Lord Of The Flies Movie Vs Book Comparison

In William Golding’s book, Lord of the Flies , discusses about humanity with a group of English boys trapped in an island. Away from a powerful war, civilization, education, and refined social behavior. Isolating themselves from reality. Destroying their innocences with barbarism causing chaos through out the island. This book’s meaning is so touching, in fact an eye opener that two movies were created. A 1963, black and white version and a 1990 color one.
The director’s choice of interpretation in the black and white movie was more dedicated to the book. The first twenty minutes of the movie was just as you would imagine it while reading the book. The major difference was the opening scene with pictures of people enjoying an outdoor activity,

to little schoolboys studying in a classroom, then transferring to quick short shots of bombs, meaning a war was going on at that time. All while there was a radio announcement about the war. Giving a dark, isolation feeling to the viewer.
For the 1990 color version, it had its own little twist. Additional details were added that if someone didn’t pay well attention to the book wouldn’t notice these changes. Yet still continuing the original storyline, from the first twenty minutes of the movie. One example was the opening of the movie when a pilot or captain was sinking down into the bottom of the ocean, bleeding with little boys surrounding him trying to survive, while others sank. Then someone saved him and a lifeboat popped out of the ocean. Then all the little kids jumped inside and sailed to shore with an injured man. A completing new part from the director.
Yet the director’s choice of actors for these movies and types of music also gave out certain moods for both of them.

Certain scenes seemed powerful and well interpreted. Both Ralphs and Piggys were well selected and portrayed in both movies. Simon in the second version seemed too young for the big role he was given in the book. Also if you notice in the second movie, the director added kids of color. A huge drastic change since in the book they were all English boys in during World War II. When you think about it, you imagine them blonde, blue eyes, and fair skin. So to add different ethnics in this movie was a bold move, you wouldn’t know how the people would react to that. Which brings me up the accents of the boys. One movie actual English accent while the other was an American accent. The author emphasized that the boys were English and to put kids with American accents set the thing off. Which brings up the choice of language in both movies. The black and white version they used a lot of dialogue from the book. They mostly made the movie just as the reader would imagine. While in the second movie, the director’s choice of foul language for Jack to use towards Piggy was a shocking reaction to the viewers, as you didn’t expect him to say that.
The one movie that stood out in my opinion was the 1963, black and white version. Its opening scene was powerful. Clips of little schoolboys study in a classroom, to adults enjoying a lovely day outdoors, then to milliseconds of

bomb pictures and war. All while strong, intimidating was playing which then transfer to a radio announcement about the war. This was the director’s way of revealing the lives of what these boys were going through in this time period and what was occurring.
Even though the black and white seemed better in my opinion. The color one was also brilliant with its own twist to it. The director may have changed it for the viewers as they don’t want to see so much cruelty around children. For that is what parent’s try to avoid in real life. But then again the time difference when both these movies were made an impact as one was made less than twenty years after the war ended. So the 1963 did have an advantage as this was all fresh in people’s mind back then. Either way, both movies represented the book’s message in their own way, which was the most important part throughout the story.