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:

Boy | Island | Stranded | Hunting | Survivor

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
Richard Horne	...	Lance
Timothy Horne	...	Leslie
Peter Ksiezopolski	...	Francis
Anthony McCall-Judson	...	Morris
Malcolm Rodker	...	Harold
David St. Clair	...	George
Rene Sanfiorenzo Jr.	...	Charles
Jeremy Scuse	...	Rowland
John Stableford	...	Digby
David Surtees	...	Sam, twin (as The Surtees Twins)
Simon Surtees	...	Eric - twin (as The Surtees Twins)
Nicholas Valkenburg	...	Rupert
Patrick Valkenburg	...	Robin
Edward Valencia	...	Frederick
John Walsh	...	Michael
David Walsh	...	Percy
Jeremy Willis	...	Henry

Directed by
Peter Brook

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Peter Brook		writer
William Golding		novel

Produced by
Lewis M. Allen	....	producer
Gerald Feil	....	associate producer
Al Hine	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Raymond Leppard

Cinematography by
Tom Hollyman		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Peter Brook
Gerald Feil
Jean-Claude Lubtchansky

Casting by
Terry Fay
Michael McDonald

Makeup Department
Lydia Rodriguez	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Toby Robertson	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Leslie Colombani	....	sound assistant
Carter Harman	....	sound recordist
James Townsend	....	sound supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
George Berrios	....	first assistant camera
Leslie Colombani	....	assistant lighting technician
Gerald Feil	....	camera operator
Tom Hollyman	....	camera operator
Erik Jordan	....	clapper boy
Miguel Nazario	....	second assistant camera
Jim Sheldon	....	chief grip
Jim Sheldon	....	gaffer
John Walsh	....	clapper boy

Casting Department
Barbara Hodgdon	....	casting assistant: Washington
Jean Hollyman	....	casting assistant
Dolores Keator	....	casting assistant: Jamaica
Stella Maude	....	casting assistant: London
Fiona St. Clair	....	casting assistant: Puerto Rico

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Susan Fletcher	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Nell Cook	....	assistant editor
Liliane Korb	....	assistant editor
Solange Lubtchansky	....	assistant editor
Stella Maude	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Raymond Leppard	....	conductor

Other crew
Lewis M. Allen	....	presenter
Phil Crawshaw	....	general assistant
Dana Hodgdon	....	presenter
Sesyle Joslin	....	general assistant
David Korda	....	general assistant
Stella Maude	....	script supervisor
Sheila More	....	title designer
Guy Neale	....	title designer
Digby Turpin	....	title designer
Edwin Wilson	....	assistant to producer
Elinor Wright	....	assistant to producer
M.J. Bogdanowicz	....	technical consultant (uncredited)
Cynthia Keith	....	registered nurse (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Two Arts Ltd.

Distributors

• British Lion Film Corporation (1963) (UK) (theatrical)
• Continental Distributing (1963) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1990) (UK) (VHS)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Lumiere Pictures (1996) (UK) (VHS)
• Public Media (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1976) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)
• Diamond Entertainment Group (DEG) (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Future Film (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• King of Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• Nagra/Kudelski Sound Recorders  special thanks
• Volkswagen of Puerto Rico  special thanks

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.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: After the vote for chief, a stake is visible in the sand at 14:23 on the DVD saying "Anthony M", telling Anthony McCall-Judson, one of the actors, where in the group he is supposed to sit.

Quotes:

Ralph: His name's not Fatty. It's Piggy.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Lost: What Kate Did (#2.9)" (2005)

A MASTERPIECE.

This is one of those rarest of rare birds: a film that is totally faithful to the novel upon which it is based.

During his lifetime, William Golding was ever protective of his greatest creation. When it came to making a film of 'Lord of the Flies' some of the greatest screen writers and playwrights of the day had a go at producing a script for it - all of them being turned down by Golding himself. Finally, it was decided to attempt the film as a sort of Drama Workshop. Thus it was that 30+ boys, plus director Peter Brook, a film crew and the regulation chaperones found themselves living in a bunk house, which had been an old canning factory, on the island of Vieques off Puerto Rico, with little more than copies of the novel and an outline of the idea and the limitation of the school holidays in which to make the film.

The result defies belief. This is a masterpiece of Youth Drama, years ahead of its time. Even today, 40 years on, it is still staggering in its truth and clarity. The powerful imagery, chilling in its simplicity, far transcends anything which could be achieved with present day digital trickery. Not for this film the obvious blood and guts of action horror; here we have the most unspeakable acts made far more terrifying by their very understatement. (Simon's death must be one of the foulest acts ever filmed - but then, in reality, it was not - it is all in the imagination of the viewer and becomes far more terrible than any actual depiction of the act of ritualistic murder could ever be!).

When the great day of reckoning comes, this film will stand head and shoulders above all other film adaptations of novels.