The Blue Lagoon (1980 film)

The Blue Lagoon is a 1980 American drama film directed by Randal Kleiser from a screenplay written by Douglas Day Stewart based on the 1908 novel of the same name 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 a boy and a girl who live together in a tropical island paradise in the South Pacific after surviving a shipwreck. Without adult supervision or societal restrictions, the two navigate the emotional and physical changes of puberty, fall in love, and have a child together before being rescued at the film's end.

The Blue Lagoon was theatrically released on June 20, 1980 by Columbia Pictures. The film was panned by critics, who disparaged its screenplay, its execution, and Shields' performance; however, Almendros' cinematography received praise. In spite of the criticism, the film was a commercial success, grossing $58.8 million on a $4.5 million budget and becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of 1980 in North America. The film was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film, the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Almendros, and the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor for Atkins. Shields won the inaugural Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for her work in the film.