The sixth adaptation of an infamous story remains on Netflix
More than 40 years after its release, a survival drama from the 1980s The blue lagoon came back into the spotlight after the revelations in Brooke Shields’ documentary Pretty babyin which the actress reflected on how the filmmakers tried to “sell her sexual awakening in the film” even though she was only 14 when production began.
It was just one of several unpleasant experiences for Shields during her formative years in the industry, but the tainted legacy of Blue Lagoon didn’t stop the 1908 source novel from continuing to be adapted for the screen in 1981, 1993 and finally 2012 The awakening was released as a Lifetime original film.
The film deviates from the norm as it is set in modern times. A fresh-faced Brenton Thwaites stars alongside Indiana Evans in the two lead roles, although the producers have at least learned the lessons of the past, as the latter was only 21 when it landed on screens, it received about as lukewarm a welcome as one gets would expect from one of the basic cable network’s many, many, many low-budget exclusives.
Strangely, however Blue Lagoon: The Awakening is stranded on Netflix’s global watchlist after being added to the library in several markets FlixPatrol It was named a top 10 hit in several countries around the globe.
As the sixth and perhaps most memorable adaptation of its inspiration, it isn’t exactly remembered for long, but it’s still strange that it’s making a resurgence not long after Shields’ reflection on her questionable experiences with the most famous film repeating history.
