Frank Capra talks about the first screenings of Lost Horizon on Dick Cavett's show.
I was working in a video store when it came out on tape: a movie that should have been a classic, but never quite achieved that potential.
It was Frank Capra's Lost Horizon, based on the James Hilton novel about the the mysterious land of Shangri-la.
The Internet Movie Database has one of its original taglines as: "Millions to make it! . . . Two years in production! . . . The best seller that set a new style in romance floods the screen with splendor and drama surpassing Frank Capra's greatest past achievements, Mr Deeds and It Happened One Night.
It's not hard to believe some ad copy writer penned that in the world of breathless hyperbole that was 1930s film promotion.
"The Masterpiece Of America's Foremost Film Genius Blazes To The Screen!"
It was Capra who ended up setting the first two reels ablaze after a horrendous first screening of the movie that, despite seven Oscar nominations including best picture, has had a turbulent life. That video version that floated into our shop in the late 1980s included numerous scenes where the soundtrack played while stills stood on the screen and there were other signs that a completed copy could not be cobbled together.
But it was still a fascinating movie to look at, a mesmerizing portrait of people entering an icy, mythical land where the residents don't age and all is peaceful. It's a film that sticks in you memory as much for its art deco imagery as much as its story.
We get the rare treat of seeing it Wednesday on the big screen as part of the Kentucky Theatre's Summer Classics series, and we can decide for ourselves whether it's indeed a lost classic. Showtimes are 1:30 and 7:15 p.m. Admission is $3.
Lost Horizon sort of a mashup of guru goes to Gilligan's island paradise of the spaced-out and the Stepford Wives. Maybe someone (w/an odd viewpoint) like Terry Gilliam could do a remake that best portrays the utopian themes.
Posted by: Thomason | July 09, 2008 at 01:23 PM
What's amazing about this Capra clip from the Cavett show is that Cavett lets Capra talk for five and half minutes almost uninterrupted. He tells an anecdote with content and detail that would not be permitted on a TV talk show today. He'd be lucky to get five minutes before a commercial break.
It's a clip that brilliantly displays how shallow and attention-deficit television has become. I remember warmly when the talk on talk shows was interesting, intelligent, and was about something other than someone merely plugging something.
Rich replies:
That's why I'm such a big fan of Charlie Rose and Terry Gross. Their shows are about the only places you can see or hear anything like that Cavett clip, today.
Posted by: Charles Edward Pogue | July 09, 2008 at 08:29 AM