| James Aubrey | Ralph |
| Tom Chapin | Jack |
| Hugh Edwards | Piggy |
| Roger Elwin | Roger |
| Tom Gaman | Simon |
| Nicolas Hammond | |
| Surtees Twins | Sam & Eric |
| David M. Walsh | |
| Johnny Walsh | |
| Jerome Willis |
| Peter Brook | Director, Editor, Screenwriter |
| Lewis M. Allen | Producer |
| Gerald Feil | Editor |
| Raymond Leppard | Score Composer |
joytoy
Posted October 1, 2010
this is one of the best film of its time. better than the remake, but it
has been re-edited from the origional i have on VHS. still not to much change, but suttle in its character.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
'Lord of the Flies' (1963 British) is a fine adaptation of William Goldings classic novel dealing with the dark side of humanity. The story portrays the descent into savagery of a group of English schoolboys marooned on a desert island. It should be required viewing for any college class studying the formation of governments. The movie powerfully illustrates the Founding Fathers correct view of human nature and why they divided the U.S. government into three parts. Do NOT confuse this with the far inferior American (1990) version.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 15, 2010
This story is about surviving on and island with a bunch of boys and only boys interesting stuff happens in this story from big beast to dying making fires with out fire making shelter everything you would need to do if you were on and island hunting getting wood.
Starting from the beginning, the boys are shot down from a plane and then they all meet up on the beach and eventually they decide to pick a leader. Some people were fine with the out come others were not. Getting threw the story there becomes what is known as two different tribes. And they raid each other for food . Being on island you would except a party. And that's what happened there was food and dancing and chanting but someone dies a gruesome death of falling off a mountain getting toward the end of that party because all the boys forget how to act . Ralph the leader of the first tribe is being chased by the other tribe and as soon as he basically gives up. you will have to read the rest to see what happens.
More on the two tribes. It all started when the plane was shot down all the boys went out every where and eventually ended up on the beach when everyone had decided to have a leader and someone was voted to be leader, and this was Ralph but someone else was not happy because he was the other person who was chosen to be elected but did not win. So Ralph ends up being the leader for a little while. Getting further in the story jack, the boy who did not win was a boys choir director. Him along with the other boys in the choir with him decided to make there own tribe and slowly more and more people went to Jacks tribe over the days and night This is wear the story gets more interesting and more and more stuff start to happen like how they have to hunt to survive and they think there is a beast out there and people die and don't know what to do everyone just forgets how to act.
My opinion of this book is that if you enjoy adventure you will love this book. It is a fast pace book, yet easy to read because it keeps your attention. I recommend this book to be read.
Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
Lord of the Flies is an age old story of the battle between good and evil, when pressed with tough times. When a devastating plane crash causes a group of people to become stranded on an island, two boys try to lead the people the best way they know how. Which brings about a conflict with the two boys because one boy tries to resort back to the primitive mankind roots by creating a society based solely on the concept that the strong shall survive, but his counter part thinks that they need to build shelter a try to send signals so that they can get help so that they can get back home. That's where the major conflict arises because now the problem is who is the right leader to follow, the one who is trying to survive on the island or the one who's trying to get back home. The author wrote this book in a very impressive way because to me it was hard to find out who was the best one to follow, because if you wanted to survive you would do whatever you had to and to the boys in their eyes neither one of them were wrong. So at first the people are following Ralph until jack show that he can hunt and get food. So that when the switch occurs and the people start following jack and became savages, all looking out for themselves. But Ralph doesn't give up he steady works to get them away from jack and try to get them all home, even though they hunted him and tried to kill him after they killed piggy. That is what you call an epic hero, a hero that can still triumph even when the world is against them. That is what makes him the protagonist in this story is his will to do the right thing for the well-being of the entire group. But Jack wasn't an antagonist by choice it was forced on him by the situation. He did what he had to do to survive the best way he knew how, which he made a choice to do what he thought was right when it came to him staying alive. Any other person making a choice that hard at a young age like that may not have made the choice to be a leader in the first place. But all in all the this was a very good story.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Ari27
Posted October 1, 2010
"It will enlighten you on the nature of human instinct. It will show you the horror that exists within your own mind. It will teach you morals that you'll remember for a lifetime. It is "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding." William Golding was born in Cornwall, UK, 1911.Previous to writing this novel, Golding was a schoolteacher, actor, sailor, and musician. In 1940 Golding joined the naval army which eventually would have a major influence on the bestselling novel "Lord of the Flies."
The novel "Lord of the Flies" is a story of a group of boys that were on an evacuation plane to elude war. However, the plane was shot down, and it crashed onto a deserted tropical island. With no pilot to be found, the groups of boys were left stranded on the island to figure things out for themselves. The main character in this novel was the chosen leader of the boys.Ralph. His foil character is Jack, who will eventually lead a revolt against Ralph. However, as the boys try to find different ways to survive, there are unusual occurrences that are taking place on the island. This novel is "jam-packed" with adventure and suspense guaranteed to keep you reading.
