Lost Horizon 4K 1937

“Movie magic” is a phrase that for me is associated with the work of Frank Capra. In his films you can find real heroes and true villains, a thrilling story, sincerity of feelings, and a share of good humor.

Fleeing from the military conflict that broke out in one of the provinces of China, British diplomat Robert Conway tries to take out 90 subjects of the United Kingdom. He himself, along with his brother, a paleontologist, a con man and a lady of dubious reputation, escapes by catching the last plane that will take them to Shanghai. But the pilot who hijacked the ship has other intentions. He took a course to the heart of the Himalayas, where from the eyes of the world, between the highest peaks, in a spacious mountain valley, hidden beautiful country. Its name is Shangri-La.

Time itself stops here, people do not age, birds always sing and everyone is happy. After a three-week stay in a wonderful country, not everyone wants to return to the real world. It seems that here everyone has found something to do and healed their heart wounds. Well, almost everyone... Within the group of newcomers a conflict arises, which reaches a climax when it is suddenly revealed to them that their airplane was here for a reason. This conflict not only splits the heroes into two camps, but also threatens the existence of the entire Shangri-La civilization.

The story of the movie itself deserves to be screened. Unprecedented for those times budget of 4 million dollars. Production of the movie dragged on for many months. Criticism from the censors, “thanks” to which in 1942 was removed 12-minute anti-war monologue, and in 1952 - the film was significantly cut for propaganda of communism and sympathy for China. After a few more years, the movie was lost. In 1973, the American Film Institute undertook the painstaking work of restoring the movie, which took 13 years. From many copies of the movie scattered all over the world, the picture was fully restored with the exception of 7 minutes of the video sequence.

And sometimes you thank fate that you live in such a time, when you have the opportunity to watch such a masterpiece in its entirety - without censorship. And that Genius has won the battle against time.