Lost Horizon

Starring: Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, Edward Everett Horton, John Howard
Directed by: Frank Capra
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Mystery
1937

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A diplomat (Ronald Colman) and a group of Westerners trying to escape Asia soon find themselves traveling in the opposite direction they imagined. Their plane crashes in the middle of the mountains, and they are taken to a Utopian paradise called Shangri-La. Some of the group decide they never want to leave, while others are desperate to escape.

Review:

Tim: Lost Horizon is a massive, epic movie that pushed the boundaries of what movies could be as much as it pushed Columbia Pictures to dig deeper and deeper into its own pockets to finance the film. This is certainly an impressive movie. Frank Capra brings his skill and experience behind the camera to this film and creates an unforgettable, important movie. While I really liked this movie, I couldn't shake the fact that it doesn't quite live up to the best films of its day. It is certainly very good, but not quite great.

The story itself, though, is superb. A group of strangers suddenly find themselves kidnapped, flying to an unknown location. They soon discover they have arrived in Shangri-La, an idyllic, nearly perfect civilization. Each of them struggles with whether to stay in this ideal world, or to return to the civilization they know. This part of the movie is pretty exciting, as we get caught up in this wonderful world where people don't age, crime doesn't exist, and above all, people strive to always be kind. Capra works these scenes well. The art direction is superb- this is a very impressive movie to watch (and deservedly) won an Academy Award for the art direction and the film editing). The Shangri-La scenes are so impressive and beautiful that it simply draws you into this magical, incredible place.

While this film certainly has strengths, I also was disappointed to see it had a few flaws. Yes, this is a very good movie, but it can't quite reach the heights of similar Capra films, like It's a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and It Happened One Night. Those were powerful, memorable movies. This film is definitely interesting, but it lacks that real emotional punch. It does enough to be very good and memorable, but not quite enough to be iconic.

Part of this problem belongs to the characters. While the films I just mentioned had iconic, unforgettable characters, the ones here are less so. The main protagonist is Robert Conway, a renowned diplomat. As a character, he is decent, but not up to the same level as a George Bailey, Jefferson Smith, or Peter. Ronald Colman gives a good performance as Conway, but it wasn't Oscar-worthy. This movie really needed its lead to give a performance worthy of being recognized by the Academy. Colman doesn't quite deliver. He is just a bit too slick and hard-to-relate-to for my taste, and it makes him a bit cold and removed as a character. I really enjoyed his performance, but he needed to connect with the audience a bit more. The rest of the cast is similar- good performances all around, but none of the characters are developed enough or interesting enough for us to take anything more than a passing fancy with them. They are realistic, but their plight isn't necessarily our plight. This is what needed to happen for this movie to achieve greatness. I did want to mention H.B. Warner, who is excellent as Chang. He received a much deserved Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Rounding out the cast, I wanted to touch on Sam Jaffe, who plays the high lama with the help of a great deal of make-up, to make him look much, much older. His performance is either brilliant or horrible, and I lean toward the former. It is certainly memorable.

Lost Horizon does so much right that it is very difficult not to get caught up in Frank Capra's vision. We have a rolling, massive movie that delivers its story on an epic scale. It is a major adventure movie, but also one full of the idealism that so defined Capra's work. It is certainly an amazing effort, although it falls just a bit short. While impressive in scale, it dwindles in the matters of the heart. I was interested in this movie and engaged in this movie, but I never got fully invested, emotionally. I really enjoyed this film and agree that it is a classic, but I wish Capra had reworked the script or found the perfect cast for this film. That would have helped immensely. Still, this movie deserves accolades for how incredible it is to see the sheer size of this production.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: It's a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, It Happened One Night, You Can't Take it With You