Like lots of people, I was first introduced to Lord of the Flies, William Golding’s classic 1954 novel, in junior high school English class as required reading. We also got to watch Peter Brook’s excellent 1963 film adaptation, which I, along with the rest of the class thought was pretty cool. A dystopian tale about the intrinsic evil in young men trapped on a deserted island, the story raises a series of moral and psychological questions; especially eye-opening for a class of eighth graders. Both filmed adaptations of Lord of the Flies, including this 1990 remake by Harry Hook, maintain the novel’s central theme of the children’s gradual descent into savagery. The larger point: there’s really not a lot that separates humans from animals.
A group of young American schoolboys from a military academy are stranded on a tropical island after their plane crashes in the in the Pacific Ocean; the adults are either dead or critically wounded, leaving the young men in charge. At first, the boys work together as one, but jealousy soon finds them dividing into two factions. Ralph (Balthazar Getty) leader of one group, emphasizes democracy, while Jack’s (Chris Furrh), group are hunters. Each of the groups initial decisions are fairly rational and seem well beyond their years. As time passes, each of the cadet’s fall in with one side or the other, while some find themselves caught in the middle. “Piggy” (Danuel Pipoly) a fat boy with glasses, has chosen a side, but finds himself bullied and made to feel like an outsider. It’s not long before any sense of order falls away, and the boys are essentially at war with each other.
Filmed in black and white, with a cast of non-professional actors, Peter Brook’s original adaptation has an energy, sense of urgency and dread that this one simply can’t match. While both scripts are faithful to the original source material, Hook’s film lacks the passion and tension of the earlier adaptation. Some tension is developed towards the end of the film as Ralph is chased through the burning forest, but it’s too little too late.
While this 1990 version of Lord of the Flies isn’t a terrible film, for my money Peter Brook’s 1963 version is simply much better and I recommend checking out Criterion’s excellent release of it, before watching this one.
Presented in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio, Olive Films 1080p transfer looks very good. The bright colors and image look impressive throughout. Shadow detail is a tad limited during nighttime scenes, but depth is surprisingly impressive. There are no real digital issues to report. Fans should be quite pleased with this transfer.
The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio presentation is rather basic, but it does have a nice sense of depth. Dialogue and music are clean and clear throughout. There is also a bit of welcome separation.
No subtitles are included.
As with most Olive titles, there are no extras available.
