Stars: James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, Hugh Edwards, Tom Gaman | Written and Directed by Peter Brook
Peter Brook is best known for his work in theatre, but his 1963 screen adaptation of William Golding’s English Lit classic is no quaint repertory effort. Made relatively cheaply (the opening plane crash is literally a photograph of a plane spinning around) with non-professionals in the roles of the children, it’s a remarkably raw and brutal telling of a fable which may be as relevant now as ever before.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, this wartime story concerns a group of evacuating public schoolboys who are stranded on a remote island after their plane crashes. At first it’s all fun and frolics as the kids look forward to their freedom. They nominate a leader, Ralph (James Aubrey). Alpha male Jack (Tom Chapin) isn’t happy about this, and he...
Peter Brook is best known for his work in theatre, but his 1963 screen adaptation of William Golding’s English Lit classic is no quaint repertory effort. Made relatively cheaply (the opening plane crash is literally a photograph of a plane spinning around) with non-professionals in the roles of the children, it’s a remarkably raw and brutal telling of a fable which may be as relevant now as ever before.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, this wartime story concerns a group of evacuating public schoolboys who are stranded on a remote island after their plane crashes. At first it’s all fun and frolics as the kids look forward to their freedom. They nominate a leader, Ralph (James Aubrey). Alpha male Jack (Tom Chapin) isn’t happy about this, and he...
- 8/29/2017
- by Rupert Harvey
- Nerdly
François Truffaut’s adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s dystopian, illiterate future looks better than ever, but the scary part is that some of its oddest sci-fi extrapolations seem to be coming true. It’s a movie that truly grows on one. The Bernard Herrmann music score is one of the composer’s very best.
Fahrenheit 451
Blu-ray
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
1966 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 112 min. / 50th Anniversary Edition / Street Date June 6, 2017 / $14.98
Starring Julie Christie, Oskar Werner, Cyril Cusack, Anton Diffring, Jeremy Spencer, Bee Duffell.
Cinematography: Nicolas Roeg
Production Designers: Syd Cain, Tony Walton
Film Editor: Thom Noble
Original Music: Bernard Herrmann
Written by François Truffaut & Jean-Louis Richard from the book by Ray Bradbury
Produced by Lewis M. Allen, Miriam Brickman
Directed by François Truffaut
Quality science fiction was once a hard sell with both critics and the public. Fahrenheit 451 is usually discussed either as a Science Fiction film or a François Truffaut movie,...
Fahrenheit 451
Blu-ray
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
1966 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 112 min. / 50th Anniversary Edition / Street Date June 6, 2017 / $14.98
Starring Julie Christie, Oskar Werner, Cyril Cusack, Anton Diffring, Jeremy Spencer, Bee Duffell.
Cinematography: Nicolas Roeg
Production Designers: Syd Cain, Tony Walton
Film Editor: Thom Noble
Original Music: Bernard Herrmann
Written by François Truffaut & Jean-Louis Richard from the book by Ray Bradbury
Produced by Lewis M. Allen, Miriam Brickman
Directed by François Truffaut
Quality science fiction was once a hard sell with both critics and the public. Fahrenheit 451 is usually discussed either as a Science Fiction film or a François Truffaut movie,...
- 4/18/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By Lee Pfeiffer
Criterion has release a deluxe Blu-ray edition of director Peter Brook's 1963 screen adaptation of William Golding's landmark novel Lord of the Flies. As virtually anyone familiar with literature of the latter half of the twentieth century probably knows, the story involves a group of British schoolboys who are among the refugees deported from England out the outbreak of what is, presumably, a third world war. Their plane is shot down over the ocean but it crashes off shore from a remote island. All of the adults die but the boys miraculously survive and make their way to dry land. Realizing their survival is in their own hands, the boys (the age of whom ranges from pre-pubescent to early teens) set about the task of building shelters. They quickly master the essentials of staying alive and learn to start fires and to hunt and fish with reasonably effective hand-made tools.