This novel has many different themes to learn from. One of the most important is the loss of innocence. This theme is shown throughout the novel when murder takes place. For instance: there is a "scene" in the novel where the boys murder Simon. This scene portrays the beginning of the transformation of the boys from civilized young men into savaging animals. It also represents the nature of human instinct, and what can happen to the young when an adult figure is not present. This novel shows what happens when there is a dual for power, and what happens when the evil overpowers the good.
"Lord of the Flies" was an amazing book. If I had the power to rate it I would give it a "9 out of 10." This novel contains the elements of a story that a reader needs to keep interested and attentive. Not only does it have suspense and mystery, but also humor. William Golding does an amazing job with imagery and painting pictures into the readers mind. This novel is definitely a "classic", and I would recommend it to anyone. "Lord of the Flies" had the capability to surprise me while I was reading, and it kept me "wanting more." It is one of the most interesting novels I have ever read, it is: "Lord of the Flies," by William Golding.
slawyer
Posted October 1, 2010
Lord of the Flies is a very interesting story that leaves you wanting to know more about what happens to the people in it afterwards. What became of their lives and how did it affect them? This novel was written by William Golding in 1954. Two movies were made based on this story, one in 1963 directed by Peter Brook, and one in 1990 directed by Harry Hook. If you want to get an idea of what the novel is about, the tag line for the 1990 movie was "No Parents, No Teachers, No Rules....No Mercy."
The novel is set against the backdrop of a group of British schoolboys, mostly 12 years of age and younger, being marooned on a tropical island. In the beginning, two of the boys, named Ralph and Piggy, stumble out of the forest onto a beach and their conversation reveals they were in a plane that crashed on the island and scattered boys throughout the forest. It appears there is some type of war going on. Piggy mentions the Captain of the plane saying something during the flight about an atom bomb and also says he saw the wing of their plane on fire, meaning they were probably hit by fire from an enemy. While they are talking about being there with no adults around, Ralph discovers a shiny object in the beach. Piggy recognizes it as a conch shell and teaches Ralph how to blow into it. Ralph is fascinated by the sound and blows harder and harder. Boys start coming out of the forest and head toward the sound of the shell. The gathering of all the boys ends up in a meeting in which Ralph is elected leader and decides they should go about "getting rescued and having fun."
The basic theme of the novel is the need for rules and order for society to work right. Society, meaning adults, votes on the rules we will live by and governments enforce those rules. Without rules, people could drive on any side of the road they wanted to or go around killing anyone they didn't like. The author, from his experiences in World War Two, believes there is a darker side to people and puts a group of younger boys in a position with no adults in charge to see what might happen.
The author is very good at describing things. I could almost picture in my mind the tall palm trees on the beach, the bathing pool, the creeper vines running through the forest, and the waves crashing on the reefs. Like most books, it starts out a little slow while setting things up. Once the action starts, however, you can imagine yourself in Ralph's shoes and get caught up in his adventure.
This was a very interesting book with a plot that really gets you hooked. I do not want to give away the story, so you will have to read it yourself. I will say that the title turns out to be something I never would have imagined.
VikTorious
Posted October 1, 2010
Lord of the Flies is the story of what happens to a group of private school boys after crash landing on an island. They have escaped the war back home, but now they have to form their own societal structure and try to keep the factions of democracy at bay. They form a democracy and make plans to build housing...unfortunately they all grow to fight with eachother and things take a deadly turn on the island.
One literary device Golding used in his book was symbolism. It was everywhere...the Beast symbolized the savage in every person, the conch was a symbol for democracy, and certain people were even symbols for different stereotypes.
Golding also personified the Beast. In all actuality the Beast was never real. The little boys simply imagined that there was something extremely terrible in the wild and that it would kill them. Golding allows the beast to speak and even brings it to life in the mind of the children.
There was foreshadowing also. The reader is clued into what is going to happen when Simon hallucinates and hears the Beast speak to him. All of the other boys are off dancing crazy and acting like savage people. The reader know this before Simon does. Low and behold, who ends up dead?!
I believe that the best part of the book was when Simon discovered that the beast was not real. It existed inside of them rather than it being a predator, the beast was each individual. To me this is the best part and the worst part is Simon ending up dead. All he was trying to do was enlighten the other boys to what happened with the Beast in the clearing. It sort of symbolizes the circle of life to me. It is a very sad realization.
