DVD of Special Merit: LOST HORIZON (1973) - Blu-ray Forum

JMK · 10-12-2011, 03:29 PM

Hi, all, Blu-ray.com reviewer Jeffrey Kauffman here, recommending one of my all time favorite guilty pleasures, the 1973 musical remake of LOST HORIZON.

Amazon Buy Link:

http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Horizon-L...8432841&sr=8-1

It was a notorious flop when it was released, soon underwent massive editing (rather like its 1937 progenitor), and led to the dissolution of the storied songwriting team of Bacharach and David, but there's still something incredibly appealing (in a camptastic way, if for no other reason) about this mammoth production which stars Peter Finch, Liv Ullmann, Sally Kellerman, George Kennedy, Bobby Van, Olivia Hussey, Charles Boyer and John Gielgud.

For years only the edited version has been available (and then only as a bootleg), though a laserdisc edition did attempt to restore some of the excised footage, albeit with horrible video quality. This new Columbia Classics MOD edition is stellar in every way: it restores all the lost footage, and it looks fantastic (despite Columbia's long assertion that a print of the roadshow edition didn't exist anymore, obviously it did and does). Even better, Columbia has included a wealth of supplemental material on this DVD, including Bacharach-"sung" demos (if you've heard Burt "sing," you'll understand the quote marks), some of which have different David lyrics than those used in the film.

Many decry this film as producing hubris gone mad (it was one of Ross Hunter's last films), but if you're a fan of big, albeit patently odd, musicals, there's a lot to love about this film. Yes, Hermes Pan's choreography is just plain weird (and this new unedited version contains the long pilloried Fertility Dance, which must be seen to be believed), but the Bacharach-David score is unusual and rather touching at times. Despite the critical lambasting he underwent at the time of the film's release, director Charles Jarrott does a great job giving the film a beautiful sweep and the production design is quite elegant, despite Shangri-La looking, as one person called it, like the Tibetan Hilton.

10-12-2011, 03:29 PM	#1
JMK Blu-ray reviewer Top contributor Member since:Aug 2009 Blu-ray collection:- Trading Score:3	DVD of Special Merit: LOST HORIZON (1973) Hi, all, Blu-ray.com reviewer Jeffrey Kauffman here, recommending one of my all time favorite guilty pleasures, the 1973 musical remake of LOST HORIZON. Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Horizon-L...8432841&sr=8-1 It was a notorious flop when it was released, soon underwent massive editing (rather like its 1937 progenitor), and led to the dissolution of the storied songwriting team of Bacharach and David, but there's still something incredibly appealing (in a camptastic way, if for no other reason) about this mammoth production which stars Peter Finch, Liv Ullmann, Sally Kellerman, George Kennedy, Bobby Van, Olivia Hussey, Charles Boyer and John Gielgud. For years only the edited version has been available (and then only as a bootleg), though a laserdisc edition did attempt to restore some of the excised footage, albeit with horrible video quality. This new Columbia Classics MOD edition is stellar in every way: it restores all the lost footage, and it looks fantastic (despite Columbia's long assertion that a print of the roadshow edition didn't exist anymore, obviously it did and does). Even better, Columbia has included a wealth of supplemental material on this DVD, including Bacharach-"sung" demos (if you've heard Burt "sing," you'll understand the quote marks), some of which have different David lyrics than those used in the film. Many decry this film as producing hubris gone mad (it was one of Ross Hunter's last films), but if you're a fan of big, albeit patently odd, musicals, there's a lot to love about this film. Yes, Hermes Pan's choreography is just plain weird (and this new unedited version contains the long pilloried Fertility Dance, which must be seen to be believed), but the Bacharach-David score is unusual and rather touching at times. Despite the critical lambasting he underwent at the time of the film's release, director Charles Jarrott does a great job giving the film a beautiful sweep and the production design is quite elegant, despite Shangri-La looking, as one person called it, like the Tibetan Hilton. Last edited by JMK; 10-12-2011 at 07:25 PM.

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