I love this movie so much

Just perfect...

Good movie but grossly overrated

Absolutely Fantastic

Seeing Lord of the Flies on film, I am struck by how unfaithful these screen counterparts are compared to the imaginary characters built up in my head from reading Golding's novel. They are tiny little things, barely even pubescent, and thoughts of savagery and bloodlust seem so far away. The novel's message is even more piercing when considered in this way; how easy it is to forget that these are the same little boys that descend into animalistic urge and desire later. Golding's words might have lulled some into complacency over the course of the chapters, but here there is a constant reminder through their pudgy limbs and wide eyes (and, to some extent, their English accents, which they recognise themselves as being the hallmark of civility and order). This low-budget feature version was shot by Peter Brook entirely on location, utilising all the harsh wilderness of the beach territories of Puerto Rico. The cast were all amateur actors, boys freed from authority and let loose to play on a deserted island. The style, a jagged combination of harsh natural lighting, sudden cuts and black and white images, saps the beauty from what should look like a holiday destination. The most frightening scene of the movie signifies the complete and utter abandonment of reason for savagery - when the boys gut Simon by the fireplace during nighttime. The cinematography continually throws the shots in and out of focus, one moment the white flames in sharp contrast, the next dancing chaotically in the background. And the hand-held camera bobs in motion as if it was one of the frenzied boys itself, chanting and getting right up into the painted faces of these savages. There are no light sources other than the fire and the bright spots of their torches, and in the darkness they become a trembling, murderous mass, more inhuman than human. Brook's rudimentary approach comes alive in some instances, and yet in others grounds the story. Most of Golding's figurative language is marred here; the painting of the island as firstly a wondrous paradise and then a nightmarish backdrop for ghouls and beasts, the forest as a teeming, dense thicket hiding the horrors of their imagination, even the palpable heat and scent of the island that the boys begin to be imbued with. The images wield darkness and shadow well, but the tribe become decidedly less menacing when they have to chant in open daylight. Golding's central allegory, of the beast and innate evil inside us all, also somewhat fades. Yes, there are grisly closeups of the rotting pig's head anointed with flies, but Brook ditches Simon's stumbling into surreal realisation, the horror of discovering something more terrible than any corporeal beast could ever be (unusual considering Brook's prior work in experimental theatre and Dali). The overall result is something like a strained documentary, trading periodical rawness and cynicism with stilted action, delivery and accents. It doesn't grip you like it should because there is still an undercurrent of rehearsal and civility under it, like a performance of a primary school play. Now, the 8mm murder mystery film that the boys shot themselves as they were acting out actual savagery? That I would like to see, because it would come from their own unplanned urges. And I wonder, of course, what quarrels might have occurred on that set, and who wrested directorial control from whom.

Shot on a low budget with tropical backdrop and an entire cast of children. There are Four standout preadolescence characters that represent different factions about life in this inverted Island society. Ralph who is by nature very practical (the protagonist)who represents order, and early in the movie is the productive leader.Jack is the antithesis of Ralph who was strong willed and an ego maniac as he already is making the majority of the young boys into warriors. As the movie wears on Jack takes off his school uniform and transforms into a cannibal savage type complete with war painted face and palm leave loin coverings. The vast majority follows suit over time which puzzle Ralph. Then there's Simon, slender and small in stature, who's dialogue is minimal at best but gives an impression of all that pure and good in the world and most importantly doesn't sway and is non-impressionable to the savagery that's brewing around the island. Finally there's our tragic figure Piggy. portly, bespectacled and colorful martyr of the story who tends to the little ones. Piggy who is teased and badgered by the group except for Simon and Ralph. Piggy's value to the young savages is his glasses which are used to start fires. Ralph quickly loses control of the children as they transform into wild like cannibals with war painted faces and spears. Some are even naked by films end. Two reasons for this is there is no adults around and secondly no hope of rescue in sight which poses many thoughts in my mind as I viewed this movie. The mystique of this picture is the unknown from past events. Why did the plane crash. How many Adults where on board? Why did this Boarding school from England travel across an ocean to this remote location? So many answered questions which is the glue that holds your imagination.You can't help yourself to continue watching this down hill spiral of this juvenile civilization, School yard style. Great performances by James Aubrey as Ralph Tom Chapin as Jack. Tom Gaman as Simon and Hugh Edwards as Piggy. Cleverly, the filmmaker's shot this movie in black and white as to not let the greenery overtake the somber and cannibalistic tone of the movie. On a spoiling note the death scenes of Piggy and Simon are heart wrenching. Film makers use music to soften the blow but not in this movie when it comes to death. When you see an innocent dead child floating in the murky water it shocking. A must see film on life's lessons that show's that human's young and old can easily fall into their inner demons.To quote Emma Cole, "...Our souls may be consumed by shadows,but that doesn't mean we have to behave as monsters."

