SnoopyStyle Robert Conway is England's "Man of the East". In 1935, he is tasked with evacuating westerners from war-torn Baskul, China. He flies out with the last of the group which includes his brother George, paleontologist Lovett, terminally-ill Gloria Stone, and Henry Barnard. The plane is hijacked by a villainous Chinese pilot. He flies them in the opposite direction and crash lands in the Tibetan wilderness. They are rescued and welcomed to the idyllic Shangri-La by Chang. Sondra is a lovely girl grown up in isolated kingdom. Soon, the outsiders wonder if they are imprisoned in a gilded cage. The High Lama reveals to Robert that the location gives a special longevity but later, local Maria counters the idea to George.The sets have a Hollywood exotic epic grandeur. There are Asian actors although they are relegated to minor villains or extras. The story itself is rather static. It's a lot of sitting and talking or standing around and talking. There is one big action scene with an avalanche although I don't understand why that guy is shooting his gun. The restoration has sections missing which are replaced with stills. A couple of the actresses do some big broad hysterical acting. This has the look of an epic but the story falls a little flat.

poindexter_mellon I was probably 7 years old when I saw this on TV and it had a powerful effect on me. The search for Shangri-La where everything was peaceful and beautiful. The wise and ancient High Lama who knew all the answers to all of life's mysteries. I knew right then that I would be following in the footsteps of Ronald Colman.So yeah, I finally made it, I'm sitting here in the Valley Of The Blue Moon writing this movie review and having all my needs attended to by friendly native girls! What a life, and I owe it all to being inspired by this great film when I was just a young and troubled nitwit.You should show it to your kids too, but do it while they are very young, before they have seen too many action movies or video games, or else they might just roll their eyes and be bored with the lack of explosions, in which case you'll know it's already too late for them.

Blueghost Sayeth Captain James T. Kirk, commanding officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise.Why did I quote a science fiction captain of a TV show totally unrelated to a film from 1937? Because "Lost Horizon" deals with finding heaven on Earth, and dispensing with a lot of the egotistical walls we erect for ourselves to protect our pride."Lost Horizon" is, in essence, a story about individuals who are frustrated by the conventions of society to the breaking point as Communist Chinese forces sweep across China, setting everything alight. The main characters escape, or so they think, only to begin another adventure.This film examines the character and behavioral pitfalls that can get exaggerated and ruin our personality if we don't deal with them in some shape or form. The characters in "Lost Horizon" are the epitome of what we might call our flaws, or traits of mankind. The legendary "Shangri La" is a place where those frustrations can be dealt with in one form or another. But does paradise come with freedom? At what cost do all your dreams come? Maybe it's time to watch Captain Kirk in "This Side of Paradise"."Lost Horizon" is actually a ground breaking film in a philosophical approach to addressing frustrations of mankind. Ah, but not in the social vein that the casual reader of my review might think. For that you'll have to live some more.Well shot, this black and white film shows how medium master shots can carry the day for a film. Technically it's a very good film with few flubs. It is dated, but I think stands the test of time.I'm not a huge fan of the film, though I understand it far much better than I did as a boy when I used to see it as a kid on TV. At the time I dismissed it as a simple adventure story. Looking at it with adult eyes, I see it with a far more worldly mindset, and now understand why the film was given praises by past generations (although I've yet to make up my mind entire about it).For the younger viewer, it is a slow film. But, if you've had a lot of world experience, then you should have a gander at this film, by try not to understand it all at once and right away. Just accept it for what it is, and enjoy it.A bit slow, full of intrigue and adventure, an interesting bit of escapism that might lead you craving for your own slice of reality and nirvana all at once.In short, Captain Kirk was commenting on living in bliss in a hospital like environment where nothing can hurt you, and all your desires are met. Even though Shatner spoke those words for his character some 30+ years later, it is applicable, because this is what Shangri La, in actuality, is; a hospital.

writers_reign It's almost classically simple to sit in the 21st century and analyze/pass judgment on the films of previous generations, notably films produced in Hollywood at the time a second world war was a distinct possibility and when this proved the case, during the actual conflict itself and given the setting perhaps Robert Sherwood's Idiot's Delight is a title that springs readily to mind focusing as it does on a disparate group of travellers caught in a remote mountain location - even in France they were not immune and Jacques Prevert wrote a fine screenplay which featured the two Madeleines (Robinson, Renaud) popular at the time, along with Pierre Brasseur. Ronald Coleman could hardly be bettered as the world weary diplomat more than ready to leave the rat race behind and if today even his name is fading from memory at the time the other members of the cast, Thomas Mitchell, Edward Everett Horton, H.B. Warner, Sam Jaffe would have been recognizable as solid supporting actors rather than known by name. Watching it for the first time some seventy odd years after the initial release it perhaps fails to impress as much as it would have done at the time but it is nevertheless highly watchable.