Lost Horizon - Discussion

[David]

Discussion topic for this "weekend theater's" film, "Lost Horizon" 1937, directed by Frank Capra - with Ronald Coleman and Jane Wyatt. Keep in mind there may be spoilers here, so watch the film before hand! Great film!

[Carmen]

Wahooo! Shall I wait for the rest to start this?

[carlos]

A WONDERFUL film !!- Hey David: in the poster, it appears MARGO, the same girl who played that AA worker in "I,ll Cry Tomorrow"- -uncle

[Carmen]

Well, I've said this before, I know, but I have to say it again in here. Lost Horizon is nothing less that one of my top 10 or 5 favorite movies. Maybe it hasn't my favorite stars, and it's not my favorite genre, but Frank Capra really got me with this movie.
You see, just like him, I am an idealist. I care and fight for a better world, and it's frustrating not to see one before my eyes every day I wake up. This movie portrays that dream we all idealists have in our subconscious, to find our Shangri-La. If you are an idealist too, you can perfectly understand this eternal feeling of frustration, of eternal effort for somethings that, at least sometimes, seems like a lost cause. For us idealists, life is somehow unconsciously and constantly tiring. That need to work and work and work for a cause isn't a simple thing, and yet, it's what keeps us moving. Still, isn't it the natural thing that even if we believe in what we fight for, we sometimes need a rest, we sometimes need to see everything we long for done before our eyes? To me, Lost Horizon represents that dream of finding the rest. That which for others may be represented by eternal rest, or something else, to me it's Shangri-La.

Shangri-La is utopia, is an escape, is a rest, is the goal, is peace.

This movie gets to the bottom of my heart for more than an acting, a directing, or a musical score. It's the content, the way it's represented, and the message it gives, that makes it such a special movie for me. Lost Horizon is wonderful in every way, the way I see it.

[carlos]

- WOW !!- I think we have TWO film-critics in the Site: you and Sarah !!- What a wonderful way u have to describe what u feel with this film !!-
About Ronald Colman: I think he is the IDEAL actor for this role, as he was always so calm & elegant- (EXCEPT in "A double life" 1948). The Art-Direction is wonderful, and the Art-Deco scenarios gaves, u, a very special atmosphere.. This is the best version of this story-without any doubt- AND the b&w photography adds mistery-uncle

[Cheryl]

Do you think Everett Horton's character, Lovett ("Lovey") was distracting, or did you like him? For me, I didn't really like him. He wasn't really funny, and I just kind of tuned him out.

[David]

Oh, I always love Edward Everett Horton

[Cheryl]

Oh, I always love Edward Everett Horton

I like him in some roles, but not this one. ( He is excellent in "A BedTime Story" (1933), with Maurice Chevalier.) I don't know. Maybe I was expecting a straight drama and was thrown off by the comedy bits? I did like the "plumber"/crook character, though.

[Carmen]

Thanks, Uncle! You sure inspire me a lot! Your enthusiasm is contagious.
And I do liked Everett Horton's character. It countered a little bit the extreme seriousness of the movie and gave it a lighter touch in some moments that I really enjoyed.

[Marie]

This movie was great; idealistic is just the word to describe it, as Carmen said.
It's interesting because the theme of a Utopia, finding/creating a heaven on Earth is something that my English/Literature class has been discussing for quite some time now. We read a novel called "Walden Two" by B.F Skinner which was very similar to "Lost Horizon" and fascinating to read. It's amazing how similar the book and the movie are.

I also noticed The Allegory of the Cave, aka Plato's Cave in the movie. Does anyone know what I am talking about? We've been talking about that in my class as well.

I'll explain it: Imagine a cave, with a long entrance. In the back of the cave, there are a number of people with their back to the entrance, facing the wall. Their legs and necks are chained in place, so that they cannot move, they only see what is in front of them. They have been in the cave all their lives. Above, and behind them there is a fire blazing. The people see their shadows on the opposite side of the cave, from the light of the fire. They cannot see anything but the shadows. Between the fire and the prisoners, there is a platform, and on it there is a screen, similar to the one that puppet players use, in their performances. Behind the screen/wall, there are men walking across the platform, holding up objects above the wall, casting shadows on the back of the cave. The people watch these shadows. For them, this is reality, they have never known anything else.

Now, imagine what would happen if one of the prisoners would be released. He would realize that all he has known was an illusion/false. Imagine that he leaves the cave. He would be blinded by the sun, unused to bright light. Eventually, he would become used to life outside the cave. He's enlightened by these experiences. He remembers the others in the cave, and wishes to show them that the reality/life that they have had was fake, and illusion. So the enlightened one returns to the cave, but he cannot convince them to turn around. They laugh at him, and think that he is absurd. He can't bring them out into the light.

It's a metaphor of ignorance and knowledge. The people in the cave are trapped by their ignorance, not aware that they are missing everything outside of the cave. Did I explain that correctly, was it easy to understand?

In "Lost Horizon" the people chained to the wall would be the ones in Britain who laugh at Ronald Colman's character, who races back to find Shangri'La after he recovers his memory. Ronald Colman (I can't remember the name of his character ) is the enlightened soul, who discovered the light, and the Sun. Do you see what I mean? He was originally one of the ones shackled to the wall, but he has found truth.

I think that this allegory is fascinating, and I notice it in a lot of movies and stories, there are a lot of examples.

I wish that I had heard of this movie sooner! "Lost Horizon" would have been a perfect example to use in a paper I had to write, comparing movies to the book we read.

Goodness, this is a long post