In 1905, British Army Major Percy Fawcett is ordered by the Royal Geographical Society to venture out to a grand adventure at the uncharted and dense Bolivian jungles to act as a referee and map out the borders with Brazil.
Anxiously, Fawcett, resting his reputation entirely on the venture’s success as the son of a disgraced ex-military man, together with aide-de-camp Henry Costin, will set off on a dangerous mission to Amazonia, where apart from the starvation, the infernal heat, the hostile indigenous Indian tribes and the wild animals, they will also find evidence of advanced, non-white civilizations.
Determined to find the impossible and the ultimate missing piece of the human puzzle, the Lost City of Z, the ambitious Fawcett will visit the lush Amazonian jungles again and again in hopes of getting closer to his dream up until his equally mysterious and ungracious disappearance near 1925.
Lost City of Z is a 2016 American biographical adventure drama film written and directed by James Gray, based on the 2009 book of the same name by David Grann. It portrays real events surrounding the British explorer Percy Fawcett, who was sent to Bolivia and made several attempts to find a supposed ancient lost city in the Amazon. The film stars Charlie Hunnam as Fawcett;[6] Robert Pattinson as his fellow explorer, Henry Costin; and Sienna Miller as his wife, Nina Fawcett.
The film’s world premiere was on October 15, 2016 as the closing-night selection at the New York Film Festival. It was released in the United States on April 14, 2017, by Amazon Studios and Bleecker Street. The Lost City of Z was praised by critics, though it grossed only $17 million against a $30 million budget. Despite this lack of financial success, Time magazine listed it as one of its Top 10 Films of 2017.
Principal photography began on August 19, 2015, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and continued for five weeks until late September. On August 28, the production shot at Greyabbey Village and Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland. Hunnam and Miller filmed scenes at Ballintoy County Antrim on August 31, and further shooting took place at Craigavon House, East Belfast on September 2.
Hunnam, Pattinson, Miller and Macfadyen shot scenes at Methodist College Belfast on September 3, 2015. On September 7, 2015, scenes were filmed at Belfast City Hall and on the grounds of Royal Belfast Academical Institution. Scenes were also shot at Bangor Castle Leisure Centre on September 13, 2015. Filming then moved to Santa Marta, Colombia, and continued through September and October.
Christopher Spelman composed the film’s musical score. He had previously composed the music for Gray’s 2013 film The Immigrant, and had been arranger on The Yards (2000), We Own the Night (2007), and Two Lovers (2008). George Drakoulias and Randall Poster were music supervisors. The film’s trailer featured “Tangled Earth” by audiomachine. The soundtrack was released digitally on March 24, 2017.
The Lost City of Z (2017)
Directed by: James Gray
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Tom Holland, Sienna Miller, Robert Pattinson, Harry Melling, Franco Nero, Angus Macfadyen, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Raquel Arraes, Elena Solovey, Tom Mulheron
Screenplay by: James Gray
Production Design by: Jean-Vincent Puzos
Cinematography by: Darius Khondji
Film Editing by: John Axelrad, Lee Haugen
Costume Design by: Sonia Grande
Set Decoration by: Naomi Moore
Art Direction by: Fiona Gavin, John Merry, César Montoya, Nigel Pollock, Emilia Roux, Nóra Takács
Music by: Christopher Spelman
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, brief strong language and some nudity.
Distributed by: Amazon Studios, Bleecker Street
Release Date: April 14, 2017
