Lost Horizon (1973)

Director:

Charles Jarrott

Writers:

Larry Kramer (screenplay)
James Hilton (original novel)

Release Date:

17 March 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Musical | Adventure | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Come to Shangri La!

Plot:

This retelling of the classic tale of James Hilton's Utopian lost world plays out uneasily amid musical production numbers and Bacharach pop music...

Plot Keywords:

Shangri La | Diplomat | Englishman | Utopia | Brother Brother Relationship

Cast

Peter Finch	...	Richard Conway
Liv Ullmann	...	Catherine
Sally Kellerman	...	Sally Hughes
George Kennedy	...	Sam Cornelius
Michael York	...	George Conway
Olivia Hussey	...	Maria
Bobby Van	...	Harry Lovett
James Shigeta	...	Brother To-Lenn
Charles Boyer	...	The High Lama
John Gielgud	...	Chang
Kent Smith	...	Bill Fergunson
John Van Dreelen	...	Dr. Verden
Larry Duran	...	Asian Pilot
Miiko Taka	...	Nurse
Tybee Brascia
Neil Jon
Hedley Mattingly	...	Col. Rawley
Virginia Ann Lee
Paul De Lucca
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bruce Davis Bayne	...	Airline Passenger (uncredited)
Michael Bernal	...	School Student / Dancer (uncredited)
Sharann Hisamoto	...	School Student / Dancer (uncredited)
Jessie Salve	...	Bridegroom / Dancer (uncredited)
Jackie Tom	...	School Student / Dancer (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Jarrott

Writing credits
Larry Kramer		(screenplay)
James Hilton		(original novel)

Produced by
Ross Hunter	....	producer
Jacques Mapes	....	associate producer (as Jacque Mapes)

Original Music by
Burt Bacharach

Cinematography by
Robert Surtees		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Maury Winetrobe

Production Design by
E. Preston Ames		(as Preston Ames)

Set Decoration by
Jerry Wunderlich

Costume Design by
Jean Louis

Makeup Department
Thomas R. Burman	....	makeup artist (as Tom Burman)
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Raymond Gosnell	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mike Frankovich Jr.	....	second assistant director
Malcolm R. Harding	....	assistant director: second unit (as Mack Harding)
Russell Saunders	....	second unit director (as Russ Saunders)
Sheldon Schrager	....	assistant director
Jerry Ziesmer	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Max Frankel	....	prop master

Sound Department
Arthur Piantadosi	....	sound (as Arthur R. Piantadosi)
Jack Solomon	....	sound
Richard Tyler	....	sound
Dan Wallin	....	sound

Special Effects by
Butler-Glouner	....	special photographic effects

Visual Effects by
Matthew Yuricich	....	visual effects artist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bruce Surtees	....	cameraman: second unit
Harold E. Wellman	....	cameraman: second unit (as Harold Wellman)

Casting Department
Jack Baur	....	casting supervisor
Rose Tobias Shaw	....	casting supervisor
Frank Kennedy	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Guy C. Verhille	....	costume supervisor (as Guy Verhille)

Editorial Department
Earl Moore	....	assistant film editor
Abe Lincoln Jr.	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Burt Bacharach	....	conductor: original score
Hal David	....	lyricist
Jack Hayes	....	orchestral arrangements
Hermes Pan	....	stager: musical numbers
Ken Runyon	....	music editor
Leo Shuken	....	orchestral arrangements
Burt Bacharach	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Diana Lee	....	singing voice: Liv Ullmann (uncredited)
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer (uncredited)
Jerry Whitman	....	singing voice: Peter Finch (uncredited)
Andra Willis	....	singing voice: Olivia Hussey (uncredited)

Transportation Department
James Morris	....	transportation (uncredited)

Other crew
Bea Busch	....	assistant: Mr. Pan
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	titles
Don Morgan	....	publicity supervisor
Helen Morgan	....	unit publicist
Frank Radcliffe	....	assistant: Mr. Pan (as Frank Radcliff)
Marshall Schlom	....	script supervisor
Frank Tallman	....	aerial sequences
Robert Werden	....	unit publicist

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents) (as Columbia Pictures)
• Ross Hunter Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1973) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1975) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (VHS)
• Pioneer Entertainment (laserdisc)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R)
• Warner Home Video (2011) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R)

Special Effects

• Butler-Glouner (special photo effects)

Other Companies

• Edit International  sound effects editing (as Edit-International Ltd.)
• Lute Jerstad Adventures  climbing sequences supervised by
• Tallmantz Aviation  aerial sequences
• U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service  we thank for their cooperation and permission to photograph in Mt. Hood National Forest (as The U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Forest Service)
• U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service  we thank for their cooperation and permission to photograph in The North Cascades National Park (as The U.S. Department of the Interior and its National Park Service)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

150 min (original release) | 143 min (general release version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm prints)

Certification:

UK:U | Iceland:L | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Touring back-up singer and session-vocalist Jerry Whitman, who provided the singing voice for Peter Finch, was under obligation not to reveal his vocal participation. "They didn't want me capitalizing on it or putting out a press release," Whitman now says. "But the movie turned out to be such a bomb, I don't think anyone would care if I talk about it now."

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: The library at Shangri-La is supposed to be a repository for the world's great literature. There is a number of "Readers Digest Condensed Books" on its shelves.

Quotes:

[considering possible reasons why their plane has been hijacked]
Sam Cornelius:For good measure, they've got two journalists and - by his own account - a famous comedian.
Harry Lovett:Very funny. But what about you, Cornelius? Maybe they want you? Who are you?
Sam Cornelius:I'm somebody flying in a strange plane with a lunatic pilot and I'm trying to find out why - that's who I am!

Movie Connections:

Edited into Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Soundtrack:

WHERE KNOWLEDGE ENDS (FAITH BEGINS)

Those Dancing Fools

As Bette Midler used to say, "I never miss a Liv Ullman musical". Here is a film which attempts to inspire and uplift, and I guess it succeeds, if for reasons quite different from those intended.

Unless they attempt a musical version of "Schindler's List" this will probably be the all time champion in the "Play it straight" stakes. James Hilton's novella, heaven knows, was a piece of fluff which tantalised rather than explored its themes. The 1937 film was a winner because, hey, what Frank Capra film in the '30s wasn't?

But if we had to have a musical version, wouldn't it have been a good idea to hire a couple of musical stars?! Okay, at a push Bobby Van passes muster, and thank God that he's meant to be that annoying, because after five minutes the idea of him being lost in a snowdrift seemed eminently satisfying. But as for the rest - George Kennedy, Peter Finch, Sally Kellermann, John Gielgud, Olivia Hussey - well we aren't going to see them in a revival of "42nd Street" now are we? My favourite definitely has to be Kellermann and Hussey thumping around a library, the former looking bored, the latter very pregnant, singing what seems to be a 70s New Age version of the "Green Acres" theme.

But its Liv who suffers most. Swinging those bovine limbs of hers, singing some nonsense about the world being a circle which never ends - an apt description of the song - she seems light years away from Bergman. Actually she bears a striking resemblance to Bill Clinton in some of her long shots.

Only Michael York emerges with any credibilty. And that's mainly because his character keeps nagging everybody to run away. And who could blame him?