ALL SCI-FI

[Pow]

Lost Horizon is a wonderful adventure drama fantasy film directed by Hollywood legend Frank Capra.

It was produced by Columbia Pictures for the enormous sum (at that time) of $2,000,000. The Shangri-La village is a huge and marvelous set to behold.

The movie is about a group of individuals who are fleeing from a revolution in Asia. The plane that is supposed to take them to safety, instead, takes them to the mysterious and remote high mountain enclave called Shangri-La.

One of my favorite scenes is when Richard Conway, one of the abducted people from the plane, meets with the High Lama of Shangri-La.

HL: Look at the world today. Is there anything more pitiful?

RC: Surely this is a time of crisis.

HL: But when has the world known any other time? What madness there is, what blindness, what unintelligent leadership. A furiously racing mass of bewildered humanity, strengthening not in wisdom, but in vulgar passions.

The time must come when evil will destroy itself. I will not live to see that day. But you might my son, and that is why you have been brought to Shangri-La. For when the day comes that the world begins to look for a new life, it is our belief that they will find their reservoir of hope here.

Here we shall be to guide the footsteps of a weary people. Here we shall be with our way of life based on one simple rule — be kind. And it is our hope that our brotherly love will then spread throughout the world. When the strong have devoured each other, then, at last, the meek shall inherit the earth.

[Bud Brewster]

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It's unfortunate that this fine movie was not embraced by the publi — as it richly deserved.

And it's equally unfortunate that the prints of this movie were neglected and allowed to deteriorate. Many scenes are now lost forever because of this.

Despite the fact that our world today is in a terrible condition which saddens all rational and intelligent people. But we can find some comfort in the fact technology has advanced to the point where movies, music, artwork, and all other forms of artistic expression can now be preserved in ways which are more permanent.

Hopefully . . .

With that in mind, here's my gift to the members of All Sci-Fi — the restored version of this great movie, compliments of Archive.org (and my own WeTransfer account).

Enjoy.
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THE LOST HORIZON (1937) — Link is NOW active!

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

The exterior Lamasery set for Lost Horizon is magnificent in all its scope and splendor. Designed by Stepehen Goosson. It was 1,000 feet long and nearly 500 feet wide. It required 150 workman two months to complete.

Always heartbreaking that such fantastic sets are constructed for a film only to be torn down after filming is completed.

Imagine if such awesome sets were available for other productions in film or T.V.? Some would say that seeing these incredible sets pop up in other productions could lessen their impact and integrity in the movie that they were originally designed for. Perhaps that's a legitimate argument, especially if the later productions are mediocre or poor.

Still and all, imagine the Lamasery set being able to be featured on an episode of the original Star Trek television series? T.V. productions do not have either the time or budget to build such phenomenal sets. So having these sets would give an episode a feature film epic quality to their show that they could not otherwise possibly manage. On Trek such astonishing buildings could have represented an alien civilization.

Generally these structures are never built to last in the first place. They are built to look wonderful for a motion picture during shooting, but never with the intent to last beyond its purpose. Weather and time would make quick work of them.

But it's fun to imagine.

[Bud Brewster]