Lord of the Flies (1963)

Genre: Drama

Directed by: Peter Brook

Starring: James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, Hugh Edwards

Running time: 92 minutes

I remember being showed the 1990 adaptation of this movie based on William Golding’s book of the same name while in a high school class, and I want to see that one again, but I decided to check out the 1963 black-and-white original before I get to the remake.

Lord of the Flies is the story of a group of British schoolboys being evacuated during the war. Their plane is shot down and they crash onto a deserted island. Left to fend for themselves in what should have been an idyllic situation in a beautiful paradise, the situation turned ugly when they start waging their own wars for power and control.

The power of this film is that most of the young actors hired to carry the story do not look like they are acting. The realism of the whole thing is uncanny. With kids, acting can come off as fake or flat at times, but, in the original Lord of the Flies, it does not feel that way at all. The filmmakers also did a fine job slowly building the tension up towards the climax. The end felt kind of weird, but the road there was pleasant.

Lord of the Flies offers a very pessimistic view on things, one that might seem depressing to some, but what we have seen in the news around the world does not make it all seem that far-fetched. Even pure little children can be corrupted once there are no rules to guide us.

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