Alkitrang dugo (1975) User Reviews

A decent adaptation of a literary masterpiece

[billybutts · 7/10 · 30 December 2011]

I recently came across this one on the TFCNow website. I see no one has left a review yet so I figure I might as well be the first. I'm surprised this one never got a wider release, since after all it is based on what is often considered a literary masterpiece, Lord of the Flies. The film remains fairly true to the novel but does take a few liberties in some places. For instance, there are now females trapped on the island as well, whereas in the original it was all males. The film is comparable in quality to the original 1963 black and white version, both being far superior to the 90s remake. Perhaps one reason this film never got a wider release is that it has been adapted primarily for a Filipino audience. That is, the story deals with clashes between Filipino social classes unknown to western audiences. As it stands I had trouble finding a subtitled copy. English is spoken occasionally but it helps to be fluent in Tagalog.