Lord of the Flies (1963)

We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages; we're English; and the English are best at everything! Jack

This is the film we had to see in English class back in our school days. I believe we read William Golding's book and then were given the rare privilege of watching a movie in class.

The Lord of the Flies is a cautionary tale; a cold war epic that threatens civilized man with annihilation and regression to a primitive state, ruled by the strongest, and then not for long, but only till all are annihilated.

The movie is simply made and uses actual kids for the players rather than professional actors. This simplicity adds to the power of the movie. The prologue is a series of still photos progressing from pictures of students, accompanied by background sounds like lectures; choir singing, Latin studies, and then the still pictures start to include airplanes, missiles, and full blown ICBMs. An airliner is shown and it is shot down and crashes in the ocean, somewhere in the South Pacific.

A pair of English schoolboys, Ralph and Piggy, meet on a tropical island and begin to hunt around for survivors. There are no adults but a couple dozen small boys, the eldest about twelve, are rounded up. The two leaders, Ralph and Piggy (James Aubrey and Hugh Edwards), find a conch; which becomes the symbol of power. A group dressed in medieval capes and caps come marching up the beach in military formation, singing a hymn. Kyrie Elison – (i.e., "Lord, have mercy!") These boys are in addition to the survivors already rounded up so there are about 3 dozen boys in all.

We soon have a conflict and Jack (Tom Chapin) and the choir boys decide to become hunters while the other boys try to re-create civilization as they know it. Each hurdle they try to surmount only reveals their inadequacy at self control and their behavior takes a rapidly descending spiral until anarchy is the order of the day.

The three named boys make up 80% of the story and the others mainly serve as followers, although there is a fellow named Simon who gets sacrificed during a nighttime orgy of violence in the name of the Beast – a creature they made up, sort of serving the function of religion. Lord of the Flies, as you may know, is a biblical reference to Satan, also known as Beelzebub = literally "lord of the flies."

Piggy is the most civilized kid and he soon is thrown under the bus as the kids do not wish to hear "how the grownups would do it." Ralph is mainly a pretty looking boy who thought he should lead but demonstrated no real affinity for leadership. Lots of leaders in today's world are like Ralph, all looks and no real aptitude. Jack is a typical boy, rebellious and jealous of his status, not wanting to surrender to authority.

SPOILER ALERT

The tribesmen set fire to the whole island and are hunting Ralph, the last of the "normal" kids when they are found by a naval party. So they are saved, just as they have destroyed their "world."

END SPOILER ALERT

The Criterion DVD contains the 90-minute black and white movie in full screen theatrical format. The film has not been restored. There are myriad extra features including a full length commentary by director Peter Brook and others of the film crew, a deleted scene, and excerpts from the book read by the author William Golding.

This is a very profound film that I believe has aged somewhat because we now know what lies beyond the Cold War. When I first saw in in the 1960s it seemed prophetic.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day