AdventureFantasyDramaRomance

Lost Horizon

- At last! The masterpiece of America's foremost film genius blazes to the screen!

British diplomat Robert Conway and a small group of civilians crash land in the Himalayas, and are rescued by the people of the mysterious, Eden-like valley of Shangri-la. Protected by the mountains from the world outside, where the clouds of World War II are gathering, Shangri-la provides a seductive escape for the world-weary Conway.

Release Date : 1937-03-03

Language :EnglishMandarin

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Columbia Pictures

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Robert " Bob " Conway

Original Name : Ronald Colman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sondra Bizet

Original Name : Jane Wyatt

Gender : Female

Character Name : Alexander P. " Lovey " Lovett

Original Name : Edward Everett Horton

Gender : Male

Character Name : George Conway

Original Name : John Howard

Gender : Male

Character Name : Henry Barnard

Original Name : Thomas Mitchell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Maria

Original Name : Margo

Gender : Female

Character Name : Gloria Stone

Original Name : Isabel Jewell

Gender : Female

Character Name : Chang

Original Name : H.B. Warner

Gender : Male

Character Name : High Lama

Original Name : Sam Jaffe

Gender : Male

Character Name : Wynant (uncredited)

Original Name : John Burton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Fenner (uncredited)

Original Name : Milton Owen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Meeker (uncredited)

Original Name : John T. Murray

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bandit Leader (uncredited)

Original Name : Victor Wong

Gender : Male

Character Name : Missionary (uncredited)

Original Name : Carl Stockdale

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prime Minister (uncredited)

Original Name : David Torrence

Gender : Male

Character Name : Englishman (uncredited)

Original Name : Wedgwood Nowell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Shanghai Airport Official (uncredited)

Original Name : Richard Loo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Missionary (uncredited)

Original Name : Margaret McWade

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bandit Leader at Fuel Stop-over (uncredited)

Original Name : Willie Fung

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chinese Priest (uncredited)

Original Name : George Chan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Missionary (uncredited)

Original Name : Wyrley Birch

Gender : Male

Character Name : Embassy Club Steward (uncredited)

Original Name : Norman Ainsley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Embassy Club Steward (uncredited)

Original Name : David Clyde

Gender : Male

Character Name : Leader of Porters (uncredited)

Original Name : Noble Johnson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Porter (uncredited)

Original Name : Chief John Big Tree

Gender : Male

Character Name : Porter (uncredited)

Original Name : Harold Lishman

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

Capra adapts James Hilton's Utopian novel with grace and beauty. It's so nice to be able to see something resembling the original vision Capra had for this story, the wonders of science gives us a cracking restoration to enjoy at our want. Robert Conway is a British diplomat who helps a group of people (one his younger brother) escape from a Chinese revolution in a passenger plane, all doesn't go to plan, though, as the plane has been skyjacked and is heading into the Himalayas, and Tibet. The plane crash lands due to the pilot becoming stricken, and after the passengers get out they are greeted by a party of people belonging to the Valley Of The Blue Moon, to which is a beautiful and peaceful world known as Shangri-La. Shangri-La is gorgeous, there is no illness there, no war or hostility, the landscape is paradise on earth, people live far longer than is deemed possible in the outside world, it is utopia in everyone's wildest dreams. Here Conway and the group, after initial scepticism, come to love the place and have no desire to leave this haven that is shut off from the outside world. That is, all except the younger Conway (George), and as is always the case in large social communities, cracks begin to emerge and questions remain unanswered. The film has a wonderful dreamy quality about it, it's filmed firmly with romantic fantasy intention, and the quality of the production really helps to emphasise this intriguing story. The sets are gorgeous, the music is perfectly on tempo throughout, and the acting is top notch, while the love Capra had for the topic is evident in every frame. Thankfully all of the great work on the film has the story to match, and it's the story, and the subsequent turn of events in the last third, that is ultimately the film's crowning glory. Magical. 9/10