User reviews

The first movie starring Phoebe Cates. She was a different kind of a star. This movie put her on the maps. She's definitely cute in this movie which is the attraction for the age group the movie was made for.

The movie is the '80s creation that included many teen oriented movies of that decade. It's pretty harmless, and out of the many teen actors of that era, Phoebe Cates was definitely one of the best looking.

That's about all there is to this movie. Producers must have thought that this is a bankable movie following the Blue Lagoon's format. The way they were dressed were almost a carbon copy of Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins in that movie.

I have to admit that we did get to see what we wanted to see, and that is Phoebe Cates in all her natural glory. Just for that it was worth the price of the ticket.

Phoebe Cates made her screen debut with TV teen heartthrob Willie Aames in Paradise, a landlocked Blue Lagoon with unfriendly Arabs lurking on the borders of Paradise. It's definitely got some nice nude shots of both young performers to gratify the prurient.

The two young people are in Bagdad of 1823 then part of the Ottoman Empire and governed rather loosely from Istanbul. Cates is with her guardian who is your proper British official and Aames is the son of a bible thumping reverend and his wife. All of these people haven't a clue about where they're at, just an exaggerated sense of western superiority.

But the beautiful and nubile Cates has caught the attention of a sheik who's in the slave trade. He could get some good bucks for her or keep her as private stock. He and his people ambush the caravan, but the kids escape and come to a hidden oasis where they set up and play house.

The similarities to the Blue Lagoon are rather obvious even in the looks of the protagonists. But whereas those kids had been shipwrecked on their island since they were still in single digits in The Blue Lagoon, in Paradise these two young people already know the facts of life, it's just that they have that Protestant Christian upbringing.

The film was shot in Israel and the scenery is magnificent with and without Aames and Cates. Given that Aames is now a born again Christian he probably wants those male nude shots off the market, so hang on to your DVDs and VHSs.

The only two reasons to watch this movie are on Phoebe Cates chest. This is better than the movie it copies "Blue Lagoon", but that is saying very little. The best way to watch this movie is to have your finger on fast forward. There is a lot of wasted time that will put you to sleep. Unless you are specifically interested in seeing the the reasons previously mentioned, don't bother with this mess.

Like most of the others, I found a lot of this movie rather trite. I don't blame Aames or Cates for this; I thought they were good actors who did their best with terrible material. The plot is something straight out of a trashy romance novel, which could have worked with better writing but the script is a mess. However, lost in this mediocre feature film is a great 30 minute soft-core porn. The sex scenes are highly erotic, and the nude scenes are done with much better camera work and production than you would typically have in a skin flick. I'm particularly fond of the cave shower scene, where Phoebe Cates positively scorches the camera with her hotness.

As to the previous comment that the movie is not worth seeing, any movie showing a half-naked, young Phoebe Cates IS worth viewing, (at least for a straight male or gay female). Just get it on DD and fast forward through the boring parts.

Admittedly, the story is silly and predictable. ALso, for me, I identify W. Aames with Charles in Charge, where he was the perpetual dummy. I realize it's just a role, but it's hard for me to see him as a woman's version of a sex symbol.

But the story aside, the photography and surroundings are beautiful, as of course is P. Cates. And since most of us can now get movies for free from the local library, or virtually free from the usual sources, it's worth an hour, just don't have unrealistic expectations. (BTW, it's not as if Blue Lagoon was an artistic masterpiece either, just a little less silly than Paradise.

A teenage boy (Aames) and a teenage girl (Cates) are lost in the desert but eventually find their way to an isolated oasis, where they fight off illness, desert bandits, and growing lust for each other. Okay, so it's a rip off of BLUE LAGOON, an excuse for the two stars to run naked and presumably titillate viewers with the sight of their young, nubile bodies.

Now, God knows Aames and Cates are young and nubile. But there is a price to pay for the sight of them running naked: you have to sit through one of the worst movies ever made.

I actually saw this on the big screen, and I can report that about fifteen minutes into the movie people began to leave, talking loudly about what an incredibly bad movie it was; those of us who remained were treated to an increasingly mind-numbing boredom so ponderously heavy that we were shocked into immobility. No amount of teen age nudity could make this turkey watchable. Miss it!