A group of young English schoolboys are marooned on a South Pacific island after a plane crash. There's a war going on. Ralph encounters an asthmatic bespectacled Piggy. They find a conch and start blowing. The other kids gather. Jack leads a group of choir boys. The boys vote and elect Ralph leader. Ralph makes a rule that only the boy with the conch can speak. One of the younger boys claims to see a snakelike beast. Piggy uses his glasses to start a fire. Jack has a knife and the choir boys with newly made wooden spears kill a pig. Meanwhile a plane flies overhead but Jack's group had let the fire die out. Ralph and Jack conflict. The children begin to fear a beast that comes out of the sea and Jack vows to hunt down the beast. Jack and Ralph lead the group into the jungle and find a pilot in a parachute. They all run away thinking that it's the beast. Jack belittles Ralph as a leader and starts his own tribe. After a hunt, Jack puts the pig's head on a spike as an offering to the beast and then raid Jack's camp for fire. Simon discovers the pilot and tries to explain the feared beast. The children mistake him for the beast and kill him. After Jack's group steal Piggy's glasses, Ralph's remaining group go to confront Jack. Jack's cruel second-in-command Roger pushes over a boulder and kills Piggy. Ralph goes into hiding and Jack tries to hunt him down.The use of unknown young boys to play the boys give it a feel of faux realism. The boys are very naturalistic. The use of such young boys heightens the fear. James Aubrey has an inner intelligence that shines through as Ralph. Hugh Edwards is a great Piggy. Tom Chapin is not quite threatening enough as Jack. The black and white puts the movie in a stark world. It does justice to the words on the page.

William Golding's 1954 novel "Lord of the Flies" has gone down as one of the most widely-read and acclaimed books of the 20th Century and beyond thanks to the author's melding of solid, though deceptively straight- forward storytelling with allegory, making it an excellent tool to introduce various literary devices to students (hence why it is usually a staple of high school and college English curriculum). TIME Magazine even included it on their list of the 100 Best English-Language Novels written between 1923 and 2005. The novel itself can be enjoyed on many fronts. If nothing else, it's a fascinating premise: What WOULD a bunch of young boys do if stranded somewhere with no adults around, no rules, no laws, no structure or discipline and left to their own devices? The fact it also happens to rich as an allegory on human nature and societal structure is just the icing on top. Golding himself summed up his intent rather simply by stating it's "... about the problem of evil and the problem of how people are to live together in society." That basic concept is put front and center in director Peter Brook's film adaptation and relayed with power despite some obvious technical issues that arise.An airplane full of young British schoolboys - ranging from about 6 years old to early teens - crashes somewhere on an uninhabited island. Ralph (James Aubrey), the son of a Navy commander who thinks the paternal figure he idolizes will soon come find them, stumbles upon the chubby, insecure, bespectacled, talkative Piggy (Hugh Edwards) first and the two make their way down the beach, discovering more of their schoolmates as they go. Along the beach come a second and smaller group of slightly older boys, led by Jack (Tom Chapin). Things begin harmlessly enough, with the kids essentially viewing the experience as some extended camping trip. They play games, laugh, play pranks, gather fruit, start a fire and build a shelter from branches as they await rescue. Using a majority rules vote to establish a new leader in Ralph, the group set down a few basic ground rules at the outset to maintain order, like using a conch shell as a platform to speak without interruption and keeping a fire going at the island's highest peak so a passing aircraft may see it, but things quickly go to hell.Once one of the boys claims to see a "snake-like" shape-shifting beast stirring among the bushes at night (which later turns into a mythical sea beast), a seed of superstition and paranoia encroaches on the new society and things escalate from there. Jack and his group deem themselves "the hunters," sharpen spears, paint their faces, dress in animal rags, leave pig heads on stakes as an offering to their perceived new God and quickly descend into a life of violent tribal savagery, while Ralph loses his power and his numbers once his rival proves he can provide better and has no issue using deadly force as a means to silence those who oppose the new way. After having swayed the majority of others over to his side, Jack and his few remaining allies realize their own lives are in grave danger.Filmed in 1961 in Puerto Rico, this low budget production had numerous technical issues that needed tended to before it could finally be released in 1963. The major problem was the audio, most of which was not actually recorded on location due to various natural noises the filmmakers really couldn't do anything about. As a result, most of the dialogue was dubbed in later and, sadly, they didn't do a very good job of it. Audio levels really seem off throughout. Many seem to have issues with the casting of inexperienced boys instead of trained child actors in all of the roles, which results in some wooden, amateurish and / or stilted dialogue readings. Personally it didn't bother me all that much, but it will some viewers. If you can ignore the above issues, this is a visually splendid film that's atmospherically photographed on beautiful locations and it manages to generate a great desolate feel apart from the 'civilized' world.Most importantly of all, Brook actually does the source novel justice. Very little of importance was left out and the director conveys exactly what the book is trying to say. That's especially impressive considering he had to narrow down around 60 hours (!) of total filmed footage to just 90 minutes for the theatrical release. Supposedly a 100-minute version was initially released to Cannes, but I don't believe that cut has ever been made commercially available. A more polished and bigger- budgeted color remake was made in 1990 by director Harry Hook. Though it's not a terrible movie, it lacks the character and artistry of this original version.