Lord of the Flies (1963)

Lost on an island, young survivors of a plane crash eventually revert to savagery despite the few rational boys' attempts to prevent that.

Director:

Peter Brook

Writer:

William Golding (novel)

Stars:

James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, Hugh Edwards

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A group of young boys are stranded alone on an island. Left to fend for themselves, they must take on the responsibilities of adults, even if they are not ready to do so. Inevitably, two factions form: one group (lead by Ralph) want to build shelters and collect food, whereas Jack's group would rather have fun and HUNT; illustrating the difference between civilization and savagery.

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Plot Keywords:

innocence lost | airplane | smoking plane | walk | boy | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 August 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

El señor de las moscas

Filming Locations:

Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Two Arts Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #43.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Piggy: I've got the conch!
[the boys jeer and taunt him from above the cliff]
Piggy: [shouts] Which is it better to be, a pack of painted savages like you are, or sensible like Ralph is? Which is better, to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?
[Roger goes angry and pushes a huge boulder, which heads right to Piggy]
Piggy: AAH!
Ralph: Piggy!
[the boys go silently still as they see Piggy's body wash away in the sea]

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits list the entire production crew but none of the actors.

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Blue Steel/Lord of the Flies/Nuns of the Run/The Last of the Finest/Black Rain (1990)

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Soundtracks

Kyrie Eleison
(Raymond Leppard)
Performed by Choir Group

User Reviews

A Society without Perspectives and Rules

After a plane crash in the ocean, a group of British students reach an island. The boy Ralph (James Aubrey) organizes the other kids, assigning responsibilities for each one. When the rebel Jack (Tom Chapin) neglects the fire camp and they lose the chance to be seen by an airplane, the group split under the leadership of Jack. While Ralph rationalizes the survival procedures, Jack returns to the primitivism, using the fear for the unknown (in a metaphor to the religion) and hunger to control the other boys. His group starts hunting and chasing pigs, stealing the possession of Ralph's group and even killing people.

When I saw the 1990 "The Lord of the Flies", I found the impressive story very scary since it shows the lost of innocence of children fighting to survive in a society without perspective and rules. My immediate association was with my and other Third World countries, where many children are abandoned by the Government in their poor communities, and without education, perspectives in life and laws, become very young criminals working in gangs of drug dealers and thieves. In this movie, it is exposed how primitive a kid can be without the authority and respect, and this sort of violence is in the headlines of our newspapers almost every day. I have never the chance of reading this visionary novel, but both movies are very similar and I believe that they are good adaptations, with a frightening study of characters and sociology. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Senhor das Moscas" ("The Lord of the Flies")