I would suggest that any person who is intellectual should read it. It speaks tremendously for the reality of human life. People who do not pay attention or are not creative should probably not ruin it for the rest of us!!
kyle93
Posted October 1, 2010
Lord of the Flies is a novel with a fairly obvious set of symbols to decode. The symbology is yet another reason the novel is popular with young readers (although their assurance may be misplaced). The novel also offers very believable characters and brief bursts of situations that are haunting and memorable. First, consider the easiest aspect of the novel. The story begins just after a plane crash. We meet English schoolboys who have survived the crash and find themselves on a desert island without any adults, a dream setup for any ten-year-old. Without the usual authority figures to direct the boys, they must fend for themselves. By default, the personable Ralph takes on a leadership position. He knows little more than any of the others, but he manages to gather them in one place and is voted leader. At his side is the friendly, clever, but fatally clumsy Piggy, a nicely rendered character who serves as Ralph's conscience. Ralph's election is contested by Jack, a customer with his own group of followers, a former choir under his leadership. Jack is a force of nature with intentions of leading hunting parties deep into the primordial jungle. With Piggy's planning, Ralph's reluctant leadership, and Jack's energy, the castaways establish a successful, thriving village (at least... for a day or two). Soon enough, the few sensible efforts (such as keeping a fire burning at all times) fall by the night. These, after all, are young boys, and their plans tend to have half-lives of two hours or so. In the meantime, headstrong Jack grows bored, restless, and resentful of Ralph's superior role. With his hunters in tow, he splits off from the main group. From here on out, nearly the book consists of the descent of Jack's tribe into base brutality. As Jack successfully recruits more boys, Ralph becomes more isolated. Then, Jack's tribe kills Piggy (his glasses smash in an excessively heavy-handed moment of symbolism, signaling the end of rational thought and civilized behavior). Jack's troop's have used their hunting skills on pigs, and they proceed to move in on Ralph. There is no use appealing to their better nature now. They have abandoned all compassion. Ralph is cornered and seems a goner when suddenly an adult (a naval officer) arrives on the beach, with his uniform gleaming. His appearance puts everyone in a state of shock, particularly since there are only two or three pages left in the book.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
I was asked to write a review for Lord of the Flies as an English assignment, but it's more like something I would want to do, not something I'm being forced to do. From what I hear a lot of people do this so it would make me feel like a part of something. However being a part of something is not always a good thing, like in the book. This book is about a group of British schoolboys who get marooned with no adults on a deserted island somewhere in the Pacific. It really shows a lot about human nature and how one thing leads to another. Also the influences of gangs or more powerful groups. After the boys get stranded they have a meeting and call all the boys together by using an empty conch shell so they can see all of the survivors. Everyone's frightened of course and they decide to have a leader. As it turns out they vote on Ralph to be the leader for the time being. The boy who wanted to be the leader, Jack, was a tad bit jealous that he didn't get picked because he was slightly pigheaded and thought he was all that. They try to set up rules and have everyone have a certain job or chore but some of the littler children slacked off and some things didn't get done like building huts or shelters and once someone forgets to tend the fire and it causes an argument and a ship to go by without them being seen because there was no smoke. Part of the group, Jack's group or gang or all of the friends he hangs out with, decided to be the hunters as their chore. Jack has a very savage nature and an insatiable thirst for killing and apparently so does Roger. In the end that gets them in serious trouble. There is quite a lot of symbolism sprinkled throughout the book like the actual lord of the fies symbolizes the evil that crept into almost all of the boys at the very end of the novel, Piggy symbolizes knowledge, and Ralph symbolizes leadership, stamina, responsibilty and an organized system. There are so much more but you'll have to read the book to find out! I would highly recommend reading this novel, it was very well written even though at times it might be hard to understand since the dialect is from olden day Britain. It teaches people about the sad truth of humans instinct to survive and how people would go to any lengths to stay alive or to get what they want. It was a very good book and certainly an eye opener!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Josh1993
Posted October 1, 2010
Imagine if all the adults on the planet just disappeared. Imagine if you were stranded with no adults and just a bunch of kids trying there hardest to live without parental aid. This is essentially what happens in the best selling book "Lord of the Flies". During World War II, a plane full of school boys had crashed and the boys were left to fend for themselves on a deserted island. These boys had to face the ultimate test: to survive on their own without their own food, their own shelter, and without a fixed set of rules. They managed to survive surprisingly long but there were some casualties along the way. Two of the tragedies were accidents but one of the deaths was a cold blooded murder. The boys overcame the odds and were eventually rescued by a military officer.
