Lord of the Flies (1963)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Peter Brook

Writers:

Peter Brook (writer)
William Golding (novel)

Release Date:

13 August 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Evil is inherent in the human mind, whatever innocence may cloak it...

Plot:

Shipwrecked on an island, the castaway boys eventually revert to savagery despite the few rational kids' attempts to prevent that.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Hunting | Survivor | Young Boy | Stranded

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

James Aubrey	...	Ralph
Tom Chapin	...	Jack
Hugh Edwards	...	Piggy
Roger Elwin	...	Roger
Tom Gaman	...	Simon
Roger Allan	...	Piers
David Brunjes	...	Donald
Peter Davy	...	Peter
Kent Fletcher	...	Percival Wemys Madison
Nicholas Hammond	...	Robert
Christopher Harris	...	Bill
Alan Heaps	...	Neville
Jonathan Heaps	...	Howard
Burnes Hollyman	...	Douglas
Andrew Horne	...	Matthew

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:AA (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Iceland:12 | Finland:K-11 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

Company:

Two Arts Ltd.

Trivia:

In 1996, 35 years after the film was made, the BBC created a documentary about the making of the film called "Time Flies", which reunited the main cast and crew on the beaches of the Caribbean where it was filmed; an article written by one of the actors, Tom Gaman mentioned that of the boys, only the one who played Ralph (James Aubrey) pursued an acting career. Others went on to have very different ones: Gaman became a freelance forester in Inverness, California; Hugh Edwards (Piggy) became an engineer for a Russian firm; Tom Chapin became a gold mine geologist in Nevada and the twins David and Simon Surtees (Samaneric) remained together, living with their families in the UK and working as a guidance counselor and political administrator respectively. (NOTE: Contrary to Mr. Gaman's article, another of the boys besides James Aubrey, Nicholas Hammond, who played Roger, had a quite extensive film & TV career, playing, among other roles, one of the children in "The Sound of Music" and an early screen version of Spiderman.)

Goofs:

Factual errors: As Piggy is nearsighted, his spectacles could not be used as a "magnifying glass" to light a bonfire: lenses for nearsightedness would scatter, not concentrate, the sun's rays. (This error occurs in the original novel and was perpetuated in the 1990 remake.)

Quotes:

Ralph: Someone has to stay behind. Piggy...
Jack: [interrupts] Sure, protect Piggy like you always do.
Ralph: Don't be stupid. What can he do with just one eye?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Goodbye to All That (#2.5)" (2008)

What's Everyone Complaining About?

After reading Golding's classic novel, my class watched this adaption of "Lord Of The Flies" in our literature class. I found it to be quite good, and a hell of a lot better than the 1990 version, which alters all too many important moments and characteristics of the book. Reading over these comments, I was very confused. 1. The story and moral of "Lord Of The Flies" is so haunting and powerful that it does not need an overly dramatic score. The tune that Jack and his choir sing around the island is just the right touch. 2. Of course the acting wasn't as amazing as it could have been! Everyone seems to be forgetting just how young and inexperienced these boys were. Besides, the character's in Golding's story are just as young, and act their age (however violent and disturbing it may be). I found the camera work to be quite lovely. The film uses beautiful shots, which only enhance it even more. The final scene is one of my favorites. My only bone to pick is how quickly the film goes through the events in the book. I really do wish it would have slowed down a bit, and concentrated more on such characters as Simon, as well as the boys transformation into savages. Overall I found this adaption of "Lord Of The Flies" to be fantastic. My advice to future viewers of this film is to read the book first, definitely watch this 1963 version afterwards,and completely avoid the 1990 version all together.