Lost Horizon (1973 film)

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Lost Horizon is a 1973 musical film directed by Charles Jarrott and starring Peter Finch, John Gielgud, Liv Ullmann, Michael York, Sally Kellerman, Bobby Van, George Kennedy, Olivia Hussey, James Shigeta and Charles Boyer.

The film is a remake of Frank Capra's film of the same name, with screenplay by Larry Kramer. Both films are based on James Hilton's novel.

However, the 1973 version was a notorious critical and commercial failure. It is considered one of the last in a string of box office musical failures which came in the wake of the success of The Sound of Music. Attempts to update the idea of Shangri-La with its racial inequalities intact, coupled with old-fashioned songs effectively sealed its fate. Pauline Kael noted that Shangri-La was depicted as:

a middle-class geriatric utopia [where]... you can live indefinitely, lounging and puttering about for hundreds of years... the Orientals are kept in their places, and no blacks... are among the residents. There's probably no way to rethink this material without throwing it all away.

After derided preview screenings Columbia Pictures tried to re-cut the film, but to no avail. Critic John Simon remarked that it "must have arrived in garbage rather than in film cans". The songs are by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, whose long partnership hit rocky ground within months of this film's release.

In a motif similar to the use of Technicolor in The Wizard of Oz, the film only becomes a musical in the central Shangri-La sequence, with the framing 'civilization' sequences played as straight drama.

The film was not available on video for years until Pioneer Entertainment released a reconstructed version of the longer cut on laserdisc. It is out of print and now fetches high prices on eBay.

Synopsis

The story of a group of travellers whose aeroplane crash lands in the Himalayas, each with their own doubts and demons, is almost exactly that of the 1937 Capra film, with minor alterations. The leading character of Conway (Finch) is now Richard instead of Robert, and the Sally Kellerman character is now a Newsweek journalist rather than a prostitute.

The travellers are rescued to Shangri-La, where the High Lama (Boyer) informs Conway that he has been brought here for a reason. However Conway's impetuous younger brother George (York) is eager to return to civilisation with Maria (Hussey) an attractive young inhabitant he has fallen in love with.

Conway relents, and he, George and Maria depart, leaving the others behind and disregarding the warnings that Maria cannot leave as despite her apparent youth she is in fact over 100 years old. Not long after their departure Maria suddenly ages and dies, and George falls to his death down an icy ravine. Conway struggles on alone, ending up in a hospital bed in the Himalayan foothills. Realising his error, he escapes, and miraculously finds the portal to Shangri-La once more.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was moderately more successful than the film peaking at #56 on the Billboard Album Chart. Of the lead actors only Sally Kellerman and Bobby Van do their own singing. Olivia Hussey, Peter Finch and Liv Ullman are all dubbed. The song "Living Together, Growing Together" was a minor hit for Fifth Dimension. The song "Things I Will Not Miss" was covered by Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye for the 1973 album Diana and Marvin.

Cast

Olivia Hussey and George Kennedy would be seen together again in the 1978 film Death on the Nile and the 1980 sci-fi flop Virus. Even though they play brothers, Michael York was in fact 26 years younger than Peter Finch. Much commented at the time, including in the New York Times review, was the fact that John Gielgud's eyes were taped back to play the part of Chang.

External Links and References

• www.LostHorizon.org information about the book, movie, and real life Shangri-La's.

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Last updated on Monday November 12, 2007 at 13:23:59 PST (GMT -0800)
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