Lord of the Flies (1963)
Directed by Peter Brook

Film Review

William Golding's chilling visionary tale exploring the fragility of civilisation and the dual aspect of human nature is magnificently rendered by Peter Brook in his harrowing 1960s adaptation.  Brook, an acclaimed theatre director, had made only two films prior to this, the musical The Beggar's Opera (1953) and a sombre French romantic drama Moderato cantabile (1960).   Lord of the Flies is markedly different to these two films, an understated yet profoundly disturbing work that is infused with the bleakest kind of realist poetry.   The film's stark documentary feel was achieved through Brook's decision to shoot the entire film on location (at Puerto Rico and Vieques in the Caribbean) and employ only non-professional child actors (selected from 3000 applicants).

A much more unsettling film than Harry Hook's bland 1990 remake, this version of Golding's novel has a rough and ready, unpretentious auteur feel, of the kind that helped to redefine British cinema in the early 1960s during its flourishing but all-too-brief New Wave period.  The crude camerawork and editing perfectly complement the subject matter and bring a grim reality to the film's portrayal of the gradual disintegration of a well-ordered society into bestial savagery.   The depiction of the vicious killings of two of the boys by their fellows are still shocking today and earned the film an X certificate when it was first released in the UK.

Much of the negative criticism the film has received is centred on the performances of the child actors.  Whilst there are one or two scenes that may have benefited from a few extra takes, overall the hesitant, uncertain contributions of the novice actors are appropriate for the film and accentuate its raw realist quality.  James Aubrey, the only member of the cast to go on to have a successful acting career, ably provides a focal point as the sensible Ralph, the only truly sympathetic character in the film.  Hugh Edwards' limited acting skills actually serve to make his character, Piggy, all the more vulnerable and endearing, whilst Tom Chapin's Jack is appropriately mannered and obnoxious as the public school oik with a superiority complex.  By allowing his actors to improvise many of the scenes (having outlined broadly what he required), Brook draws out some startlingly naturalistic performances, which are particularly in evidence in the scenes where the boys are running amok and behaving as they would behave in a world without adults.

Just as Golding's novel remains a timely and thought-provoking piece of literature, Brook's inspired adaptation continues to resonate.  The haunting visuals convey, as powerfully as Golding's hypnotic prose, a world that is fast degenerating into tribalism and anarchy.  Nothing can prepare the spectator for the dramatic hunt scene that culminates in the slaughter of the innocent Simon.  It is a sequence that is truly horrific, not only because of what it shows, the killing of a helpless child, but also because of what it signifies, man's fall from grace and his willingness to welcome evil into his world.  Watching this film can be a bruising, even life-changing experience.  Poor Piggy.  Poor us.

Film Synopsis

As a nuclear conflict threatens to engulf the world, a party of English schoolboys are loaded into a plane and sent to the South Pacific.   The plane crashes into the ocean before it reaches its destination.  The adult crew are killed but some of the boys survive and land up on a deserted tropical island.  One of the boys, Ralph, attempts to organise a civilised community, but his efforts are thwarted by his rival Jack, who manages to divide the boys into two opposing gangs.  Over time, most of Ralph's followers desert him and join Jack's party, which has descended into animal savagery, hunting wild animals and glorifying in bestial violence.  One night, a hunt for a strange beast ends in the accidental killing of one of the boys, Simon.  Piggy, Ralph's most loyal follower, attempts to reason with Jack's jungle warriors, but after an impassioned plea he too is killed, although his death is not an accident.  Realising that he is to be Jack's next victim, Ralph takes flight.  Consumed by blood lust, the other boys pursue him across the island like a pack of wild animals...