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Click above to purchase "Lord Of The Flies
(1990)" at amazon.com
Lord Of The Flies (1990)
review by Zach B.
Rated R
Running Time: 90 minutes
Starring Balthazar Getty, Chris Furrh
Screenplay by Sara Schiff
Based on the novel by Sir William Golding
Directed by Harry Hook
Studio: MGM
Retail Price: $14.98
Features: None
Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Stereo
Surround, French Subtitles, Spanish Subtitles, English
Closed Captions, Scene Selections (16 Scenes)
Oh, "Lord Of The Flies"... this takes me back. I had to
read it going into my freshman year of high school. I didn't
think it was a terrible book, but rather, an overrated one.
While it's themes of isolation, the darkness of the human
heart and others are incredible, I always felt the
characters needed some more development and there needed to
be a little more "umph" to the book. Too bad for us that the
1990 film adaption doesn't improve on the book, but rather,
ruins it. For those who don't know what the story is about,
or who have been out of school for a bit, I'll refresh your
memories:
Boys from a military academy are deserted on an isolated
island all by themselves. They try to survive, but greed and
their own sense of wild, savage government divides them into
two graph. The sensible Ralph heads one, while the arrogant,
mean-spirited and arrogant Jack leads the other. Basically,
it's a battle of good versus evil, how ultimate freedom can
never be a good thing and exposes the darkness of mens
heart. Their symbolisms, like the conch and others... but I
don't feel I should explain them. Read the book. This movie
doesn't try hard enough to capture the themes or get them
across truly.
This adaption is lame. It feels like a mess, and at a
brisk pace, it really fails to capture what the book was all
about. Terrible development. It misses a good deal of
important scenes, doesn't go far enough and feels like a
rambled mess that was slapped together in a matter of days.
It tries to be artsy, and while it has good shots, it falls
flat. Harry Hook (whatever happened to him?) just misses so
much here... while Sara Schiff's adaption is mediocre at
best. The acting is downright terrible, the kids are
annoying and it feels a bit fake. I really could just go on
and on and bash this adaption. But no, I won't. See the
1960s version (in a stellar Criterion release) of the movie,
or, better yet, read the book.
The film is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen.
It's pretty good. It can be a bit fuzzy during the night
scenes, and blemishes as well as pieces of dirt do pop up.
Despite these little instances, this transfer is quite
strong. Black levels are deep, detail is very good, and the
colors are bold and really vibrant. This transfer does pop
right at you, as it features fine color saturation. No
bleeding or smearing, this is one fine transfer. And no edge
enhancment!
English closed captions, Spanish subtitles, French
subtitles and an English Stereo Surround track, which is
surprisingly strong. There's a good balance to this mix.
Dialogue is clear and easy to hear, and nothing overpowers
it. No hiss or distortion either. The opening scene sounds
particuarly well and brings some activity, while the more
"intense" scenes have a good deal of life to them. Philippe
Sarde's scre also sounds good. Fidelity is also rather high.
Overall, not bad!
Nothing at all! WOWZA. No commentary? No background on
the book? That's right! Nothing at all to give you more
insight on the book or this lousy adaption! And you won't
even find a keep case insert!
This is truly one of the worst book adaptions I've ever
seen on film. But if you like it and must own this version,
go right ahead. It's not a bad deal though. You won't find
any supplementary material, but the presentation is very
good. The price is fine too. Considering you can snag this
for about 10 dollars, it is worth it for fans of the movie.
Everyone else... STAY AWAY FOR THE LOVE G-D.
 (1.5/5 - NOT included in
final score)
 (4/5)
 (3.5/5)
 (0/5)
(3.5/5, NOT an average)
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