Lord of the Flies

Name: Lord of the Flies
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Released: August 13, 1963
Duration: 92 min
Rating: 67
Cast: David Brunjes, Hugh Edwards, James Aubrey, Kent Fletcher, Nicholas Hammond

1963

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Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 10 Ratings

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Lord Of The Flies

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Movie Details & Credits

Continental Distributing | Release Date: August 13, 1963 | Not Rated

Starring: David Brunjes, Hugh Edwards, James Aubrey, Kent Fletcher, Nicholas Hammond, Peter Davy, Roger Allan, Roger Elwin, Tom Chapin, Tom Gaman

Summary: 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

Genre(s): Adventure, Drama, Thriller

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 92 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Chuck Bowen

Brook renders savagery with the despairing eye of a humanist, and with the irresolvable ambivalence of an artist. Read full review

Scott Tobias

As it stands, Brook’s adaptation is an encroaching nightmare of innocence lost, following Golding’s thesis about what happens when civilization breaks down and man’s true nature is revealed. Read full review

Christopher Machell

William Golding’s tale of public schoolboys stranded on a desert island is an iconic depiction of fundamental savagery. More than fifty years on, Peter Brook’s 1963 Lord of the Flies remains the definitive film, its hallucinogenic brutality as terrifying as ever. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Brook knows he can't have his 10- to 12-year-olds mouthing philosophical and poetic paragraphs, so he shoots it like a documentary, overcoming the starvation budget, the location problems, and the sometimes awkward performances. However, the principals are excellent. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

The theme of young boys reverting to savagery when marooned on a deserted island has its moments of truth, but this pic rates as a near-miss on many counts. Read full review

Bosley Crowther

A curiously flat and fragmentary visualization of the original. Read full review

Dave Kehr

William Golding's 1954 allegory on man's innate inhumanity is too facile by half, which makes it ideal for high school English classes but rather too gaseous and predictable for the movies. Read full review

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User Reviews

DawdlingPoet

Nov 25, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a somewhat thought provoking film. I was aware of the story, the main story certainly and I found some of the dialogue somewhat poignant. I suppose it's (if in part) a critical look at English colonialism, for one thing. The group/pack mentality is something that's probably just as relevant now as when the book was written and film made, I imagine, if not more so in a sense. The ending is somewhat bittersweet. Yes, I'd recommend this film.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

JLuis_001

May 10, 2022

The scariest aspect of the story as told by the book, and in this case the film, is how little it takes to jump right into the void of anarchy and chaos.

Sure, Lord of the Flies is mostly a tale of innocence lost, but it's more disturbing when you think that it's their very innocence whatThe scariest aspect of the story as told by the book, and in this case the film, is how little it takes to jump right into the void of anarchy and chaos.

Sure, Lord of the Flies is mostly a tale of innocence lost, but it's more disturbing when you think that it's their very innocence what stopped them from greater evil.

It's never pleasant when the true nature of man is revealed.

Even for the time of this film's release, the impact of the message is not at all diluted.
The performances are really unremarkable, none of the guys do anything special. The spotlight belongs to the story and for this film that's all that matters.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

eagleeyeviking

Mar 21, 2020

This adaptation gets the foundations of William Golding's classic right, and pairs it with phenomenal acting and technical brilliance behind the camera.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Broyax

May 8, 2022

Le livre dont il est tiré est sûrement plus intéressant, car en matière d’amateurisme et de maladresse, « Sa Majesté des Mouches » est à citer en exemple : on dirait un mauvais téléfilm boulotté à la dernière minute par deux stagiaires. Il est en effet incroyablement poussif et peineLe livre dont il est tiré est sûrement plus intéressant, car en matière d’amateurisme et de maladresse, « Sa Majesté des Mouches » est à citer en exemple : on dirait un mauvais téléfilm boulotté à la dernière minute par deux stagiaires. Il est en effet incroyablement poussif et peine énormément à illustrer son propos.

Les mômes sont livrés à eux-mêmes et on a bien davantage l’impression d’un reportage sur une colonie de vacances que de mômes véritablement abandonnés sur leur île déserte comme autant de **** Robinson…

Tout ça pour dire quoi au juste ? eh bien, le film s’échine à démontrer l’évidence (comme si on pouvait encore l’ignorer) que des moutards laissés à eux-mêmes sombrent dans l’anarchie et finissent comme une tribu de sauvages dégénérés avec moult dérapages à la clé. Rien que du très normal de chez standard, pas de quoi s’en émouvoir.

Evidemment, les angélistes seront sans doute choqués, puisque ce « vivre ensemble »-là de ces chers enfants n’est pas compatible avec l’idée qu’ils s’en faisaient (heal the world, Michael Jackson tout ça… quoique, pas si bon exemple en fait…). En tout cas, si cela se produisait de nos jours, ce serait assurément bien pire, vu l’éducation totalement à la dérive et quasiment inexistante de nos chères « têtes blondes » (plus vraiment blondes) qui baignent dans le socialo-communisme angéliste.

Le film a donc au moins le mérite d’exister et de défricher le terrain mais guère plus que cela. Sinon, pour voir le même avec des ados -et en bien fait cette fois- voir du côté de l’excellent premier Battle Royale (bien meilleur que le manga d’ailleurs !).… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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