The Lost City of Z (2016)

A true-life drama, centering on British explorer Col. Percival Fawcett, who disappeared whilst searching for a mysterious city in the Amazon in the 1920s.

Director:

James Gray

Writers:

James Gray (written for the screen by), David Grann (based on the book by)

Stars:

Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller

5 wins & 28 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlie Hunnam	...	Percy Fawcett
Robert Pattinson	...	Henry Costin
Sienna Miller	...	Nina Fawcett
Tom Holland	...	Jack Fawcett
Edward Ashley	...	Arthur Manley
Angus Macfadyen	...	James Murray
Ian McDiarmid	...	Sir George Goldie
Clive Francis	...	Sir John Scott Keltie
Pedro Coello	...	Tadjui
Matthew Sunderland	...	Dan
Johann Myers	...	Willis
Aleksandar Jovanovic	...	Urquhart
Elena Solovey	...	Madame Kumel
Bobby Smalldridge	...	Jack Fawcett (7 Yr Old)
Tom Mulheron	...	Jack Fawcett (3 Yr Old)

Storyline

The Lost City of Z tells the incredible true story of British explorer Percy Fawcett, who journeys into the Amazon at the dawn of the 20th century and discovers evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization that may have once inhabited the region. Despite being ridiculed by the scientific establishment who regard indigenous populations as "savages," the determined Fawcett - supported by his devoted wife, son and aide de camp returns time and again to his beloved jungle in an attempt to prove his case, culminating in his mysterious disappearance in 1925.

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Plot Keywords:

jungle | based on book | explorer | based on true story | amazonia | 

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Taglines:

Based on the Best-Selling True Story

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, brief strong language and some nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese Tupi Spanish German

Release Date:

21 April 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Lost City of Z

Filming Locations:

Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$112,633, 14 April 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$8,580,410

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,509,437

Company Credits

Production Co:

Keep Your Head, MICA Entertainment, MadRiver Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min 104 min (Mainland China Cut Version)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Most of Pattinson's scenes took place in uncomfortable situations in the jungle, where he forged a close rapport with Hunnam. "Charlie and I would be an hour up river from the base camp basically covered in sand fleas all day," Pattinson says. "It's definitely a bonding experience when there's no way to hide from extreme conditions. I remember we pushed a wooden raft with horses on it upstream. After just one day of that, you're completely done, yet the real guys did this for three years every single day, going against the river. It's complete madness."

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Goofs

In many of the scenes the party is going visibly downstream while they are searching for the origin of the river.

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Quotes

Jack Fawcett: I understand that it's dangerous, but you've said so yourself, with everything that's happened in Europe, it's not possible to choose a safe passage through life. So many men near my own age did not return from the war, and... And who is to say it will not happen again? It could, mother. It could happen again.
Nina Fawcett: By all accounts, I should be furious because you've just... You've just used my very own words against me. And how can I refute them? They are my own.

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Alternate Versions

Originally rated R for "brief violence", the distributor chose to cut the movie to secure a PG-13 rating.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Amazing Movies You Missed This Spring (2017) (2017)

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Soundtracks

Morgenblatter, Op. 279
Composed by Johann Strauss (as Johann Strauss II)
Performed by Polish State Philharmonic Orchestra, Katowice
Conducted by Johannes Wildner
Courtesy of Naxos of America

User Reviews

Unusual Review Notes for an Unusual Movie

That the movie succeeds is a credit to Hunnam, who comes of age both literally and figuratively in this movie with a performance of great humility, charm, and grit. A far cry from his breakout role as a motorcycle gang leader, and an even further cry from his awkward performance in Guy Ritchie's unique (and hopefully never-to-be-repeated) view of young King Arthur as a slum thug.

Props to audiences worldwide who are connecting with a 2 hour and 20 minute opus that is as far from the new Transformers attempt as the earth is from the moon. Shows that quality film-making will always find an audience.

Would have been nice if the script were historically accurate but perhaps that is asking too much.

Ironically, because of the internet, the amount of solid new archaeological evidence being released each 24 hours in today's world would be the equivalent of ten years of time in Fawcett's era. In particular, I am referring to the material of late which suggests lost civilizations submerged in both the Atlantic and the Pacific over 12,000 years ago (see Graham Hancock's lectures for more, most free on Youtube) would explain how Brazil, centered between the two, could indeed have hosted a "lost city" which, thousands of years ago, entertained guests from both realms.

Finally -- for hard-core history buffs only -- the written diagrams preserved even today in the Archives of Rio de Janeiro ("Folio #512") which constitute the last known "communication" from the ACTUAL final, ill-fated, Fawcett expedition were discredited because "experts" of the day claimed they contained elements of different language roots, not one root, and hence "must" be fake. However, if indeed the area was a centerpoint between two now-lost civilizations originating in two different oceans, the multiple language roots would be expected and natural, and not an indication of fraud.