The Blue Lagoon
Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins played the young couple and Randal Kleiser, who directed the wildly successful Grease two years previously, was more than prepared to handle the film's 4.5 million dollar budget. Shields, known for her eyebrows and eye-popping Calvin Klein jeans ads, was the obvious draw for the film. She started out as an Ivory soap baby in commercials when she was only an infant, and by 1978 found herself in Louis Malle's Pretty Baby in the controversial role of a 12-year old prostitute. Shields largely retreated from films soon after The Blue Lagoon and focused on her collegiate studies and television. From 1996-2000 she had her own television series, Suddenly Susan.
Christopher Atkins, by comparison, had a much shorter run: The Blue Lagoon was his first film, but due to his natural good looks and heavy publicity efforts he became a sexy teen idol overnight. His next feature, The Pirate Movie (1982), was a musical comedy "inspired" by Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, and co-starred Kristy McNichol. It enjoyed some success as a cult film. A turn on the TV series Dallas followed (1983-84), and after that Atkins saw his career deteriorate into a series of B-movies like Shakma (1990) featuring a killer baboon. Leo McKern, who plays a crusty cook shipwrecked with the children, perhaps enjoyed the greatest success playing the title character in the Rumpole of the Bailey television series, which enjoyed a long, transatlantic run in the seventies and eighties.
The Blue Lagoon was shot in various locations including Fiji and Jamaica. From the beginning, there were numerous obstacles to overcome in production. Many of the cast and crew were afflicted with tropical ulcers, topical formations from cuts on the organic coral. Persistent winds as well as numerous action sequences meant that Shields had to paste her hair to her breasts to hide her nudity.
When shooting began on Turtle Island in Fiji, it was Winter on the island - so leaves that had turned brown during the season had to be spray painted green. Furthermore, the owner of the island was originally from Oregon and, obviously feeling nostalgic for his homeland, had planted pine trees all over the area. Nestor Almendros, the cinematographer, had to go to great lengths to ensure none of the evergreens turned up in the frame. . . they weren't exactly native plants.
Almendros, nominated for his work in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Sophie's Choice (1982), and a winner for Best Cinematography in 1979 for Days of Heaven (1978), had his work cut out for him in The Blue Lagoon. In addition to the less than optimal conditions, the novel's author, Stacpoole, provided very specific details regarding the island and its animal inhabitants. A ship's surgeon for over forty years, Stacpoole was an expert on the South Sea Islands. Almendros' heady task of recreating the paradise visually was accomplished; the film is full of lush landscape shots and exotic animal and insect close-ups. Almendros' efforts did not go unnoticed; he was again nominated for an Oscar for his work in this film in 1980. The rest of the cast and crew, however, did not fare as well. Christopher Atkins was nominated for a Golden Globe, but the only winner turned out to be Shields. She won a 1981 Razzie award for Worst Actress. Campy and pubescently erotic, The Blue Lagoon might not be a worthy Academy Award contender but it certainly ranks high as a Guilty Pleasure for many moviegoers.
Producer/Director: Randal Kleiser
Screenplay: Douglas Day Stewart, based on the novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole
Art Direction: Jon DowdingCinematography: Nestor Almendros
Costume Design: Jean-Pierre Dorleac
Film Editing: Robert Gordon
Original Music: Basil Poledouris
Principal Cast: Brooke Shields (Emmeline), Christopher Atkins (Richard), Leo McKern (Paddy), William Daniels (Arthur), Elva Josephson (young Emmeline), Glenn Kohan (Young Richard).
C-105m. Letterboxed. Closed captioning.
