no percival wemys madison? no stars.
By Holly Jones.
Peter Brook's 1963 black and white film production of Lord of the Flies (British Lion Films) is legendary. But why won't teachers let us watch the 1990 Harry Hook version (Colombia Pictures) with Balthazar Getty and other 90's American boy actors?
"It's not accurate," our teachers tell us. Well, I decided to watch it to see for myself. What I saw was far worse than I had imagined. Keep reading, because it gets progressively more worrying.
1. The boys are American
2. The plane doesn't crash into the island, it crashes into the sea so it doesn't leave the scar
3. The boys come in on an inflatable boat together so Jack doesn't have his entrance
4. The pilot is alive at the beginning???
5. Jack is blonde and Ralph is brunette
6. Jack doesn't have his choir until they become hunters
7. They all appear to have been from the same school which makes the dynamic between everyone but mainly Ralph, Jack and Piggy different
8. They randomly have glowsticks
9. They all also went to military school which shifts the standard that the viewer has
10. Jack helps building the huts
11. Samneric initiate Jack jeering at Piggy for his nickname
12. Jack starts singing, but not in C#
13. The fire is not on the mountain
14. Simon is only introduced 22 mins in. And he's dark blonde??
15. The (alive??) pilot tells the boys they're going to be rescued 22 mins in
16. The rock is never pushed off the cliff
17. Jack's group only officially become hunters 30 mins through
18. The pilot appears to have killed himself by walking off jagged rocks about 35 mins through but it actually turns out his dead body which was actually in a cave was the beast (therefore there is also no dead parachutist)
19. A helicopter flies over which they try to signal, not a boat
20. Jack and Ralph properly cuss each other out multiple times with lots more swear words than the book
21. A storm literally causes more destruction than the fire
22. When Jack's tribe ambush Ralph's, they only steal a hunting knife, and only then does one of Piggy's glasses lenses break (correction -- they do a second raid and steal his glasses)
23. Piggy doesn't call his glasses his 'specs'
24. Piggy is not asthmatic
25. They call the beast 'the monster'
26. Simon's first significant action was looking for the beast
27. Jack's tribe does not brutally murder the pig which becomes the LOTF. It's not even a pregnant or nursing sow
28. No one ever chants 'kill the pig, cut her throat, spill her blood'
29. Simon never says any of his defining speeches therefore Golding's perspective is never shown
30. The conversation with the LOTF is not shown
31. Simon's death is extremely underwhelming and there is no closure -- he is just stabbed, the camera shows his body on the beach for a few seconds (with no phosphorescence or pathetic fallacy), then it cuts to the next scene
32. Samneric join Jack's tribe voluntarily
33. Ralph is never mean to Piggy, not even at the beginning
34. Castle rock is never really mentioned nor does it really feature
35. Rocks aren't thrown at Ralph, he is smoked out immediately
36. Percival Wemys Madison does not feature
37. A helicopter rescues them, not a boat, and there are multiple people who rescue them
38. Piggy never mentions his Aunt and Ralph never mentions his dad
I can accept many of these as directorial decisions. But to remove Percival, to deny Piggy his Aunt, and to not give Simon the attention he deserves means that this is a definite miss. The symbolism and metaphoric nature of the story are lost.
"It's not accurate," our teachers tell us. Well, I decided to watch it to see for myself. What I saw was far worse than I had imagined. Keep reading, because it gets progressively more worrying.
1. The boys are American
2. The plane doesn't crash into the island, it crashes into the sea so it doesn't leave the scar
3. The boys come in on an inflatable boat together so Jack doesn't have his entrance
4. The pilot is alive at the beginning???
5. Jack is blonde and Ralph is brunette
6. Jack doesn't have his choir until they become hunters
7. They all appear to have been from the same school which makes the dynamic between everyone but mainly Ralph, Jack and Piggy different
8. They randomly have glowsticks
9. They all also went to military school which shifts the standard that the viewer has
10. Jack helps building the huts
11. Samneric initiate Jack jeering at Piggy for his nickname
12. Jack starts singing, but not in C#
13. The fire is not on the mountain
14. Simon is only introduced 22 mins in. And he's dark blonde??
15. The (alive??) pilot tells the boys they're going to be rescued 22 mins in
16. The rock is never pushed off the cliff
17. Jack's group only officially become hunters 30 mins through
18. The pilot appears to have killed himself by walking off jagged rocks about 35 mins through but it actually turns out his dead body which was actually in a cave was the beast (therefore there is also no dead parachutist)
19. A helicopter flies over which they try to signal, not a boat
20. Jack and Ralph properly cuss each other out multiple times with lots more swear words than the book
21. A storm literally causes more destruction than the fire
22. When Jack's tribe ambush Ralph's, they only steal a hunting knife, and only then does one of Piggy's glasses lenses break (correction -- they do a second raid and steal his glasses)
23. Piggy doesn't call his glasses his 'specs'
24. Piggy is not asthmatic
25. They call the beast 'the monster'
26. Simon's first significant action was looking for the beast
27. Jack's tribe does not brutally murder the pig which becomes the LOTF. It's not even a pregnant or nursing sow
28. No one ever chants 'kill the pig, cut her throat, spill her blood'
29. Simon never says any of his defining speeches therefore Golding's perspective is never shown
30. The conversation with the LOTF is not shown
31. Simon's death is extremely underwhelming and there is no closure -- he is just stabbed, the camera shows his body on the beach for a few seconds (with no phosphorescence or pathetic fallacy), then it cuts to the next scene
32. Samneric join Jack's tribe voluntarily
33. Ralph is never mean to Piggy, not even at the beginning
34. Castle rock is never really mentioned nor does it really feature
35. Rocks aren't thrown at Ralph, he is smoked out immediately
36. Percival Wemys Madison does not feature
37. A helicopter rescues them, not a boat, and there are multiple people who rescue them
38. Piggy never mentions his Aunt and Ralph never mentions his dad
I can accept many of these as directorial decisions. But to remove Percival, to deny Piggy his Aunt, and to not give Simon the attention he deserves means that this is a definite miss. The symbolism and metaphoric nature of the story are lost.
