Lord of the Flies (1990)
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A group of schoolboys stranded on an uninhabited island must navigate the breakdown of civilization and the emergence of savagery.
The story
After an aircraft carrying 24 American military school cadets ditches near an uninhabited jungle island in the Pacific Ocean, the boys are left stranded with only one injured adult survivor. The cadets, led by the senior cadet Ralph, attempt to establish order using a conch shell to signal the right to speak. They organize a meeting to discuss survival and start a fire using Piggy's glasses to alert passing craft. However, tensions quickly escalate between Ralph, who seeks to maintain structure, and Jack, who prioritizes hunting. As the boys struggle to survive, the initial cooperation begins to fracture under the pressure of their predicament.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After a plane crash leaves 24 military school cadets stranded on a Pacific island with a delirious pilot, the boys attempt to form a society. Ralph is elected leader and uses a conch shell to maintain order, while Jack leads a group of hunters. Tensions peak when Jack leaves to form a separate camp of savages, causing the fire to go out and preventing rescue. As the boys descend into tribalism, they begin to worship a 'monster' in a cave, which is actually the injured Captain Benson. Simon discovers the truth about the pilot but is killed by the boys who mistake him for the monster. Jack's tribe eventually raids Ralph's camp, steals their glasses, and kills Piggy by dropping a boulder on him. The film reaches a climax when Jack's hunters set the jungle on fire to flush out Ralph. Ralph narrowly escapes to the beach, where he is confronted by a U.S. Marine Corps officer. The savages are left in stunned silence as they reflect on their behavior, while Ralph breaks into tears as military helicopters arrive.
- First release year
- 1990
- Runtime (minutes)
- 90
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Harry Hook
- Writers
- Jay Presson Allen · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Balthazar Getty · Ralph; Chris Furrh · Jack; Danuel Pipoly · Piggy; James Badge Dale · Simon; Andrew Taft · Sam; Edward Taft · Eric; Gary Rule · Roger; Braden MacDonald · Larry
- Genres
- survival drama; coming-of-age drama; dystopian
- Themes
- loss of innocence; savagery vs. civilization; leadership
- Tone and mood
- dark; tense; dystopian
- Premise and plot tags
- survival; child death; aviation accident; island
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1954 book by William Golding
- Franchise connections
- Lord of the Flies
- Content notes
- death
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews, generally more negative than its 1963 counterpart. Critics praised the performances and scenery but criticized the deviations from the novel. It was a box-office bomb.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 6.40/10 · scale: 10 · review count: 22; Metacritic · score: 49 · scale: 100 · review count: 20
- Production trivia
- Taller body doubles were used for a sequence on the Hamakua Coast because the child actors were too short.; The film score borrows heavily from Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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