Product Description

Following a plane crash a group of schoolboys find themsleves on a deserted island. They appoint a leader and attempt to create an organised society for the sake of their survival. Democracy and order soon begin to crumble when a breakaway faction forms and quickly regresses to brutal savagery with horrifying consequences. Peter Brook s classic adaptation of William Golding s novel has lost none of the impact it made when given an X certificate on its 1963 release. Shot with a raw style, the film has a chilling air of realism and still retains the power to shock.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4974 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-07-23
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 87 minutes

Synopsis
A bleak rebuke to the Rousseauvian notion of the noble savage, director Peter Brook's faithful adaptation of William Golding's 1954 novel stars James Aubrey and Tom Chapin as antagonists Ralph and Jack, respectively. When a plane carrying thirty-odd British schoolboys out of a war zone crashes on an island, all of the adults are killed. The boys organize for survival, naming Ralph as their chief, in charge of providing fire and shelter. Jack is designated to lead a group of boys to hunt the wild pigs that roam the island. Almost inevitably, as time passes, the two boys, representatives of civiliation and savagery, begin a deadly struggle for dominance. The frequently invoked image of life as a war of all against all, in which civility is merely another weapon in the battle to gain one's ends, is here given a particularly disturbing twist in being enacted by children. Brooks shot an enormous amount of footage, a documentary-style ratio of 60-1, and used non-professional actors to achieve a raw, visceral realism. The film, which features a jauntily ironic score by Raymond Leppard, succeeds completely in suggesting the chilling malignity that may lurk beneath the blandest exterior.

Customer Reviews

A flawed but ambitious adaptation
This first and most faithful adaptation of Lord of the Flies is hindered by Peter Brook's decision to cast for looks rather than acting ability with his cast of child actors. While sometimes the two are more or less compatible - James Aubrey's Ralph and Tom Chapin's Jack in particular - there's no doubting that Hugh Edwards' Piggy is the kind of kid probably likely to be bullied more for his clumsy line readings than his weight. The first couple of reels are particularly awkward as you take time to acclimatise to the performances, but once the two groups start to split and order starts to turn into frenzied anarchy the film truly taps into the terror of the novel surprisingly well.

Classic Film
Essential for any secondary English teacher!
So much better than the more recent US version in terms of closeness to the text. Poignant and disturbing - even my rowdy year 11s were not bothered by it being B&W.

Buzzin'
Decent enough if a little dated, this is one of two 'proper' film versions of William Golding's seminal novel about isolation and the descent of man into savagery. Although neither of them really does the book justice, this is definitely more faithful to the original text than the 1989 colour version starring Balthazar Getty (now whatever happened to him?). However, I would say that the other version would be more accessible to teenagers than this black and white version; come on Peter Jackson, it's high time you made the definitive film of this novel!