Criterion has release a deluxe Blu-ray edition of director Peter Brook's 1963 screen adaptation of William Golding's landmark novel Lord of the Flies. As virtually anyone familiar with literature of the latter half of the twentieth century probably knows, the story involves a group of British schoolboys who are among the refugees deported from England out the outbreak of what is, presumably, a third world war. Their plane is shot down over the ocean but it crashes off shore from a remote island. All of the adults die but the boys miraculously survive and make their way to dry land. Realizing their survival is in their own hands, the boys (the age of whom ranges from pre-pubescent to early teens) set about the task of building shelters. They quickly master the essentials of staying alive and learn to start fires and to hunt and fish with reasonably effective hand-made tools.
- 5/24/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
It's fascinating to listen to the production woes Peter Brook's Lord of the Flies (1963) faced in the early stages as he teamed with Hollywood producer (and family friend) Sam Spiegel to create, what he wanted to be, a low budget adaptation of William Golding's novel. Instead, as time went on, Spiegel took it upon himself to change the story. As a producer of films such as Lawrence of Arabia and The Bridge on the River Kwai, it was simply not in Spiegel's nature to make a cheap film. The budget began to balloon, art directors were flown around the world to look at islands and even girls were introduced into script rewrites done behind Brook's back as Columbia (whom were initially set to distribute the film) felt the budget had gotten too big for a film about kids. In essence, it was no longer "Lord of the Flies...
- 8/12/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Chicago – Nearly every student has to read William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” at some point and film goers of the right age might remember Harry Hook’s 1990 version of the classic tale with Balthazar Getty, but the best adaptation of the timeless allegory is Peter Brook’s 1963 version, recently upgraded to Criterion Blu-ray and re-released on Criterion DVD with a new, restored 4K digital transfer.
Peter Brook’s theatre-crafted style of natural acting and improvisational character-building make for a film that’s devastatingly genuine, as if we’re on the island with these boys as their mini society collapses in flames. The Criterion version is loaded with special features and the film remains remarkably engaging.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Everyone knows the story of “Lord of the Flies.” If they don’t, they know one of the many narratives that ripped it off over the years. Lost boys with no structure...
Peter Brook’s theatre-crafted style of natural acting and improvisational character-building make for a film that’s devastatingly genuine, as if we’re on the island with these boys as their mini society collapses in flames. The Criterion version is loaded with special features and the film remains remarkably engaging.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Everyone knows the story of “Lord of the Flies.” If they don’t, they know one of the many narratives that ripped it off over the years. Lost boys with no structure...
- 7/26/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: July 16, 2013
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
A group of British boys attempt to govern themselves on an uninhabited island in Lord of the Flies.
The 1963 adventure-drama Lord of the Flies is the first film adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning English author William Golding’s 1954 debut novel.
In the hands of the renowned experimental theater director Peter Brook, Golding’s legendary novel on the primitivism lurking beneath civilization becomes a film as raw and ragged as the lost boys at its center.
The novel famously concerns a group of British boys stuck on an uninhabited island who try to govern themselves with disastrous results, marking the end of the children’s innocence…and then some.
Taking an innovative documentary-like approach, Brook shot Lord of the Flies with an off-the-cuff naturalism, seeming to record a spontaneous eruption of its characters’ ids. The resulting masterwork earned Brook a nomination for...
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
A group of British boys attempt to govern themselves on an uninhabited island in Lord of the Flies.
The 1963 adventure-drama Lord of the Flies is the first film adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning English author William Golding’s 1954 debut novel.
In the hands of the renowned experimental theater director Peter Brook, Golding’s legendary novel on the primitivism lurking beneath civilization becomes a film as raw and ragged as the lost boys at its center.
The novel famously concerns a group of British boys stuck on an uninhabited island who try to govern themselves with disastrous results, marking the end of the children’s innocence…and then some.
Taking an innovative documentary-like approach, Brook shot Lord of the Flies with an off-the-cuff naturalism, seeming to record a spontaneous eruption of its characters’ ids. The resulting masterwork earned Brook a nomination for...
- 4/24/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
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