One of the key events in the book was when the hunters decided to leave the fire. Ralph thinks it will be of the boys' best interests to build a fire and work on being rescued. All the boys march up to the peak of the higher mountain. Ralph tells the boys to gather wood to make the fire. When the boys return with all the wood they have collected they make the fire with the assistance of Piggy's glasses and the sun. The boys then go back down to the beach while the fire continues to burn. The fire is now to be regulated by the hunters
Back on the beach Ralph is irritated that nobody else seems to be doing any kind of work. Ralph tells Jack about this problem, but Jack just blows him off. Ralph is annoyed that Jack and his hunters use hunting as an excuse not to help out, even though they have not brought back a single pig. This is where tensions between Ralph and Jack begin to rise. Ralph spots a ship cresting on the horizon. Ralph is overwhelmed with excitement until he realizes that the hunters have let the signal fire go out. This was the final straw for Ralph. He confronts Jack and yells at Jack. Jack then begins to resent Ralph and counter contests everything Ralph says. When Ralph tries to affirm the boys that there is no monster on the island, Jack insists that there is such a beast. Jack says if you want to have the comfort of being safe that you should join him and the hunters. The hunters and Ralph go their separate ways.
From that point on out there in nothing but conflict between the two tribes. The hunters break into Ralph's shelter and steal Piggy's glasses, while making the Ralph's boy turn against one another. The Hunters then persuade Ralph's tribe to join them one by one. The hunters eventually end up killing Piggy for speaking up, and standing for what he believes. This whole falling of civilization and order was caused by the act of the hunters letting the fire die.
Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
The lord of the Flies is a short story about a group of young British school boys that must survive on a deserted island after crash landing into it during the middle of the Cold War. William Golding, the author, does a great job showing us a look inside a heart of a man where reason and instinct to fight against each other in our fight to survive. This short story was an awesome read. It made me realize things about myself that I didn't know I have done or doing in life. It also shows every human violent instinct that is hidden inside, some just more than others. Golding's main characters are: Ralph the normal man. Although he is elected chief of the group in the beginning, Ralph is the epitome of the normal man. He is in the middle of a tug-of-war between instinct and reason as he tries to get the boys through their ordeal. Piggy is the near sighted, fat, and weak boy who is the only voice of reason. Every ones jokes usually start about Piggy but he continues to wine, moan, and tries to make everything go his way. Piggy is the controller of light, so to speak, since he is the only one with a way to light fires with his glasses. Jack who's considered the alpha male, the one who does everything in the here and now and never plans ahead, Jack also brings almost the entire group of boys down to his level of savagery. Other minor characters are: Simon, who is and outcast who finally realizes what his peers really are. Samneric, or Sam and Eric, the twins act as one person and are easy conformed to those with power. Roger is the boy that becomes a fanatic of violence, way beyond the level of anyone else, including jack.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.samj
Posted October 1, 2010
The book Lord of the Flies is a very gloomy, realistic view of human nature. The beginning of the book started with a group of innocent boys happy, sunny and full of excitement at the thought of life without adults' rules but finished with the "end of innocence", a threatening, island fire and Ralph realizing the "darkness of man's heart," and longing for a return of order.
The author's use of symbolism is evident in the title of the book, The Lord of the Flies. The pigs head on stick with the flies buzzing about is referred to at the climax of the story symbolizing The Lord Jack and all his little flies buzzing about. The pigs head is referred to as having an amused grin with dried blood in its teeth and a vast mouth with spreading blackness. The head "talks" to Simon and appears to have a hypnotic effect on him and Ralph. This symbolizes the ugliness of Jack and the mesmerizing effect he and the wildness appears to have on the schoolboys. The pig also torments Simon as if he was Jack; "Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!" "This is ridiculous. You know perfectly well you'll only meet me down there- so don't try to escape!" and "I'm warning you. I'm going to get angry. D'you see? You're not wanted. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island! So don't try it on, my poor misguided boy, or else-" This is all a foreshadowing of Simon's future and symbolic of the way Jack speaks to and deals with the boys.
Another symbolism that is woven throughout the story is the similarity of how the boys degenerate into a savage society compared to the war that is going on in the background of the story. The man-hunt that Jack has ordered on Ralph is similar to the reference that Piggy made to the atom bomb killing a lot of people. Adults appear to be dignified and respectable, but they are behaving the same way as the children in the novel. Our armed forces are on a man-hunt for our enemies. Hitler (I'm assuming the war they are referring to is World War II) has declared a man-hunt for all people who are not what he considers to be worthy. He orders the death of people who are not blond haired, blue eyed Protestants. It is ironic that the naval officer who rescues the boy is stunned to see what has come of the boys, yet he is representative of the part of society that believes in violence to solve one's troubles.
The book Lord of the Flies analyzes man's tendency towards a lack of morality and questions our complacency about the immorality that is happening around us. In our world, things tend to become more random and disorderly without constant care. After exploring this book, I feel encouraged to be less complacent, more compassionate and I would like to see the "darkness in man's heart" lighten.
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Posted May 30, 2012
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Posted January 18, 2010
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Posted July 24, 2010
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