Lost Horizon

Title Cards: In these days of wars and rumors of wars - haven't you ever dreamed of a place where there was peace and security, where living was not a struggle but a lasting delight? Of course you have. So has every man since Time began. Always the same dream. Sometimes he calls it Utopia - Sometimes the Fountain of Youth - Sometimes merely "that little chicken farm." One man had such a dream and saw it come true. He was Robert Conway - England's "Man of the East" - soldier, diplomat, public hero. High Lama: [to Robert] I am placing in your hands the future and destiny of Shangri-La, for I am going to die. I knew my work was done when I first set eyes upon you. I've waited for you, my son, for a long time. I've sat in this room and seen the faces of newcomers. I've looked into their eyes and heard their voices, always in hope that I might find you. My friend, it is not an arduous task that I bequeath, for our order knows only silken bonds. To be gentle and patient, to care for the rich

Lost Horizon (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

George: We better make arrangements to get some porters immediately. Some means to get us back to civilization. Chang: Are you so certain you are away from it? George: As far away as I ever want to be.

Lost Horizon (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Chang: The High Lama wishes to see you, Mr. Conway. Robert: High Lamas or Low Lamas, do we get the porters? Chang: The High Lama arranges everything.

Lost Horizon (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

High Lama: You may not know it, but I have been an admirer of yours for a great many years. Oh, not of Conway, the empire builder and public hero. I wanted to meet the Conway who, in one of his books said, 'There are moments in every man's life when he glimpses the eternal.' That Conway seemed to belong here. In fact, it was suggested that someone be sent to bring him here. Robert: Of course, I have suspected that our being here was no accident. Furthermore, I have a feeling that we're never supposed to leave, but that for the moment, doesn't concern me greatly. I'll meet that when it comes. What particularly interests me at present is, why was I brought here? What possible use can I be to an already thriving community? High Lama: We need men like you here, to be sure that our community will continue to thrive, in return for which Shangri-La has much to give you. You are still, by the world's standards, a youngish man. Yet, in the normal course of existence, you can expect twenty or th

Lost Horizon (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Robert: Of course, I can't quite get used to this age thing. Sondra: I'm thirty. Robert: Oh, you're gonna make life very simple. It's inconceivable. Sondra: What? Robert: All of it. Father Perrault and his magnificent history. This place hidden away from the rest of the world with its glorious concepts. And now you come along and confuse me entirely. Sondra: Oh, I'm sorry. I thought I was to be the light. But why do I confuse you? Am I so strange? Robert: Oh, on the contrary, you're not strange. And that, in itself, is confusing. I had the same idea about, about Shangri-La. A sense that I've been here before, that I belonged here. Sondra: I'm so glad. Robert: I can't quite explain it, but everything is somehow familiar. The very air I breathe, the Lamasery with its feet rooted in the good earth of this fertile valley while its head explores the eternal. All the beautiful things I see - these cherry blossoms, you. All are somehow familiar. I've been kidnapped and brought here against my

Lost Horizon (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Robert: I'm waiting for the bump. Sondra: Bump? Robert: When the plane lands at Shanghai and wakes us all up. [Sondra pinches his arm] Ouch! Sondra: You see, it's not a dream. Robert: You know, I sometimes think that the other is the dream, the outside world.

Lost Horizon (film), CC BY-SA 4.0