The Blue Lagoon Movie Trailer. In the Victorian period, two young non-related children, Richard (Glenn Kohan) and Emmeline Lestrange (Elva Josephson), and a galley cook, Paddy Button (Leo McKern), survive a shipwreck in the South Pacific and reach a lush tropical island. Paddy cares for the small children and forbids them by “law” from going to the other side of the island, as he had found remains from bloody human sacrifices. He also warns them against eating a scarlet berry which is apparently deadly.
Paddy soon dies after a drunken binge, and his body is discovered by Richard and Emmeline. Now alone, the children go to another part of the island and rebuild their home.
Years pass and they both grow into tall, strong, and beautiful teenagers. They live in their hut, spending their days together fishing, swimming, and diving for pearls. Richard and Emmeline (now portrayed by Christopher Atkins and Brooke Shields) begin to fall in love, although this is emotionally stressful for them because of their lack of education on human sexuality.
Emmeline is frightened after she has her first menstrual period; confused about it, she refuses to allow Richard to inspect her for what he imagines is a cut. Richard finds himself becoming physically attracted to Emmeline but she, though often fearful of being left alone, doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, inciting Richard to go off alone and masturbate.
Sometime later, their relationship suffers a major blow when a ship appears for the first time in years. Richard’s desire to leave comes into conflict with Emmeline’s desire to stay, and she does not light the signal fire. As a result, the ship passes by without noticing them. When Richard angrily confronts Emmaline about this, she tells him that the island is their home now and that they should stay, to Richard’s disbelief.
They insult each other and Emmeline reveals that she knows what happens when Richard goes off alone, having caught him in the act of masturbating and threatens to tell their Uncle Arthur about it, which leads him to throw a coconut at her. She throws one back, hitting him on the head. Immediately remorseful, Emmeline rushes over to him but he slaps her and says he wishes she was “dead n’ buried”. Richard’s fury leads him to kick Emmeline out of their hut.
They make up for this fight after Emmeline is nearly killed upon stepping on a stonefish and Richard admits to his fear of losing her. Emmeline recovers and after she regains her ability to walk, they go skinny dipping in the lagoon and then swim to shore. Still naked, Richard and Emmeline discover sexual intercourse and passionate love. They regularly make love from then on while occasionally spending their time together in the nude. Due to their regular sexual encounters, Emmeline becomes pregnant.
During the pregnancy, Emmaline discovers cravings and morning sickness as she continually indulges in coconut and then is discovered by Richard the following morning vomiting by the seashore. Richard and Emmeline have no knowledge of childbirth and human reproduction and assume that the physical change in Emmeline’s body is her getting fat. They are stunned when they feel the baby move inside her and assume that it is her stomach causing the movements.
The Blue Lagoon is a 1980 American romantic adventure drama film directed by Randal Kleiser and filmed on Turtle Island in Fiji. The screenplay by Douglas Day Stewart was based on the 1908 novel The Blue Lagoon by Henry De Vere Stacpoole. The film stars Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins. The music score was composed by Basil Poledouris and the cinematography was by Néstor Almendros.
The film tells the story of two young children marooned on a tropical island paradise in the South Pacific. With neither the guidance nor the restrictions of society, emotional feelings and physical changes arise as they reach puberty and fall in love.
Shields was 14 years old at the time of filming and later testified before a U.S. Congressional inquiry that older body doubles were used in some of her nude scenes. Also, throughout the film in frontal shots her breasts were always covered by her long hair or in other ways. The film received a MPAA rating of R in the United States.
The Blue Lagoon
Directed by: Randal Kleiser
Starring: Brooke Shields, Christopher Atkins, Leo McKern, William Daniels, Elva Josephson, Glenn Kohan, Alan Hopgood, Gus Mercurio
Screenplay by: Douglas Day Stewart
Cinematography by: Néstor Almendros
Film Editing by: Robert Gordon
Costume Design by: Jean-Pierre Dorléac
Art Direction by: Jon Dowding
Music by: Basil Poledouris
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: June 20, 1980
Views: 1028
