StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

FrogGlace In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Kirpianuscus It is one of my favorit novels. because it remains the fundamental map for define the childhood, the dictatorship, the demons living in us, the temptation, the cold and hot, in same mesure, cruelty. and the adaptation of Peter Brook represents the inspired one. first, for the great cinematography . second - for lovely reflection of the essence of Wiiliam Golding masterpiece. not the last, for the performances. you feel each line of novel in this film, in its original sound and flavor and tension. you discover, again, the powerful message of the novelist. his fears. and his pesimistic perspective about the evil and its "freshness" of childre. entire universe of shadows and cruelty is reflected in the art of Peter Brook. and scene by scene I remind the period of high school when I was first time front to this magnificent book . it is an useful film. and this fact is only real important thing. for see the world from the right angle. for create, like me, a solid imafe about the demons inside us. and for become sincere. about yourself. about the others.

thejcowboy22 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."

capkronos 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.

dasnataree Okay, let me just say it: The 1990 screen adaptation was awful compared to this amazing film.I don't know why, but there's just something about this film that captures the disturbing essence of the story that the 1990 version lacks. This 1963 version is the most true adaptation to any book I have ever seen: For example, the boys actually have British accents, like the book, unlike the 90's version. In the 1963 version, there are no adults on the island (except for the parachuted man and the ranger who comes in at the end), exactly like the book. In the 90's version, the pilot is shown at the beginning (What the heck!?). When Piggy dies, he is ACTUALLY KNOCKED OFF THE CLIFF (unlike the 1990 movie, where the boulder bounces off his head- seriously, guys? Do you have any concept of the laws of physics?) The script follows the dialogue of the book nearly word-for-word, and has no music- which adds to the creepy aura of the story. All in all, it's an excellent film that I recommend to all people. I promise it will not let down fans of the book.