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

It's obvious the only good reviews come from those who were adolescent boys there to stare at Phoebe Cates. There is some nice cinematography also to commend.

I'm not surprised no one mentioned one of the least talented and most irritating teen actors ever. Known for Eight Is Enough and Charles in Charge, Ames was always glib, irritating, and full of himself, with a ridiculous poofy white boy imitation of an Afro haircut. I think he ruined most of what he was cast in, and this is no exception.

Cates is almost as out of place here as Ames. IRL she's Jewish and Chinese, but supposedly playing a girl from an English noble family.

Like the film it imitated, Blue Lagoon, pretty but dumb and catering to teen fantasy.

After reading the comments here, I hesitated on this one but glad I went ahead and saw it. Yes, the story has problems, far-fetched and cheesy, but the cinematography, costuming, and settings were fantastic. I don't consider myself too generous giving the film a 7 despite certain shortcomings. The locations - desert, oases, Arabic architecture were well chosen, costuming very stylish, camels, ocean, underwater photography were well done. The actors/actresses did a decent job despite the script. And since when was any paradise on this planet anything but far-fetched? Blue Lagoon does not own youthful awakening. Dream a little and enjoy the visuals.

Silly rehash of "The Blue Lagoon". The plot is pointless--this was just made to show Willie Aames and Phoebe Cates as nude as many times as an R rating would allow.

Now I like "The Blue Lagoon". Yes it's stupid but Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins had nice bodies and were actually not bad as actors. Beautiful cinematography too. As for this movie--Aames and Cates are young and have great bodies too--but they can't act. The nudity can only carry this movie so far. Without that you're left with a boring story and lousy actors. When I saw it at a theatre the audience was quiet--at first. After the first two nude scenes people started to walk out. Then people started giggling at the horrendous acting. By the end of the film most of the audience was in hysterics laughing out loud at this. I think the part that really set them off was when they showed the monkey miming what Aames did when he "pleasured" himself. That aside the characters were totally obnoxious. Aames comes across as a spoiled brat--Cates came across as not having a brain. Heck, this doesn't even have the beautiful shots that "Blue Lagoom" had! Unless you're desperate to see these two actors nude you can skip this.

Paradise stars Willie Aames as David and Phoebe Cates as Sarah. They play 2 teenagers who are traveling with their parents on a caravan to Damascas when their group is raided by a slave trader named "The Jackel" (Tuvia Tavi). Both Sarah's and David's parents are killed in the attack. This forces Sarah and David to escape through the desert with Sarah's family servant Geoffrey. David comes across an underground "paradise" in the desert with running streams, etc. Geoffrey becomes ill which leads to David and Sarah fending for themselves. Since both of their parents were Christians (who were actually on a pilgrimage) the kids are very innocent in the ways of sex, etc. which they discover. They are not of the woods though since the Jackel and other raiders are still out there. This is an OK movie which took its basic premise from the film "The Blue Lagoon" It is not the greatest film and the script and plot is somewhat laughable at times. Cates does a good job though as does Aames. One of the main attractions of the film though are the frequent nude scenes which shows her spectacular figure. If you liked The Blue Lagoon you will like this movie as it is slightly better made. If you are a fan of Phoebe Cates this is a must see.

It's 1823 Baghdad. Sarah Scott (Phoebe Cates) from London catches the eye of slave trader Jackal. She's traveling with the family's loyal servant Geoffrey. David McBride (Willie Aames) is traveling with his missionary parents from Boston. The McBrides joins them in the caravan to Damascus. They are attacked at a stop by Jackal who wants Sarah for himself. Sarah and David manage to escape with Geoffrey but everybody else are massacred or taken as slaves. Geoffrey contacts a Bedouin group but it turns out to be the Jackal and he's killed. Sarah and David manages to find an oasis where they live together in isolation.

This tries to be 'The Blue Lagoon' in the desert except it has a bit more porn, soft-core porn. They find a beautiful cave shower for Phoebe Cates to get naked in. The cheese factor is pretty high. In order to copy Blue Lagoon, the young couple manages to get to the sea so that they could do the underwater naked filming. There are even two chimp companions for comic relief. It's pretty sad and on top of it all, it's inherently a copy of another B-movie.

