Lord Of The Flies

866 Words4 Pages
The 1990 movie Lord of the Flies directed by Harry Hook, which is based on William Golding’s Lord of the Flies novel, fails to capture the same essence as the 1954 novel. When the novel and movie are compared with one another, there are several major differences between them. The novel is very well written, although the movie does not meet the same standards, and has many differences and inaccuracies. These include missing details, or incorrect and added footage to grab the viewer’s attention. Keep in mind, these numerous differences and inaccuracies have a reason behind them. The book is geared towards scholars and academics and thus emphasizes symbolic details, while the movie, geared for the public audience is more focused on cinematic appeal. Some key differences and inaccuracies are the dissimilarity between the opening scenes, the beast, the changed background of the characters, and the excess profanity used by them. One segment that the movie lacks detail in, and is much different from the book, is the very beginning. In the book, the conch is blown by Ralph and the boys slowly come in and meet up with him and Piggy. In the movie, the boys are first shown in the ocean, and they travel to the island on a blow-up raft. The creators of the film have done this to show how civilized the boys are at the beginning. The books introduction is much more effective, in the sense that it shows that Piggy and Ralph have a bond before the rest of the group even arrives. That bond cannot be shown in the theatre, as it may have other implications. It is therefore omitted in order to preserve the message and the marketability of the movie. An aspect of the movie that is very different from the book is the beast, also known as the “beastie”. In the movie, the beast is the pilot of their plane, who is wounded and brought back to the island with them. In the novel, the beast
Open Document