The Blue Lagoon (1980)
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Two cousins must navigate the complexities of puberty and survival after being shipwrecked on a remote tropical island.
The story
In the late Victorian period, two cousins, nine-year-old Richard and seven-year-old Emmeline Lestrange, and a galley cook named Paddy Button, are shipwrecked on a lush tropical island in the South Pacific. Following the death of the cook, the children are left alone on the island. Without adult supervision or societal restrictions, the two children must navigate the physical and emotional changes of puberty while attempting to survive in their isolated paradise. They eventually find themselves alone in a tropical island paradise, forced to cope with the realities of their situation and the growing complexities of their relationship.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In the late Victorian period, cousins Richard and Emmeline Lestrange are shipwrecked in the South Pacific with a cook, Paddy Button. After Paddy dies, the children move to a different part of the island. As they reach puberty, they experience physical changes and eventually have a child together. After a period of isolation, a ship appears, but they do not signal for help. Later, they find themselves in a boat at sea; after a series of events involving a shark and a lack of oars, they are eventually found by Richard's father, Arthur, who assumes they are not his children because they are covered in mud.
- First release year
- 1980
- Runtime (minutes)
- 105
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Randal Kleiser
- Writers
- Douglas Day Stewart · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Brooke Shields · Emmeline Lestrange; Christopher Atkins · Richard Lestrange; Leo McKern · Paddy Button; William Daniels · Arthur Lestrange
- Genres
- coming-of-age drama; romance
- Themes
- coming-of-age; survival
- Tone and mood
- romantic; dreamy
- Setting
- A tropical island in the South Pacific during the late Victorian period.
- Premise and plot tags
- castaways; island survival; period piece
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1908 novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole
- Franchise connections
- The Blue Lagoon
- Content notes
- nude scenes
- Reception
- The film was panned by critics for its screenplay and execution, but it was a commercial success.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 12% · scale: percentage · review count: 26; Metacritic · score: 31 · scale: 100 · review count: 14
- Awards and nominations
- Saturn Award · Best Fantasy Film · nomination; Academy Award · Best Cinematography · nomination; Golden Globe Award · New Star of the Year – Actor · nomination; Golden Raspberry Award · Worst Actress · win
- Production trivia
- The film's production led to the identification of the Fiji crested iguana.; Jodie Foster, Kelly Preston, and Diane Lane were considered for the role of Emmeline.; The film was a passion project of Randal Kleiser.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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