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The
James Hilton novel Lost Horizon was first adapted by Hollywood
in 1937. Thirty-five years later, Hollywood figured that audiences
were just aching for a remake of the Frank Capra classic. If producer
Ross Hunter had left well enough alone, his 1973 version of Lost
Horizon could've been a perfectly adequate action/adventure.
But with the addition of songs by Burt Bacharach and Hal David,
his musical version surpasses mere mediocrity and skyrockets into
cult film legend.
The
adventures begin in a war torn country in Southeast Asia where a
group of Americans barely make the last flight out before a military
coup. On board are diplomat Peter Finch and his brother Michael
York, a reporter. Also along for the ride are George Kennedy, an
engineer; Bobby Van, an "entertainer"; and neurotic, pill-popping
photojournalist Sally Kellerman.
After
flying all night, they realize that their plane has been hijacked.
The DC-10 develops engine trouble as it climbs higher and higher
over the mountains and crashes in the snowy Himalayas. The crash
site is soon discovered by Sir John Gielgud who introduces himself
with these memorable (and ridiculously improbable) words, "I
am from a nearby Lamasery. My name is Chang."
At
daybreak he leads the survivors to the entrance of a secret valley
that is protected on all sides by treacherous peaks. "Welcome
to Shangri-La." Here, the magical utopia is made up of a massive
outdoor set. Parts of the Lamasery and its surrounding gardens are
reused sections of the castle from Camelot (1967).
Once
everyone has changed into their caftans, they enjoy dinner and a
floorshow. Olivia Hussey sings (vocals are dubbed by Andrea Willis)
and twirls around in a mustard colored dress. The films costumes
(by Jean Louis) and set design all share the same faintly oriental/middle
eastern look. With the exception of the title song, "Share
the Joy" is the first musical number to appear in Lost Horizon…
and nearly forty minutes of screen time have elapsed! If the melody
of Bacharach's harpsichord and sitar infused song doesn't wedge
itself into your brain, it soon will. "Share the Joy"
becomes the film's main theme and is repeated over and over and
over.
Finch
confides to his brother that Shangri-La feels like home. York can't
wait to get back to civilization, but bides his time by romancing
Hussey, "In the outside world, you'd be a complete knockout."
Finch
spots school marm Liv Ullmann while on a walking tour with Gielgud.
She teaches self-confidence to her class by singing (vocals by Diana
Lee) the song "The World is a Circle". With lyrics that
are filled out with "La-la-la-la's" and child performers
who seem incapable of the most basic dance steps (rhythmic arm swinging
is choreographed by Hermes Pan) the entire number unravels like
a drugged out version of The Sound of Music (1965).
Meanwhile,
Kellerman has to be talked down off a ledge and is soon undergoing
psychotherapy with James Shigeta. "Where the hell are any answers?"
she wails, "Inside me I guess."
Still
preoccupied with thoughts of Ullmann, Finch must listen to Gielgud
espouse Shangri-La's philosophy of moderation and courtesy, "It
would not be considered good manners to take a woman that another
man wanted." Definite food for thought, but nothing can prepare
Finch (or any sane human being) for what he's shown next.
During
"The Festival of the Family" Shigeta leads a parade while
singing the song "Living Together, Growing Together,"
a jaw-dropping ode to family values. As a happy couple and their
baby are carried around the square on a bower, they sing these incredibly
clunky lyrics by Hal David, "Start with a man and you have
one. Add on a woman and then you have two. Add on a child and what
have you got? You've got more than three, you've got what they call
a family."
The
absence of music from the film's beginning is more than made up
for as several numbers appear one after another. While on a picnic
with the teacher of his dreams, Finch thinks the song "I
Might Frighten Her Away." Hilariously, Ullmann joins him and
they think a duet together.
While
Kellerman soaks up knowledge in Shangri-La's extensive library,
Hussey begins to think that paradise isn't all it's cracked up to
be. "Shangri-La has a definite edge over New York City, not
to mention Calcutta and the rest," Kellerman assures her before
launching into "The Things I Will Not Miss". They sing
the song together, making a lyrical point and then counter point.
Kellerman's floppy body language gets positively loosey-goosey when
she performs the simplistic choreography with Hussey.
Finch
is granted an audience with the High Lama. His highness Charles
Boyer tells him that Shangri-La was founded hundreds of years ago
by a Belgian priest who'd become lost in the mountains. The priest
had to amputate his own frostbitten leg before the natives of the
valley found him. Once under their care, he recovered miraculously
and began to teach his own peaceful religion.
