Lost Continent

Three directors collaborated on the Italian documentary Continente Perduto. The "lost continent" of the title is Asia, specifically Indonesia, here lovingly photographed in Ferraniacolor by Mario Craveri, Giannni Rafaldi and Franco Bernetti. Highlights include a Cantonese wedding aboard a floating junk, the annual wheat and rice harvest, the animal-sacrifice rites at the rim of a volcano, a ceremonial chariot race, and a bevy of Balinese dancers. Though there's no story to speak of, the film has the rhythm and pace of a "continuity" picture. Continente Perduto was the winner of a Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Directed by Enrico Gras, Giorgio Moser, Leonardo Bonzi, Lost Continent leans on a strong ensemble — Orio Vergani, George Bryan — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 1955.