Lord of the Flies

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Jay W "Lord of the Flies" is a faithful adaptation of William Golding's book. Like many, I got to read the novel in high school, where we evaluated it for symbolism. It is a good story and makes an excellent cautionary tale against hysteria, society, fear and power. I highly recommend the book; it is an easy read and a great example of a microcosm. But the question is how is the movie? The movie is a faithful adaptation of the book, but that doesn't necessarily lead to a flawless film. Things are written for the medium in which they are prepared for. There are somethings that work in a book that don't translate well into film. This movie seems to have been made with a shoestring budget. The movie begins with a series of still images overlaid with audio. The way they simulate a plane crash is showing a photo and shaking it violently. Most of the children in the movie weren't given a script. The director just filmed the children acting naturally. By the end he had about 60 hours of footage he whittled down to 90 minutes. This is appropriate considering the story is about a group of children running wild. My main problem with this film adaptation stem from its low production value. The sound design is obnoxious at times. With no background music, ambient noise, we just have to listen to children loudly chewing on pig flesh. The "action" scenes are shot with no clarity. It feels like the kids were given the cameras to film the shots. It is hard to tell what is going on, and for people who hadn't read the book, they'd likely be confused about what was going on. It is a very basic grassroots adaptation. It feels more like an adenium to be included with the book. Still at its core a good story, it just isn't presented with any pizzazz. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/26/24 Full Review Tim M Getting the most out of William Golding's seminal novel, Lord of the Flies is a stark portrayal of fear and mob mentality in dire circumstances. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/19/24 Full Review Cindy R True to the book, a simple yet stark look at the essence of humanity in terms of foundational savagery vs intellect and societal obligation. The book (and movie) is haunting and plainly showcases the evil some humans are innately capable of and why we continually end up where we are today. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/29/24 Full Review Aldo G Disturbing film that, like the book, should be shared in all classrooms. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 05/24/24 Full Review sim M We live in a "civilized" world, but, when life is threatened, our primal survival instincts are activated, as amazingly illustrated in this film. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/03/24 Full Review Joel H Watching Lord of the Flies reminded me of how powerful this story really is. Even though some of the children are better actors than others, there is an innocence to their performances that makes it feel genuine. Having actual kids play the parts also made the bad things that happen even more horrific. Yet despite the amateur performances and the fact that you can tell that this film was shot on a minimal budget, the plot is strong enough to hold everything up. Reading the novel as a teen was an unforgettable experience for me, and this movie brought back a lot of memories and feelings of that time. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/24 Full Review Read all reviews

Lord of the Flies

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