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The Blue Lagoon (1980 film)

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The Blue Lagoon
File:The Blue Lagoon DVD.jpg
Directed byRandal Kleiser
Written byDouglas Day Stewart (screenplay)
Based on the novel The Blue Lagoon by Henry De Vere Stacpoole
Produced byRandal Kleiser
StarringBrooke Shields
Christopher Atkins
Leo McKern
William Daniels
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Running time
104 min.
Budget$4,500,000 (estimated)

The Blue Lagoon is a 1980 romance/adventure film starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins, directed by Randal Kleiser. The screenplay by Douglas Day Stewart was based on the novel The Blue Lagoon by Henry De Vere Stacpoole. The original music score was composed by Basil Poledouris.

Tagline: A sensuous story of natural love.

Plot summary

Template:Spoiler In the Victorian period, two young children and a galley cook are the sole survivors of a shipwreck, and are stranded on a lush tropical island, a real paradise. The cook Paddy Button teaches the children one valuable lesson: certain berries shouldn't be eaten because they will put you to sleep. Eventually Paddy dies and together, cousins Richard and Emmeline Lestrange have to survive, which is quite easy as there are no dangerous animals on the island. Years later, they have grown tall, strong and beautiful. The two teenagers are living in a self-constructed hut, strange emotions start influencing their relationship. Although they have no grown-ups to educate them for all that time, their behavior always stays very civilized.

Because of both their solitude, and their real love for each other, Richard and Emmeline fall in love and begin to discover their sexuality as a way to express their affections. They make love quite often for several months, and Emmeline gets pregnant, totally unaware of the fact that a child is growing inside her. On the night their baby boy is born, Richard finds out about the origins of the drums they hear from time to time from the forbidden side of the island. They come from a savage group of natives who apparently practice human sacrifices. Richard runs back in time to see Emmeline give birth. They spend all their time with the baby boy they named Paddy, teaching him how to swim, throw a spear, and play in the mud.

One day the two young parents and Paddy are out in a boat and lose their oars. Though not far from shore, they are unable to return because of the presence of sharks. After days of being adrift at sea, Paddy eats some berries that were in the boat. The parents recognize the berries as being the ones that will put them to sleep. Hopelessly lost at sea, they decide to eat the berries as well. Somewhat later, a ship finds them floating in the boat. The ship is led by one of the children's father Arthur Lestrange, who has been searching for them for years. He asks, "Are they dead?" and a sailor answers, "No, sir. They're asleep." It is left to the viewer to decide whether they are in fact asleep and can be revived or if they will die.

Cast

Reaction

File:The Blue Lagoon movie.jpg
Promotional poster for The Blue Lagoon

Unlike her earlier Pretty Baby, this film featured no actual nude scenes for the young Shields, who was only 14 when the film was made. A body double was used for all of her nude scenes. Atkins has a few nude scenes however (which makes sense, given they are on a tropical island). It also featured them in love scenes, something the earlier film had lacked. This led some to play on the film's title, inferring the "Blue" described the content, "blue" being a common euphemism for pornographic movies, although the scenes in question were tame, even by 1980 standards.

Reportedly, appearing nude in this film inspired Atkins to be less worried about things like bathing suits, etc. in real life.

In the DVD version of this film, it was stated that many of Shields' nude scenes were in fact done by older body doubles.

Trivia

  • The DVD version of this film features two audio commentaries. The first is by Randal Kleiser, Douglas Day Stewart and Brooke Shields; the second is by Randal Kleiser and Christopher Atkins.
  • This film is a remake of the 1949 classic The Blue Lagoon, starring Jean Simmons and Donald Houston. The original version, directed by Frank Launder, lacks the nudity and sexual content.
  • This film was followed eleven years later by the 1991 sequel Return to the Blue Lagoon.
  • Randal Kleiser, producer and director of this film, is also the executive producer of the 1991 sequel Return to the Blue Lagoon.
  • Kelly Preston auditioned for the role of Emmeline Lestrange.
  • Matt Dillon was the original choice for the role of Richard Lestrange, but turned it down.
  • This film was shot on location on Nanuya Levu, a privately-owned island in Fiji.

Awards and Nominations

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