Return to the Blue Lagoon

Cinephile deep dive

The take

William A. Graham directs. Robert Steadman behind the camera. Basil Poledouris scores. Ronald J. Fagan cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Earned back only 26% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 235 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 3Part of the "The Blue Lagoon Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
• 4Directed by William A. Graham, shot by Robert Steadman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Basil Poledouris. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Ronald J. Fagan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Milla Jovovich and Brian Krause and Lisa Pelikan carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "Return to the Romance, Return to the Adventure...".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0102782 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Classified under 9 themes, including "island", "marooned", "family abandonment", "pacific island".

The technical file

Cinematography

Robert Steadman

Original score

Basil Poledouris

Editing

Ronald J. Fagan

Production design

Jon Dowding

Makeup / hair

Jan Zeigenbein

Sound

John J. Stephens

Stunt coordinator

Phil Culotta

Runtime

98 min · 1h 38m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$11,000,000

Box office

$2,807,854

Return

26% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG-13

IMDB

Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

0% 🥫 Rotten

Metacritic

28/100

IMDB rating

5.2/10 · 22,148 votes

MPAA

PG-13

Part of

The Blue Lagoon Collection

A romance and adventure collection about two young children marooned on a tropical island.

• 
  The Blue Lagoon

  1980
• 
  Return to the Blue Lagoon

  1991 · this one

Also by

William A. Graham

• 
  Shirts/Skins

  1973 · ★ 10.0
• 
  Transplant

  1979 · ★ 10.0
• 
  Sounder, Part 2

  1976 · ★ 10.0
• 
  Beyond Suspicion

  1993 · ★ 9.5
• 
  Magic Carpet

  1972 · ★ 9.0
• 
  The Creative Performer

  1960 · ★ 8.5

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Return to the Blue Lagoon Trailer

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Wuchak2021-06-28
  ★ 7/10

  Growing up on an isolated island with a youthful Milla Jovovich In 1897, a missionary widow (Lisa Pelikan) and two toddlers are stranded on a paradisal island in the South Pacific. As the kids grow they learn about the wonders and dangers of life on their remote isle, including the birds & the bees. Milla Jovovich and Brian Krause play the two youths while Nana Coburn is also on hand. “Return to the Blue Lagoon” (1991) is the sequel to the 1980 hit movie, but bombed at the box office, likely because it’s basically a retread. I prefer this one for various reasons; including the entertaining last act and the simple fact that I favor Milla over Brooke Shields (the latter never did anything for me). Both movies were based on Henry De Vere Stacpoole’s trilogy, although this one deviates more than the first. There are similarities to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Tarzan of the Apes,” which suggests that Burroughs was influenced by “The Blue Lagoon” since it debuted in 1908, four years before “Tarzan” (although Burroughs claims that his only inspiration was the Roman myth of Romulus and Remus). (Why Sure!). This is a well done and realistic island drama/adventure/romance and doesn’t deserve its bad rap. If you like movies involving castaways, like “Mysterious Island” (1961), “Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan” (1984) and “Six Days Seven Nights” (1998), it’s a must. This one just lacks the fantasy or farcical elements and is more akin to “Crusoe” (1988) and “Lord of the Flies” (1990). The film runs 1 hour, 42 minutes, and was shot on Taveuni Island, Fiji. GRADE: B

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• PR

  Price Entertainment

• 

  Columbia Pictures

  US

Key crew

• Camera OperatorVincent Monton
• GafferAlan Goldenhar
• Assistant CameraRobert Agganis
• Key GripMark Abrahams
• Second Assistant DirectorPaul Grinder
• First Assistant DirectorBob Roe
• Second Assistant CameraBarry Idoine
• Underwater CameraRon Taylor
• Script SupervisorJackie Sullivan
• Best Boy ElectricGary Hill
• First Assistant EditorRobert W. Hedland
• Script SupervisorJenny Quigley
• Camera OperatorPaul Thompson
• Assistant EditorDon Roth
• Camera OperatorGeoffrey Wharton
• Still PhotographerVivian Zink
• First Assistant CameraDarrin Keough
• Script SupervisorNicola Moors
• Negative CutterDonah Bassett
• Assistant EditorGary Simon
• Art DirectionPaul Ammitzboll
• ProducerPeter Bogart
• EditorRonald J. Fagan
• ProducerWilliam A. Graham

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• island
• marooned
• family abandonment
• pacific island
• deserted island
• tropical island
• abandoned by mother
• abandoned
• abandoned child

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1991-08-02PG-13

Also known as

International titles

• Powrót do Błękitnej LagunyPL
• Powrót na Błękitną LagunęPL
• Mavi Göle DönüşTR
• 블루 라군 2KR
• 푸른 산호초 2KR
• Regreso al lago azulES
• De Volta à Lagoa AzulBR