Finch
finally notices that Boyer (gasp!) has only one leg. He's that same
priest and he's still alive hundreds of years later! Boyer confides
to Finch that although the magic of the valley has given him a long
life, he will not live forever. Finch was brought to Shangri-La
for a specific purpose. He will continue the legacy of peace and
brotherly love after the High Lama has died.
This
is a lot to chew on. Finch thinks another song "If I
Could Go Back" and eventually does a rather poor job lip-syncing
the vocals provided by Jerry Hutman. Ullmann joins him in the garden
and answers his philosophical questions with "Where Knowledge
Ends/Faith Begins."
When
George Kennedy discovers gold nuggets in the rivers of Shangri-La,
Kellerman chastises his capitalistic instincts with the goofy song
"Reflections", a number that features more solid gold
lyrics by Hal David. "Your reflection reflects on everything
you do," she warbles, "and everything you do, reflects
on you."
Kennedy
is so inspired by Kellerman's floppy dancing that he engineers a
public water project. With hundreds of years of contemplation under
their belts, you would think that someone in Shangri-La would've
already solved the crop irrigation problem. Go figure.
In
order to spend more time with his ladylove, Finch enlists the help
of Bobby Van as a substitute teacher. A few of the more talented
kids join him in a soft-shoe routine as he lectures to the class
with "Question me an Answer." It's easily the best song
in the movie, though it's presented in such a cloyingly cutesy way
that it quickly becomes the most annoying.
Ullmann
suggests that "There's a wish for Shangri-La in everyone's
heart" while Finch ponders the existential dilemma that's been
handed to him. Inexplicably, Finch pulls a Rex Harrison and half
sings/half talks the intro to "I Come to You" before lip-synching
the rest. When Finch seeks guidance from the High Lama, Boyer tells
him, "I wish to place in your hands the future and destiny
of Shangri-La," then promptly drops dead.
As
the people of Shangri-La mourn the passing of their spiritual leader,
York convinces Finch to follow him back to civilization. Along with
Hussey, the brothers follow a group of native porters back down
the mountain. Far from the safety of the magical valley, Hussey
grows weaker and they fall farther and farther behind. Finch and
York call out to their guides, but their reverberating cries cause
an avalanche that kills all the porters.
Hussey
eventually reverts to her true age. York is so horrified and repulsed
by her ancient visage that he melodramatically (and comedicly) throws
himself off a cliff. In a needlessly drawn out finale, Finch is
found, brought back to civilization and nursed back to health. When
a doctor finds his hospital bed empty, he explains (in case you
hadn't caught it the first million times) that, "Shangri-La
represents the ultimate way of life".
A
sadder but wiser Finch trudges back up the mountain and through
the snow to his new home. A magical place where the sun always shines.
A place where you never grow old. A place where actors who can't
sing and dance… do it anyway.
By
the late sixties, nearly every major Hollywood studio was hemorrhaging
money thanks in part to grandiose musical misfires like Doctor
Dolittle (1967), Star! (1968) and Hello Dolly
(1969). Fans of truly awful cinema should rejoice that, despite
evidence that audiences were no longer interested in bloated movie
musicals, Columbia Pictures and producer Ross Hunter went ahead
with Lost Horizon anyway. Even better, they filled their
lavish musical remake with an all-star cast that couldn't sing or
dance.
Casting
popular but vocally challenged actors in musical roles certainly
wasn't anything new in Hollywood. There are countless examples of
this practice (including classics like West Side Story, 1961
and My Fair Lady, 1964) but Lost Horizon took this
tradition to new lows. Thankfully we're spared the sight (and sound)
of numbers performed by George Kennedy and Sir John Gielgud.
Lost
Horizon has never been officially released on VHS or DVD in
the U.S. In the early 90's Pioneer released a special edition laserdisc
that reinstated several songs that had been cut from the film during
its original theatrical release. Though these missing sequences
were found in the Columbia vaults, there are still scenes (among
them the infamous "fertility dance") that are considered
lost forever. Copies of Lost Horizon can occasionally be
found on eBay. The DVD copy CCT used for this review was taken from
the widescreen Pioneer laserdisc print.
Peter
Finch best summed up the Lost Horizon experience when, at
the end of the film, his character awakens in the hospital and explains
that, "I don't know whether I've been mad and am now sane,
or sane for a time and now mad again."
He
had it right. Lost Horizon is an undeniably insane experience
that shouldn't be missed.
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