Unless you're Kevin Kline, there's probably zero chance of seeing Phoebe Cates in the raw for real without the risk of a custodial sentence; the best that you can do is to get hold of an uncut copy of Cates' movie debut Paradise, a desert adventure/coming of age movie in which the gorgeous actress gives her fans, and her lucky co-star Willy Aames, plenty to get excited about.

The delectable Miss Cates plays 19th Century English traveller Sarah, who finds herself lost in the desert with fellow teenager David (Aames) after their camel train is attacked by a ruthless gang of slave traders led by 'The Jackal'. Narrowly escaping capture on several occasions, Sarah and David eventually make their way to the coast where they spend their time frolicking in the sea, watching their pet chimp pull his pud, and—once their hormones kick in—getting jiggy with each other.

This storyline, blatantly ripped off from the Brooke Shields hit The Blue Lagoon, ensures that fabulous Phoebe gets her kit off at regular intervals, proving that she is more than just a pretty face—she's got a rockin' bod as well!! Cates bares her awesome ass under a cascade of warm water in a cave, exposes her breasts as she examines them for size, and gives brief glimpses of bush as she goes for a naked underwater swim. She looks so yummy, it's no wonder that 'The Jackal' continues his search for Sarah to the bitter end...

To be honest, as an adventure flick, Paradise is mediocre at best, but any film with this much Cates on display is guaranteed full marks from me.

I saw this film in 1982 when I was 14 years old (purpose: to see the much publicized full frontal nudity of the aptly named co-star Willie Aames.) The short scene (pun intended) did not impress me, nor did Aames' acting. However, Phoebe was such a strong confident actress she became my favorite actress. She followed with a terrific list of credits, most notably Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Private School (so-so movie but she was great in it), Lace I and II (excellent TV pictures), Gremlins I and II, Date With An Angel, Bright Lights Big City, Heart of Dixie, Shag, Drop Dead Fred, and Bodies Rest and Motion. Paradise is a Blue Lagoon rip-off but there are not too many films in that specific genre (Blue Lagoon 2, Castaway, Paradise 2) so I am glad they made the film. Besides, despite it's lack of originality, it is a good film. I think women young and old will enjoy the film (14 years and up due to tasteful appropriate nude scenes) because of it's romantic fantasy and strong female role, and I think guys will as long as they like a beautiful woman cavorting nude on a lost isle.

This film was sometimes good, but far too often things got silly and it became hard to take the movie seriously. The more dramatic parts actually aren't that bad, but there are many pointless and fluffy moments in this film, and they really killed any momentum. About an hour in, it was clear that this film would only be good in brief spurts, so in addition to being irritated by dumb scenes, I was getting somewhat bored as well. And then there was the predictability of the whole story. So all-in-all, there isn't much to recommend about this film, and therefore I wouldn't suggest that anyone bother with this movie.

Phoebe Cates and Willie Aames (was this guy ever really a respected actor?) embark on a goofy journey into the heart of the modern day vision of paradise. No jobs, no paychecks, no deadlines, no traffic, none of that. Just beautiful weather, stunning waterfalls, loincloths, and of course, angry Arabs intent on adding poor Sarah (Cates) to his collection of mistresses.

David and Sarah had narrowly escaped from these menacing enemies, and found a peaceful place in paradise to spend their time. Luckily, they happen to have run across all of the modern conveniences; a nice little house, beds with perfect mattresses, pillows, tables, pots & pans, a bench swing, a wide variety of clothes and jewelry for Sarah, everything that logically should not be there.

The story almost resembles something that could be a little interesting, but it falls apart because of bland direction and absolutely ridiculous acting (especially from Aames). And while the extensive nudity was not always unwelcome, the majority of it was clearly thrown in for no good reason. The romance that developed between David and Sarah (after she eventually pounded her amorous interests through his idiot skull) was believable enough I guess, but you really had to try hard to get past the idiotic acting and the pathetic dialogue. If you're into B-movies, check this one out. Otherwise, you may want to ignore this one.

What do you get when you cross a beautiful lass like Phoebe Cates with a former 1980s teen heartthrob, Willie Aames?. Well, an erotic adventure of course! It's exploitation at it's finest and it manages to shine through despite the cheap quality of the whole thing. The two leads didn't leave any lack to be desired during this "sexual awareness" outing where he's a "guilty and shameful Christian" while she's just plain curious. Yeah, a "Blue Lagoon rip off" in more ways than one, but it manages to hold its own distinctive flavor without stealing anything from what inspired it.

