When I was in 10th grade, I read the novel Lord of the Flies in English class, and right after that, we watched this movie. I really loved the novel so I was excited about seeing the movie.
The novel Lord of the Flies is very provocative. While it stands as one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, it also stands as one of the most controversial and frequently banned novels of the century. For a novel of that much greatness, it is hard for a movie to do it any justice.
Part of the reason for why Lord of the Flies is a classic and is still read today is because of its theme, which involves kids killing each other. There has always been a sensation and terror about that kind of theme. This movie tries to catch that theme, while it succeeds at being a disturbing movie, it fails at living up to the novel. There is also a lot of symbolism in the novel that isn't really present in the movie as well.
The directing in this movie isn't done very well. The beginning of the movie just kind of opens up and never really gives you much background. As the movie goes along, there isn't much of a flow to it. The book had a great flow which kept the story moving, but the movie was pretty choppy, and as you watch it, you don't think the director even cared about keeping the flow of the novel.
The child actors aren't much better. The kid who played Ralph was good, as well as the kid who played Jack. The kid who played Piggy was pretty good, but not quite up to par with the other two that I mentioned. The kid who played Piggy fits the description pretty well, and I kind of feel bad for him because his performance in the movie sort of affects how people look at him as a person. All of the other kids in this movie didn't do very well at all.
One of the key elements in the novel is done very poorly in the movie. In the novel there is a scene where the kid Simon sees a pig's head on a stick and has a conversation with it. In the movie all that happens is Simon looks at the pig's head and you see a flash of lightning. The director sure expects a heck of a lot out of the audience if he wants them to believe the kid is having a conversation. Another key scene from the novel, Piggy's death, was also done very poorly in the movie. In the novel it was shocking and depressing. In the movie it is depressing that he dies, but the scene looked pretty fake. There are also a few random things that were put into the movie and had not much impact on the story, like the glow stick, and the pilot who survives the crash, unlike the novel.
A couple of scenes in the movie are done pretty well. There is one scene where the kids are all gathering around the fire at night and are reenacting a hunt that took place. This scene is done pretty well, but the real key to that scene is the score in the background. The score is pretty good and helps guide the movie at times. At the very end, when the kids see the marine standing on the beach and they realize what they had done, the director did pretty well at showing the kids' emotions over what had gone on at the island. Unfortunately, the ending is very sudden and is over before you would expect it to be.
I loved the novel, but I have very mixed feelings about the movie. There are plenty of things in the movie that you will be disappointed by, but there are also some redeeming factors. It is worth watching once, but only if you have read the book. If you haven't read it, this movie will ruin it for you, so read the book first and then see the movie.
The novel Lord of the Flies is very provocative. While it stands as one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, it also stands as one of the most controversial and frequently banned novels of the century. For a novel of that much greatness, it is hard for a movie to do it any justice.
Part of the reason for why Lord of the Flies is a classic and is still read today is because of its theme, which involves kids killing each other. There has always been a sensation and terror about that kind of theme. This movie tries to catch that theme, while it succeeds at being a disturbing movie, it fails at living up to the novel. There is also a lot of symbolism in the novel that isn't really present in the movie as well.
The directing in this movie isn't done very well. The beginning of the movie just kind of opens up and never really gives you much background. As the movie goes along, there isn't much of a flow to it. The book had a great flow which kept the story moving, but the movie was pretty choppy, and as you watch it, you don't think the director even cared about keeping the flow of the novel.
The child actors aren't much better. The kid who played Ralph was good, as well as the kid who played Jack. The kid who played Piggy was pretty good, but not quite up to par with the other two that I mentioned. The kid who played Piggy fits the description pretty well, and I kind of feel bad for him because his performance in the movie sort of affects how people look at him as a person. All of the other kids in this movie didn't do very well at all.
One of the key elements in the novel is done very poorly in the movie. In the novel there is a scene where the kid Simon sees a pig's head on a stick and has a conversation with it. In the movie all that happens is Simon looks at the pig's head and you see a flash of lightning. The director sure expects a heck of a lot out of the audience if he wants them to believe the kid is having a conversation. Another key scene from the novel, Piggy's death, was also done very poorly in the movie. In the novel it was shocking and depressing. In the movie it is depressing that he dies, but the scene looked pretty fake. There are also a few random things that were put into the movie and had not much impact on the story, like the glow stick, and the pilot who survives the crash, unlike the novel.
A couple of scenes in the movie are done pretty well. There is one scene where the kids are all gathering around the fire at night and are reenacting a hunt that took place. This scene is done pretty well, but the real key to that scene is the score in the background. The score is pretty good and helps guide the movie at times. At the very end, when the kids see the marine standing on the beach and they realize what they had done, the director did pretty well at showing the kids' emotions over what had gone on at the island. Unfortunately, the ending is very sudden and is over before you would expect it to be.
I loved the novel, but I have very mixed feelings about the movie. There are plenty of things in the movie that you will be disappointed by, but there are also some redeeming factors. It is worth watching once, but only if you have read the book. If you haven't read it, this movie will ruin it for you, so read the book first and then see the movie.