Lost Horizon (1937)

Plot Summary

Ronald Colman and Jane Wyatt star in this lavishly-produced classic about the enchanted paradise of Shangri-La where time stands still. After nearly 50 years, Frank Capra's timeless masterpiece, "Lost Horizon (1937)" (based on the best-selling novel by James Hilton) was restored to its original length of 132 minutes in 1986. The film, which was widely circulated among the armed services during World War II, was cut 22 minutes after its initial release in 1937 to reflect the wartime perception of the Chinese and to tone down the film's pacifism. Film historian Robert Gitt conducted nearly 13 years of detective work tracking down the lost footage. With extraordinary art direction, the set of Shangri-La is considered the largest ever built in Hollywood, winning designer Stephan Goosson an Academy Award® (Lost Horizon won two 1937 Academy Awards®: Art Direction-Set Design and Film Editing). Furthermore, the budget for the picture was staggering and cost almost four times the amount of any Columbia film at the time; an equivalent cost of approximately $30-$40 million today. A box office blockbuster, "Lost Horizon (1937)" is considered an exception among Capra's work for its deviation from his usual upbeat "American" theme and continues to capture the imagination of the viewing public today.