Lord of the Flies
Continental Distributing | Release Date: August 13, 1963 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Slant MagazineChuck Bowen
Brook renders savagery with the despairing eye of a humanist, and with the irresolvable ambivalence of an artist. Read full review
90
The DissolveScott 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
80
CineVueChristopher 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
80
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Like Golding's novel, Flies wears its allegorical impulses on its sleeve, but, also like Golding's novel, it rings uncomfortably true. Read full review
70
Time OutStaff (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
50
Chicago ReaderDave 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
50
The New York TimesBosley Crowther
A curiously flat and fragmentary visualization of the original. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
There are some vicious highlights, but the acting is wildly variable, and the film manages to be both overwrought and dull. Read full review
50
VarietyStaff (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
More From This Movie

67 Critic Reviews

6.0 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 72 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL