Lost Horizon - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Lost Horizon

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Frank Capra is a god among movie directors. Sure he’s made some mediocre films over the years, but he has also given us some of the most memorable classic films in the golden age of cinema. It’s a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith goes to Washington, It Happened one Night, Arsenic and Old Lace, You Can’t Take it With You, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and many many more have become a staple for those of us who love classic films. And excepting It Happened One Night (Criterion got their mitts on that one) and Arsenic and Old Lace (still waiting for someone to release my favorite Cary Grant movie) , Sony has put out each and every one of those above mentioned films in the newly minted “Frank Capra Collection” digibooks, complete with gloss covers, sleek cover art and great internal booklets with film information and still photos of the films. Lost Horizon is given the full treatment here with an 80th anniversary edition release that feature a new 4K scan from 2014, as well as one of the most interesting stories of problems befalling a film than you could shake a stick at.

Lost Horizon is one of the more ambitious films that Italian/American director ever created. It was also one that has had the most cuts done to it as well as the worst audience reaction in his career when it initially hit theaters in 1937. Audiences felt that Capra had created a bit of an existentialist film and were disappointed at the seemingly “up there” film ending, and the mystical elements of it. Thus the film has been cut, recut, and cut again for theatrical releases, as well as the varying home video releases. There were obvious pacifist and anti-war themes running through the film, and it was dropped right in the middle of WWII, so many more patriotic audiences had a bit of a gripe with it (this was before the days of war protests like Korea and Vietnam). However, despite those little hurdles, Lost Horizon remains one of Capra’s most fantastical and human pieces.

Instead of dealing with New York City high life, or a country bumpkin becoming rich, Capra goes overseas to Chine where Robert Conway is helping 90 British subjects escape a Chinese revolution that has just cropped up. Unbeknownst to him and his passengers, their plane has been hijacked by a mysterious Tibetan. Flying them deep into Tibet, this mysterious kidnapper drops them off at a secluded mountain fortress by the name of Shangri La. This little spot of paradise seems to be warm and inviting, but Conway (Ronald Colman), his brother George (John Howard), and the rest of the passengers are not exactly trustworthy.

As the group stays over the course of a year they find that it is almost impossible to want to leave the place. The harmonious culture thrives off of simplicity and camaraderie, giving off this homey vibe that is simply intoxicating to all, especially Robert who dreams of peace and tranquility instead of the terrors and injustices of war. The deeper he goes into the rabbit hole, the more he finds out that he has a destiny in the secluded paradise. The rest have their own reasons to stay, but the only one who refuses to buy into the mumbo jumbo (at least to his ears) is George. Refusing to let his brother stay he convinces Robert that it’s all a load of hooey, and with the help of a Russian girl, they escape from the fabled city, only to find out that the predictions of the monks there seem to have some veracity to their claims.

The film is a fantastic blend of fantasy and good old fashioned adventure, but it’s also an introspective look at finding peace and tranquility in a world that seems intent on destroying that aspect of the human spirit. Shangri La may not be a real place, but it is a dream, a fantasy, something to aspire to that gives humans hope that there is something better for them in a world gone mad. I have to admit the the only experience I had with Lost Horizon was the 1973 remake musical that came out shortly before I was born. Being born to a family who watched nonstop musicals I was introduced to that giant flop at a young age, so I was very reticent to watch the 1937 original movie due to the sour taste that the 73 musical had left in my mouth. Luckily I was in a college film class that opened my eyes to the beauty of Capra and I have never looked back after that moment.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

The film opens up with a wall of text describing the difficulties of actually piecing the movie together properly. According to the information, the original film elements were badly deteriorated as capra’s original 132 minute film had been cut up and edited so many times for redistribution (sometimes editing out as much as 25 minutes) that by the time they got to the film elements they were salvageable. So the American Film Institute went on a worldwide hunt for any surviving prints until they found an unmolested original negative of the audio. However, a video reel was much harder to come by until a few sources were stumbled upon that included a near complete version of the film with only 7 minutes missing. They were able to find one of the extra minutes in a different place, but the entire video elements were in differing shapes. Most of the them were in great shape, but certain portions suffered from deterioration as well. So the new 4K restoration was underway to clean up the video as much as humanely possible, and while there is still 6 minutes missing, those missing scenes have been filled with with still shots and photographs of the set to blend in with the original 132 minute audio track.

Capra’s films on Blu-ray have looked stunning to date, and Lost Horizon is one of the only ones that won’t look nearly as good. I must reiterate that this is in no way the fault of the restoration or the encode, but rather because of the deterioration of the elements that come and go throughout the restored film. Most of the film looks incredibly well detailed, with a wonderful layer of healthy grain overlaying the image, and solid contrast levels. Other shots can be extremely low resolution with weak black levels and a distinct lack of visual clarity. Naturally, the still shots look the cleanest and clearest, but these variations in quality are the best that we can do considering a massive restoration was underwent to clean up the film to the best it possibly could be with the elements at hand.





Audio:

The audio track rescued for Lost Horizon is a pretty solid endeavor, but it also shows some signs of age and wear around the edges. Dialog is clean and clear for the most part on the 2.0 track, but there are moments where the vocals dip just a bit and get lost in Dimitri Tiomkin’s melodic overtures. There’s some harshness along the top end as well and screams can sound a bit scratchy as a result. Other than those issues, the dialog is intelligible at all times, the score fleshed out and full as a 2.0 track can be, and there’s actually some mild LFE baked into the 2.0 track that adds a bit of a rumble (the avalanche near the end being the major one). While it’s not perfect, it sounds quite good considering the effort and problems that were in the way for the making of this release.








Extras:

• 4K restoration of the film
• Restoration Audio Commentary
• Alternate Ending
• Photo Documentary
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

Lost Horizon is a story that is essentially about hope for a utopia. A classic story of survival and finding one self in even the strangest of environments. Capra is a magnificent director, and while I will always love his films, this is one of my least favorite adventures of his (even though that’s not saying a whole lot, as even a weak Capra film is still a GOOD film). The ability to finally get as close to the 132 minute original film as much as humanely possible is a delightful treat and the collector’s digibook packaging is just as good as the last couple from the other Capra films that Sony has released in the last couple of years. The 4K transfer brings out the best in the film’s rocky history and makes this a fantastic set to own if you’re even a mild Capra fan. Definitely worth picking up.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, Edward Everett Horton
Directed by: Frank Capra
Written by: Robert Riskin (Screenplay), James Hilton (Novel)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 AVC
Audio: English DTS HD MA 2.0, Spanish, German, Italian, French DD Mono
Studio: Sony
Rated: NR
Runtime: 133 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: October 3rd, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Fantastic Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will have to watch this.

 

[Todd Anderson]

This one digs back further than my movie watching has gone... interesting you say it's your least favorite film (of his), but still a fantastic watch.

What's your favorite?

 

[Michael Scott]

as I said, even a weak Capra film is better than most other films... I'd have a hard time choosing a favorite but it's probably a tie between You Can't Take it With You and Arsenic and Old Lace....... It's a wonderful life is a great flick (and probably one of Capra's most iconic), but it's been over watched so much that it doesn't hold the same excitement and joy that it once did

 

[Todd Anderson]

When we open AV NIRVANA University, you do realize you'll be our Doctor of Filmology. Right?

 

[Michael Scott]

lol, I'm not that good. I'm just a film nerd who watches way too many movies for his own good

 

[Todd Anderson]

Beg to differ!

 

[tripplej]

He is just being humble..