Main Cast: James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, Hugh Edwards, Roger Elwin, Tom Gaman
Release Year: 1963
Country: UK
Run Time: 90 minutes
Plot
Peter Brooks' big-screen adaptation of William Golding's classic Lord of the Flies adheres closely to the source material. After a plane accident, 30 school-age boys find themselves stranded on an island. The boys decide that the disciplined Ralph (James Aubrey) will be their leader. Jack (Tom Chapin) heads up a group who will hunt and butcher the local population of pigs for food. Also on the island is the mature, intelligent Piggy (Hugh Edwards). Eventually Ralph and Jack become the center of a war for leadership on the island. The story was filmed with less success in 1990. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Review
Director Peter Brooks' depiction of William Golding's novel is appropriately dark and dreary; he is able to attain the perfect balance of innocence and hedonism needed to bring this adventure/morality tale to life. The children are played primarily by non-actors, giving the film a much-needed natural feel. Some might view the lack of budget and amateurish acting as a flaw, but when compared to Harry Hook's more polished, higher-budgeted 1990 adaptation, it is clear Brooks' version is truer to the source material. The images Brooks puts forth in his film are as shocking and startling as they were in the novel, in part due to the naiveté of the actors. Piggy's Hugh Edwards physical appearance is just as Golding described him, as is Ralph James Aubry. Creating an accurate film adaptation of a well received novel is no easy task, but Brooks has done a wonderful job of visualizing this classic novel. ~ Laura Abraham, All Movie Guide
Peter Brook - Director, Peter Brook - Editor, Gerald Feil - Editor, Raymond Leppard - Composer (Music Score), Lewis M. Allen - Producer, Peter Brook - Screenwriter, William Golding - Book Author, Edwin Wilson - Producer's Assistant
Lord of the Flies is a 1963film adaptation of William Golding's novel of the same name. It was directed by the renowned theatre director Peter Brook and produced by Lewis M. Allen, known since for producing films based on modern-classic novels. The film was in production for much of 1961 though the film was not released until 1963. Golding himself supported the film. When Kenneth Tynan was a script editor for Ealing Studios he commissioned a script of “Lord of the Flies” from Nigel Kneale, but Ealing Studios closed in 1959 before it could be produced.
Brook looked at over three thousand child actors before choosing the cast.[1] The parents of those chosen are reported to have been provided copies of the novel, from which a commentary had been physically removed; those pages included describing the culmination of the hunt of a wild sow as an "Oedipalwedding night". Hugh Edwards, the actor who plays Piggy, got the role by writing a letter to Brook saying simply: "Dear sir, I am fat and wear spectacles."[1] He went to school in Camberley, and it is likely that the scene in which he tells the 'littluns' about the history of Camberley was not scripted but improvised.
Production
The boys in the cast had mostly not read the book, and actual scripting was minimal; scenes were filmed by explaining them to the boys, who then acted them out, with some of the dialogue improvised. The completed film was given an X Certificate by the BBFC, for its mature themes; ironically, none of the speaking cast could watch the movie at its premiere, even though they performed in it.
The song heard throughout the film of the boys singing is Kyrie Eleison which translated from Greek means "Lord, have mercy" as taken from prayer of Christian liturgy.
Differences between the book and the film
The film follows the book very faithfully, but there are a few differences:
The killing of the mother sow is not shown, only the boys stabbing at something off-screen.
Similarly, the dead parachutist mistaken by Sam and Eric for the beast isn't entirely seen the first time, only their reaction to seeing it but they do see the parachute flapping in the wind behind the mountain.
Piggy does not make an emotional speech denouncing Jack and imagining a confrontation after the theft of the glasses.
Ralph does not insult Piggy as much as in the novel.
The boys spot a plane instead of a ship.
Piggy hardly ever cleans his spectacles.
Simon has very few lines throughout the film.
Simon does not actually talk to the pig head, he merely stares at it for a long period of time, as the flies buzzing grows increasingly louder.
When Jack leaves the tribes the whole re-election scene is left out, instead, he just leaves the tribe and asks who wants to come with him.
In the film, Piggy tells a story to the littluns about Camberley, a town not even mentioned in the book.
At the end of the book, Ralph talks to the navy officer and tells him about the deaths of Simon and Piggy; in the movie, it is left out.
In the book, Simon is said to have black hair and a dark complexion; in the movie, he has blonde hair and is very fair. Golding's point in the book was to make him a Christ-like figure, and as Christ was from Jerusalem, he would have looked like this. However, in the film, he's made to look like the modern, westernised view of a Christ figure.
In the book, it is said that Ralph is slightly taller than Jack; in the movie, Jack is taller.
In the book, Jack's hair is said to be red. In the movie, though it was filmed in black and white, his hair is clearly brown.
Simon's death is less violent.
Sam and Eric were not painted when Ralph went to see them after they were forced to join Jack's tribe; in the movie, they were.
Ralph is said to have "fair hair" in the book; however, in the movie it is clearly brown.
The film received mostly positive reviews. It has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 12 reviews. It has an average score of 7.1/10 on Internet Movie Database.
