Perfect cast and a good story

one of my absolute favorites!

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

I saw this movie in the theater in 1973, as well as a few times since. As I recall, the early 70's were pretty amazing times. People were protesting and getting involved in politics. It was an interesting time to be alive. So then, I have to wonder, why the hate on this film? It's my opinion that once a literary work is published, it's up for interpretation...and that interpretations can be different, but not "right" nor "wrong", because interpretations are subjective. This Ross Hunter 1973 Interpretation of "Lost Horizon" is a musical one. And I ask you, why not? What kind of person insists that there is only one possible interpretation of a literary work? Whenever I encounter critics of this film, I usually find people so dogmatically entrenched in their view that the only possible "right" portrayal of it is the 1937 (Black and White) Capra version. Scrolling through these reviews just confirms this bias. But one must wonder why...whether the reviewers are being true, or simply biased. This film has never portrayed itself as a "better than". It has only portrayed itself as an "Other", i.e: a musical rendition of Hilton's work. Cinematic and other adaptive works, once published, are offered up to the public for interpretation. I have yet to see this film critiqued honestly, as a 1973 stand-alone interpretation of a literary text framed in its own pop culture, rather than a comparison to a 1937 version (also borne of its own pop-culture.) There are too many cooks in this kitchen spoiling the broth! When evaluated in context, this movie stands out! To those of you who love the 1937 version, that's great. I'm happy for you. But please stop bashing this version because it's not 1937 all over again! I love musical theater and honestly, I fell asleep watching the 1937 Capra version of this film. Nevertheless, this whole fracas leaves me with one question: If Capra can be framed within the culture of his time, then why can't Ross Hunter, Burt Bacharach, and Hal David?

Michael Medved wrote extensively about this movie in his Golden Turkey Awards book back in the 1970s. I didn't get a chance to see it until some years later. It's wisely kept out of the public eye.Lost Horizon was supposed to be a high-gloss "prestige" picture for Columbia with great music, exotic sets and memorable acting performances. I think they were hoping for something on the level of The Sound of Music. What they got was a movie that's just wrong on every level. The concept didn't work. The acting was wooden, and the plot was dreary. What I remember most were the strange, almost sickly sweet songs that made it onto the soundtrack. I don't know what Burt Bacharach was thinking. I watched some clips of this movie recently, and the whole thing looks manufactured- like nobody really believes what they're doing.It's almost as if whoever was in charge had never done this type of picture before. The studio initially prepared a large marketing campaign around it, expecting a hit. It would be fascinating to know just when the movie studio bigwigs at Columbia figured out they had a disaster on their hands. A possible explanation- it was probably doomed from the start. By 1973 styles had changed drastically, and the necessary people who previously could have given you something as good as South Pacific or West Side Story were all off doing other things. Jesus Christ Superstar was what a musical looked like in the early 1970s, not this.It immediately tanked at the box office, and we can only speculate about how many Hollywood careers ended as a result of this turkey. I don't know if it's ever been released on DVD. You've got to see this movie it to believe it.

Lost Horizon is not nearly as bad as the box office numbers would suggest. Its chief failing is the audience comes to see Shangri-La and sees, well, Burbank. Actually, it looks more like the Huntington Gardens. It would have been better to improve upon the book's shortcomings rather than try to recreate it. Perhaps a "Wizard of Oz"-like plot, where all of the people meet along parallel paths to Shangri-La, only to discover their real sanctuary was where they came from. I remember getting a preview copy of the album quite some time before the film was released. I loved the music, but would have to agree the vocal performances are a disaster. But, I was looking forward to seeing it in the theater. At nearly 2.5 hours in its roadshow release, I was checking my watch about 45 minutes into the piece. Even when I watch it on DVD today, there are large sections I fast forward through. As others have noted, why didn't Ross Hunter hire people who could sing in the key roles? Probably studio pressure for "bankable" stars who were "hot" at the time. No doubt someone also observed Bacharach & David are pop song writers, and you don't need to be a very good vocalist to sing pop--right? Well, the more recent musical disaster, the aptly named "Mamma Mia!" ABBA tribute also suffered from dreadful vocal performances. So much for the "anyone can sing pop" theory. Make no mistake, Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan are fine actors, but they should never the be the leads in a musical! Why not cast Glenn Close?But back to "Lost Horizon," I think the other problem is by the time this was released in 1972, the music and presentation were considered dated or "old school." Similar complaints were leveled at Hunters 1970 film "Airport"--calling it "old fashioned filmmaking."So, you've got three things working against the film: a dull plot, dated music, and principal vocalists who can't sing. Now some have commented that the Hollywood musical was dead by 1972. There were some other big features that only had mediocre results at this time, but just 6 years later, "Grease," with a budget of just $6 million, earned almost $400 million at the box office. No doubt it was helped by a couple of hit singles, but there was certainly some audience interest still out there. Disney seems to have found a formula that appeals to a new generation with its "High School Musical" series and its forthcoming "Teen Beach Musical." Several of the studio's animated musical features have been remade into successful Broadway musicals. Time will tell if there is a revival of interest in big budget, big screen musicals with principals who can actually sing.

Okay, I admit it, this musical Lost Horizon is not a good movie. However, I don't think it deserves to be trashed as badly as it has been. I have seen far worse movies, and also much worse musicals, Xanadu, Can't Stop the Music, Mame, Grease 2, A Chorus Line and The Wiz( At Long Last Love like this is more so bad it's good quality rather than just bad) are all worse than this in my opinion.I will get the good things out of the way. The scenery and cinematography are beautiful, and while it doesn't completely fit with the movie the score and songs aiming for the glossy sophistication of the 1937 film, are lovely and are memorable. The cast also try their best, with Sally Kellerman and Michael York faring best. Liv Ullman is decent, as are Peter Finch and Olivia Hussey.George Kennedy however gives a performance that feels rather phoned in, and the normally excellent John Gielgud struggles with a character that in my opinion is little more than a caricature. The dialogue in general is trite, and the story this time around with the fanciful ideas done so well in the Frank Capra movie(which is not a masterpiece but very charming) only risible here very thin for the running time, with little charm and heart. The singing/dubbing in all honesty is not great, Mame and At Long Last Love are much worse with this, but the singing does sound strained and pitchy.All in all, an example of so bad it's good. 5/10 Bethany Cox