In the midst of an explosive revolution are leader-type Peter Finch (as Richard Conway) and his way younger brother Michael York (as George Conway). They escape in an airplane with a small group, headed for Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the plane is hijacked and crashes in a remote area of the Himalayas. Fortunately, the travelers make it to Shangri-La, a paradise where people live in perfect health and age very slowly. It's not exactly Hollywood, but there is an all-star cast. On board are song and dance man Bobby Van (as Harry Lovett), uptight photographer Sally Kellerman (as Sally Hughes) and gold prospector George Kennedy (as Sam Cornelius)...Mr. Finch is attracted to singing schoolteacher Liv Ullmann (as Catherine) while Mr. York prefers pregnant dancer Olivia Hussey (as Maria)...Wise old Dalai lamas John Gielgud and Charles Boyer are befriended by Finch. He moves closer to the secret of Shangri-La. York mostly wears regular clothing. This is symbolic because he wants to leave with Ms. Hussey, though she may revert to her true age. Many people felt older after sitting through "Lost Horizon". To make it a musical for producer Ross Hunter, the popular songwriting duo Burt Bacharach & Hal David contribute some of their least memorable songs. Charles Jarrott directs with catatonic seriousness. Picturesque photography by Robert Surtees is a relative strength. All told, this re-make of "Lost Horizon" is a lost cause.*** Lost Horizon (3/14/73) Charles Jarrott ~ Peter Finch, Michael York, Olivia Hussey, Liv Ullmann

...and somehow persuaded Bacharach and David to write songs for it, this is what would result. Of course, Ed Wood would never have the kind of budget to make this, nor his pick of prestige stars. Funny thing, when I saw this as a little kid I was actually impressed. I think the gorgeous footage shot in the Cascade range of the Pacific Northwest was a part of why, and the obvious care put into the building of sets. The production values are through the roof here. However, looking back on it, this deserves all of the brickbats it's gotten. John Gielgud in yellow-face. Sally Kellerman and Liv Ullman and Peter Finch trying to sing. Everyone trying to dance except for Bobby Van, who obviously is a hoofer. And Bobby Van lays on the corniness, almost making his dancing as cringe-inducing as the non-dancers trying to dance.This is most definitely a creature of its time as well. The cheesy New Age philosophy of the lyrics is cringe-worthy. And of course, the misunderstanding of Tibetan Buddhism that goes all the way back to James Hilton's original novel. Yes, it's directed like a '40s or '50s golden age musical, and movie musicals from the period like Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Wiz had more of a gritty texture from shooting on location instead of on a back lot with something other than big, lumbering 65mm cameras. And the costumes...dear goddess the costumes look like they came from Sears' Exotic Groovy India and China collection of 1971. Yes, it IS that bad. Producer Ross Hunter wound up never doing theatrical pictures again after Lost Horizon. He spent the rest of his career doing TV movies, exiled from the big screen. Making a flop-o-roony like this, which cost $12 Million in early '70s dollars to make and only took in $3 Million in early '70s dollars at the box office, was definitely enough to make no studio want to take a chance on future projects of his. It ranks with the legendary failures of Hollywood studio pictures...Heaven's Gate would come later, and would actually wind up being vindicated after the fact. I see a few people actually sticking up for this steaming pile. Each to their own taste, I suppose. But really...

A lovely musical with a goal to show us what life could be like, compared to what it is. It also brought the caftans into the limelight, to the point of Elizabeth and Richard Burton to be married in one.As an entertainer of the 70s, I adopted the number done by Sally Kellerman and Olivia Hussey (in the library) into my act, which always brought on a standing ovation for me, and whatever local talent I brought into the number.The casting was almost perfection ... the talent above par! Sally Kellerman's part hit home ... big time! And she played it to almost perfection, save the slightly forced bedroom scene. Sally sometimes tends to go over the top enough to be very noticeable. Someone else may have done a better job in her over the top parts, yet not do as good elsewhere. Casting directors are usually very good at finding the right person for a part ... but not 100% of the time, as is obvious when it comes to William Shatner in anything but Star Trek ... and Jeffrey Hunter was better for that series than Shatner ... but it was not meant to be.It is so nice to see Charles Boyer is a movie such as this one ... uplifting! Liv Ullman and Olivia Hussey were perfection ... as were the other main characters ... especially Bobby Van. Musical score by Burt Bacharach, with lyrics by Hal David ... a great team! Now we come to the story of Shangri-La ... which was originally created by James Hilton, and came about during his visit to Nepal. A place I visited in the spring of 1978. Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal, and is at the foot of the Himilayan Mountains. Kathmandu is surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the world that are crowned by the glory of Mount Everest, the highest peak on earth. Due to these high mountain ranges, there are no televisions, and no radios ... because there are no radio waves, etc.! If that has changed due to satellites, I am not aware of it. Like I said, I was there in 1978, and I have not been back. It should be noted here that foreigners were only allowed to visit Nepal, and Tibet, after 1924, I believe. When I was in Kathmandu, I got to see the royal elephant ... the only elephant in Kathmandu ... and I also was able to meet the King's mother, whom lived behind the home I was renting. What Kathmandu is like now is unknown to me ... but in 1978 it was filled with unbelievable experiences ... some, not so great ... others, totally inspiring. But nothing like this movie. If it had been ... I'd still be there.Now we get to Michael York. Casting him in Cabaret was genius ... casting him in Lost Horizon was not. The part was completely out of character for him.Basically, this is a family picture, a feel good movie, that should be enjoyed by all ... numerous times.

I love love love this movie. Amazon has it available now on DVD. Columbia finally remade this movie on DVD and the color is brilliant. The songs are fabulous! The movie is so fun and I am so excited. I have been waiting for this movie to come out for over 30 years and thought it was lost. Hooray! This movie is corny but I love corny, clean, beautiful movies with fabulous music. The music is very familiar and makes me happy to remember the good old' days when movies were clean and had character. Well, this movie has it all. My Mom and I watched this together and we were both giddy because we were so excited. Thank you Columbia and Amazon. I am so happy!