Change Your Image
rmcatalina
Reviews
Lost Horizon (1973)
The Plot Makes for Unrealistic Expectations
Lost Horizon is not nearly as bad as the box office numbers would suggest. Its chief failing is the audience comes to see Shangri-La and sees, well, Burbank. Actually, it looks more like the Huntington Gardens. It would have been better to improve upon the book's shortcomings rather than try to recreate it. Perhaps a "Wizard of Oz"-like plot, where all of the people meet along parallel paths to Shangri-La, only to discover their real sanctuary was where they came from.
I remember getting a preview copy of the album quite some time before the film was released. I loved the music, but would have to agree the vocal performances are a disaster. But, I was looking forward to seeing it in the theater. At nearly 2.5 hours in its roadshow release, I was checking my watch about 45 minutes into the piece. Even when I watch it on DVD today, there are large sections I fast forward through.
As others have noted, why didn't Ross Hunter hire people who could sing in the key roles? Probably studio pressure for "bankable" stars who were "hot" at the time. No doubt someone also observed Bacharach & David are pop song writers, and you don't need to be a very good vocalist to sing pop--right? Well, the more recent musical disaster, the aptly named "Mamma Mia!" ABBA tribute also suffered from dreadful vocal performances. So much for the "anyone can sing pop" theory. Make no mistake, Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan are fine actors, but they should never the be the leads in a musical! Why not cast Glenn Close?
But back to "Lost Horizon," I think the other problem is by the time this was released in 1972, the music and presentation were considered dated or "old school." Similar complaints were leveled at Hunters 1970 film "Airport"--calling it "old fashioned filmmaking."
So, you've got three things working against the film: a dull plot, dated music, and principal vocalists who can't sing. Now some have commented that the Hollywood musical was dead by 1972. There were some other big features that only had mediocre results at this time, but just 6 years later, "Grease," with a budget of just $6 million, earned almost $400 million at the box office. No doubt it was helped by a couple of hit singles, but there was certainly some audience interest still out there.
Disney seems to have found a formula that appeals to a new generation with its "High School Musical" series and its forthcoming "Teen Beach Musical." Several of the studio's animated musical features have been remade into successful Broadway musicals. Time will tell if there is a revival of interest in big budget, big screen musicals with principals who can actually sing.
Piranha 3DD (2012)
Let's Swim With All of Our Clothes On!
I don't know about you, but I have never seen 20-somethings at any real beach or pool swimming dressed like they were going to a college class. But just as in the original "Piranha 3D," our hero men are fully dressed whenever they're in the water. It's a startling contrast to the treatment of women, who are usually naked or, at most, wearing a skimpy bathing suit. I know the target audience is 19-year-old guys, but I can't believe they'd be squeamish about men being shown in a realistic way. Look at the Hollister Co. website! Even in a bedroom sex scene, the guy's upper body is mostly covered up by a sheet. There is a very brief nude scene with him, but it's more of a flash cut compared to the women's scenes. With "Piranha 3D" I speculated the male lead of that film wore a shirt during the big rescue scene because he has a large tattoo on his arm in real life. Maybe that's the case with all of the young male stars today? Now, there is one exception: David Hasselhoff, in a role as a lifeguard, is shown with his shirt off -- but he probably should have left it on. Aside from this strange double standard swimming attire, "Piranha 3DD" tells essentially the same story as its predecessor, except with a new cast and more confined location. Aside from a sympathetic performance by Matt Bush, we don't get to know any of these characters well enough to care about them. The script is mostly series of vignettes of characters who just appear, get killed, and we move on to the next random couple. I laughed a few times at some unintentionally funny situations, but there really is no plot, other than the formula that repeats scene after scene. The biggest flaw is opening the show with a summary from the first film. This preempts any kind of mystery element in the first act. I saw this is a major theater on a Friday night...I was the only one in the house. I guess that sums it up best.