Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Lost Horizon 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown December 7, 2024

Making its UltraHD debut in 4K is director Frank Capra's 1937 drama Lost Horizon, which was proceeded by an unfortunate musical version in 1973. The Capra original was previously released on Blu-ray in 2017 with a very good audio/video duo, but nothing that remotely bests this edition's presentation. Sony's new 2160p video presentation and lossless mono audio track are excellent, making this the definitive version of the film. The disc also features numerous previously released extras from 2017.

Diplomat, author and likely England's next Foreign Secretary Robert Conway rescues ninety British citizens from a Chinese revolution. Along with his brother George, paleontologist Alexander Lovett, fugitive industrialist Henry Barnard and tuberculosis-stricken Gloria Stone, Robert barely escapes on the last Shanghai-bound airplane. Unfortunately, the plane is hijacked and eventually crashes in the mountains of Tibet. With their pilot dead and hopes of rescue waning, all seems lost. Until, that is, a lama named Chang arrives and leads them to a mysterious valley paradise. This extraordinary place, Shangri-La, has no connection or communication with the outside world, making Robert feel strangely at home. He begins a friendship with Chang, who explains the city was founded over two-hundred years ago by the wise Belgian Father Perrault. Robert's party of survivors, however, are divided as to whether to trust their hosts. As the weeks pass, the group assimilates and settles in, some finding love, some finding other pleasures and respites, but all wondering if Shangri-La is real or a true place of magic.

Click here to read Jeff Kauffman's review of the film, which he calls "a study in rather marked philosophical contrasts." Adding, "that's perhaps one reason why it's both appealed to misty eyed dreamers while also annoying those who have a more activist sensibility. Robert Riskin's screenplay quite smartly addresses the kind of quandary Conway faces when greeted with the opportunity for (more or less) immortal life and constant peace, when he can't stop thinking about a world in turmoil where his presence might make a difference. That makes this film's ending especially provocative, for those who care to consider the consequences of Conway's decision."

Lost Horizon 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Created from the same native 4K master as the 2017 Blu-ray (itself already boasting an excellent video presentation), Sony's new 4K image doesn't offer the same remarkable BD-to-UHD upgrade as some of the other films in the Frank Capra at Columbia Collection. That doesn't mean it isn't worthy of a lot of praise, though. Unburdened of age, the picture captures every step of the wondrous adventure, its ambitious production and the (for the time) extraordinary production design. Lost Horizon appears to spare no expense, and the Sony presentation doesn't either. Detail is crisp yet natural, with no edge halos or markings of digitized or artificial tinkering. Fine textures are resolved precisely and to perfection, with a grain field that doesn't falter or fail. (There are some moments where grain grows a tad chunky, but each one is a product of the original photography, not the encode.) Likewise, the black and white cinematography is as sumptuous as it could be, with deep black levels, sometimes stunning contrast leveling, and undeterred delineation. Issues such as blocking, banding or encoding mishaps are non-existent.

The only "issue," if it can even be called that, is one that stems from inherent difficulties in creating the 4K master. As described in a trio of title cards at the beginning of the film, "When Frank Capra's Lost Horizon was first shown in March, 1937, it had a runtime of 132 minutes. Over the years, nearly 25 minutes of the film were removed, and various shortened versions were reissued. By 1967 the original nitrate camera negative had deteriorated, and no copies of the full-length film were known to survive. The initial restoration of Lost Horizon began in 1973 when The American Film Institute conducted an exhaustive survey of archives around the world to identify all surviving versions of the film. As a result of the AFI's efforts, a complete 132-minute soundtrack was located, and all but seven minutes of the picture. The technical quality of the newly found material ranged from excellent to poor.

For the current restoration, Sony Pictures completed an all-digital restoration, starting from the film elements restored in collaboration with UCLA Film and Television Archive in 1999, utilizing additional elements and incorporating one minute of newly located footage. Because the picture is still six minutes shorter than the soundtrack, the missing scenes have been filled in with freeze frame images from the film and with a selection of surviving production still photographs." Distracting? The stills are, admittedly, a bit distracting. But necessary? Yes, and far more interesting than simply getting a more incomplete version of the film. It would have been nice had two video presentations been made available -- one with and one without the new material that requires the photographs -- but beggars can't be choosers. All told, it's hardly worthy of a complaint. Lost Horizon has never and, for the moment, will never look better than it does here.

Lost Horizon 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The only real problem affected Sony's otherwise solid DTS-HD Master Audio mono offering is the above mentioned difficulties in the mastering process and the quality of the original elements. As my colleague noted in his 2017 Blu-ray review, there remains a slight tinniness and "boxiness" to the overall tone and tenor of the track, but Capra was filming Lost Horizon under difficult circumstances and can hardly be blamed for pushing things to the 1930s edge. Dialogue is nevertheless intelligible and well-prioritized, effects are represented nicely, and music is handsome (if a bit thin). Still, it's hard to gripe when the restoration delivers so much through so many challenges.

Lost Horizon 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Like the 2017 Blu-ray, the 2024 4K edition includes the following extras:

• Audio Commentary by critic Charles Champlin and UCLA film restoration expert Robert Gitt
• Restoration Featurette
• Alternate Ending
• Before & After Comparison
• Opening Credit Comparison
• Photo Documentary
• Theatrical Trailers

Lost Horizon 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lost Horizon remains a stirring and, yes, magical adventure that has withstood the test of time despite all that's come against it. It is, in every sense, a true classic that many have never seen. Sony's 4K release makes it that much easier, with a striking 4K restoration and presentation, a solid mono audio mix, and a strong selection of supplements.