVD includes an insightful commentary shared by Charles Champlin and Kendall Miller who discuss the making of the movie along with its arduous restoration. A good 30 minute documentary covers the making of the movie (some aspects are duplicated from the commentary track). Also included are some deleted sequences, a still file with Kendall's narration and a teaser trailer. It would have been wonderful if Dimitri Tiomken's great score could have been isolated, but this may not have been possible given the quality of the source material. Get LOST HORIZON on DVD, you won't be disappointed. It is definetly a classic worth keeping.