Lost Horizon (1973)

Lost Horizon (UK-USA, 1973) 150 min color DIR: Charles Jarrott. PROD: Ross Hunter. SCR: Larry Kramer, based on the novel by James Hilton. MUSIC: Burt Bacharach. DOP: Robert Surtees. CAST: Peter Finch, Liv Ullmann, Sally Kellerman, George Kennedy, Michael York, Olivia Hussey, Bobby Van, James Shigeta, Charles Boyer, John Gielgud. (Columbia)

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This infamous big-budget musical (!) remake of Frank Capra’s 1937 classic, itself adapted from James Hilton’s novel, was one of the biggest film jokes of the 1970s. It also has the “distinction” of being included in the Harry Medved-Larry Dreyfuss book, The Fifty Worst Films of All Time, sharing pages with such other misguided studio projects of the day as Jonathan Livingston Seagull and At Long Last Love.

Columbia was touting this film to be the biggest event since Gone With the Wind, with plans to sell tons of Lost Horizon-themed merchandise. However, after a disastrous box office and critical reception, Lost Horizon was famously referred to as Lost Investment, and would be the final film of famed producer Ross Hunter. 

Still, time determines the true worth of anything. Over the years, people have claimed affection for this truly unusual picture, perhaps persuading Columbia to finally release it to DVD (if only MOD). Since the film was largely out of the public eye for years (it had never previously been on video in any format, and was seldom broadcast on television), perhaps it was felt too that the movie would win a new audience, or at least a daredevil viewer like yours truly, who is fascinated by 1970s big-budget fiascos. Nearly forty years on, when its weekend box office receipts no longer matter, it is indeed a time to re-evaluate this version of Lost Horizon at face value.

At first, this appears to be a decent updating of the novel, in which the mystical black-and-white of Capra’s film is substituted for colour spectacle, with the drama surrounding those who board a plane to flee from some unknown militaristic regime end up getting hijacked to some mysterious destination. The plane crashes in the snowy Himalayas, and the passengers are rescued and taken to the Utopian land of Shangri-La, which exists somewhere beyond the cold surface.

This picture must’ve been breathtaking on the big screen, especially when one sees Shangri-La for the first time. It is a truly spectacular vision: such lush production values and luxurious greens. (The attention paid to such splendour mostly makes up for such technical gaffes as the absence of people’s frosty breath in the cold.)

The passengers are rescued and welcomed by a man named Chang- despite the Oriental name, John Gielgud’s occidental appearance is justified by the fact that his character is a Yale graduate! They are invited to remain here for the rest of their lives: where they can read, sing, play, embrace nature, and forget about their petty problems in the Western World. 

The first to succumb to the charms of Shangri-La is Sally Kellerman’s character, a pouty, chain-smoking Lizabeth Scott-style femme fatale who at first tries to kill herself (presumably because she’s out of cigarettes), but before long is seen dancing with Olivia Hussey in Shangri-La’s massive library of Readers Digest Condensed Books!

At first, this remake is honourable. But, because of the film’s reputation, we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. And yes, once the first musical number jettisons out of nowhere, we suddenly feel we’re watching a different movie. The film’s camp value evolves from the sight of non-musical actors suddenly bursting out into song and dance, whether or not their voices are dubbed. Only Bobby Van (who plays a failing nightclub comedian) has any pedigree with musicals, so perhaps his big number with a bunch of school kids fares the best. (Sadly, the ubiquitous George Kennedy does not do a musical routine. No matter- this film is added to his disaster-movie credits.)

While the sound design is superb (watching the DVD with headphones or surround sound is a must!), and even though the songbook is pleasant to listen to, sadly, there is not a single tune that one remembers after the film ends- not a good thing for a musical. The producers had the misfortune of employing Burt Bacharach and Hal David, just when the famed songwriting duo was breaking up- a sign of the disaster to come.

Between the musical acts, what little drama there is revolves around the conflict of some of the survivors’ mutiny to return to their homeland. This and a mediocre songbook don’t seem to justify a two-and-a-half-hour running time, however surprisingly it never feels like a chore to watch. It remains so fascinatingly bizarre that one is intrigued to see where this misguided project heads next.

Other than the hiring of non-musical acts, its greatest mistake was perhaps to have been made a few years too late. Big-budget flops like Camelot and Paint Your Wagon had essentially killed off the musical in the late 1960s. Lost Horizon’s sumptuous production and optimistic tone belonged more to the age of the studio system, which was extinct by the time it rolled into theatres. Further, its messages of peace, harmony and love seemed ridiculous when it was released in the cynical 70s: no one in the Watergate-Vietnam era could easily swallow such a saccharine Utopia.

Still, for all of its faults, its intentions are so noble that I cannot bring myself to hate this picture. Despite some of the obvious ineptitude in its creation, this is however an incredibly ambitious one-of-a-kind project, whose virtue is also its folly. It never fails to surprise- and so few studio films can boast that claim.

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Originally published in Vol. #1, Issue 25.