Am I one of the few who liked this movie?

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Excellent post jeffyoung1,

You're absolutely correct. There are plenty of people in this world and in this country that don't want the kind of peace and tranquility that LOST HORIZON represented. And yes, in this way capitalism is counter productive to the philosophy described in Shangri-La. My only guess to why violence is rewarded in our society while a film like LOST HORIZON is unfairly and overly condemned is because there are a great many people who do not grow up in the kind of environment that Shangri-La represented. By that I mean many people grow up in violent homes or homes were there is a great amount of unfairness and misunderstanding going on. They can't possibly relate to a situation where money is of no importance and understanding, higher consciousness and knowledge is the key.

Blame it on religion that fosters, inspires and condones certain acts of violence and discrimination. Every mans Shangri-La is different of course, but the type of world that James Hilton wrote about is centuries away. Perhaps there is no way it can be achieved in a world of capitalism and religion. No everyone wants love. LOST HORIZON was an anti-war, anti-capitalism musical fantasy. OF COURSE it was an easy target. Believe it or not, the film actually got it's share of good reviews. FILMS and filming loved it and VARIETY gave it a good review as did many other publications. The major critics however were the ones who attacked for cynical reasons of their own.

It's amazing the hostility in which LOST HORIZON generated among some people. Why? My feeling is they don't have, nor did they come from a world anywhere near the ideals represented in LOST HORIZON. For this reason, the idea of it made them angry. Musicals are THE easiest films to attack and make fun of. They are also the hardest genre to pull off successfully. It's an American art form. Film musicals originated here in this country. We invented it. In 1973, the genre was on it's way out. Censors were relaxed and the world of cinema could explore topics and themes in a way it never had before. Audiences wanted to see films with graphic sex and violence. Once that genie was let out of it's bottle there was no way it was going back in.

Don't count this musical version out. I think time will be kind to it. A couple of years ago American Cinematheque ran a beautiful print of the '73 version. You would have thought you were in a crowd watching THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. The audience laughed, cheered, sang and applauded the movie for different reasons and on different levels. Yes, it was campy, but that's part of it's charm. Every now and then I would look over my shoulder to view the audience and all I saw was a sea of smiling faces grinning ear to ear. It was quite extraordinary. It was then I knew that one day LH'73 would be rediscovered. Michael York showed up and admitted afterwards that he wasn't quite sure how the audience would react to it after all these years. He also said that even to this day he gets letters about that movie.

If some theatre owner could get a print of this film and start weekly midnight showings of it, I feel a new audience would discover it and word of mouth would elevate it's reputation.

If you are, so am I. I saw this movie when it first came out and have never forgotten it. I've been trying to get my own copy but am learning that it hasn't been put on DVD yet. I am desperate to be able to see and hear it again, not just hear it on CD. According to these boards, it is coming.

Maxine

Thanks, everyone, for being fair and balanced on the 1973 remake of LOST HORIZON. I liked it the first time I watched it and I still do. Even at a young age I understood that Lost Horizon and Shangri-La were happy fantasies of what we projected as Heaven might be or what we wanted it to be. Harmonious co-existence. Mutual respect, courtesy, and non-rigid ettiquette. No deception or manipulation. No neurotic envy, jealousy, and greed. No need to make other people smaller in order to make yourself bigger.

I'll repeat my question. Why do so many people laugh at the above as weakness and fantasy for drug-induced dreams? I keep seeing people who advocate strength, cutthroat competition, manipulating others for their gain (hello, Bernie Madoff), the world belongs only to the strong types. But I keep seeing these people at the top of their success...unbeliveable wealth, public adulation, power, women, everything....and incredible unhappiness, paranoia, poor health despite all the money; short-lived marriages; and then, for many, shorter lives. I guess many people would prefer to trade a shorter life for material gain and power, as the old saying goes, the candle that burns twice as bright, burns half as long.

I'm the first to admit that yes, I'd grow bored and jumpy if I actually had to iive in Shangri-La for a long time. I don't blame the younger brother, George Conway, for trying to escape to return to an more exciting life in the journalism world. I'd be wanting to escape to return to my 21st century life with all its entertainment and fun gadgets like my computer and dvds. Shangri-La is just one way too boring town that rolls up the sidewalks at 6:00 pm. But you understand the message was not about providing material fun and excitement, it was about inspiring us to live on a higher spiritual and moral plane even in our present 21st century material world.

Thank You jeffyoung1 for posting this.. Couldn't have said it better myself...

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"I am a donut" (Eddie Izzard as JFK in Berlin)

Count me in as a fan of this film, too. Even with its faults, the beautiful message -which the OP rightly recognizes as being rejected by greedy, egomaniacal types- shines through.

I'm another of the few. I tend to find something to like in most musicals of the mid-60s to early 70s, altho' many were critical & financial failures. I actually enjoyed LH more than CABARET, a film I admire more than genuinely like. The "fun" songs are substantially catchy, the love ballads & philosophizing songs somewhat less successful. It's terrific to see Bobby Van in the sort of retro-musical suited to him. The soundtrack album's an elaborate fold-down design & I have an 8-track of LH that's played faithfully for 30-some years. I also like the 101 Strings instrumental version of the score, especially "Reflections." Hope to stumble upon a bargain-price copy of the laserdisc soon, in the meantime I'll wait patiently for the DVD version. Good to see so many defenders posting to this thread and (thus far) no spiteful attackers.

I found it extremely enjoyable, though I can see how many people wouldn't like it and others would despise it. The directions and costumes are top-notch, and though most of the songs seem rather weak coming from Bacharach and David, I loved getting lost in this fantasy. 7/10 stars from me.