As much as I enjoyed this flick, I just couldn't take it seriously. I was actually smirking when the funeral proceedings were held for David's missionary parents after the Jackel's attack with his henchmen. I saw better dramatics than that in an 'Infinity' commercial. What it ultimately boils down to is two helpless, but good looking orphans lost in an arid desert with a chipper, but ailing, Englishman to partially guide them. Once he's gone under barbaric circumstances, they have to rely on each other for support and help and wouldn't you know, an oasis magically appears to help them meet that survival.

There's a utopia time they end up having where it all plays out like a sugary fairy tale with a cute chimpanzee couple thrown in for good measure. They build a hut, have all the necessities they need and seemingly swim a lot. Of course, the Jackal and his gang often appear to disrupt the harmony and it's always, "let's get out of here!" before he arrives. Sarah is even captured at one point, but wouldn't you know, David manages to save her despite his bungling efforts and also having the misfortune of getting stung by a scorpion. He becomes sick from that, but of course, ultimately recovers.

Willie Aames and Phoebe Cates, you have to admit, make a gorgeous couple and they do bring sparks to this otherwise bubble gum adventure where sex and the sun plays a major highlight, but gets weighed down with the conflict often brewing up with the bad guys. There's no balance here, but for those Phoebe Cates fans, this is a major "eye candy" excursion into seeing her at her barest glory. A good view if you like cheap, but arousing entertainment like this.

People who say that this movie is a ripoff of Blue Lagoon either haven't seen Blue Lagoon or haven't seen this movie. I suspect that they are merely quoting Leonard Maltin or some other uninformed source who doesn't bother to watch movies before reviewing them.

The only thing this movie and Blue Lagoon have in common is atrocious dialog. But whereas Blue Lagoon is atrocious dialog all the way, in this movie the idiot-level talk occurs only in certain scenes. If you copy the scenes that are NOT idiotic onto a blank videotape, you'll have a ten-star movie that is one hour and twenty-three minutes long with no story elements left out, no love scenes left out and no nudity left out. The stupid scenes are brief but numerous, so fast-forwarding over them is tedious.

The story of this movie is actually pretty good. It contains action scenes, love scenes, playing scenes, scenes of people being human. And all of it is quite credible, given the time and society. The nude scenes are also done quite naturally. There is no teasing, no three-second breast shots, and no shoving in the nudity for its own sake. Also, there is a fair amount of nudity, not the usual throwing in a single shot to get the R rating. And it is not drenched in hostility like the so-called "art" movies or other pretentious fare. The crisis and resolution are believable and satisfying. The music is far above average.

As to versions, if you have the videotape, there is little to be gained from buying the DVD. It's semi-widescreen, but that adds little. Both are mono, even though the DVD claims to be stereo. The sound and picture quality are quite decent on both media.

Bottom line: with the idiot-talk scenes cut, this is a rare movie, exciting, touching, and satisfying.

Excellent direction and fantastic character development. The two chimpanzees were the obvious stars of this epic. In an amazing move they had a baby baboon. Oh, and then there was the 17 year old Phoebe Cates ... the movie is so old she actually had pubic hair in the full frontal scenes. Sigh ...

(this movie doesn't deserve even a 3, but I'm taking into account the cave shower scene... and the pool scene... and the dip in the ocean... and the romantic love-making... but the movie itself is simply awful!)

Of course, I am here for Phoebe Cates. Young Phoebe Cates. Would you believe that she was a mere seventeen during the filming? And she is wonderful, even if she is not really in touch with the part at all, as she doesn't come across as a damsel in much distress, she is more suitable for FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, where perhaps something bad happened at school, maybe boyfriend trouble, because here she is more "oh golly, I dropped my ice-cream cone" than any real reaction to being pursued by murderous Arabs intent on enslaving her. She is, of course, only too cute with her brown bunny eyes so I am not going to complain too much.

She disavowed the movie immediately after filming it. I can see why. There's very little of any real worth if you take away her input. She even sang the theme song, and it's kinda cute.

Lots of nudity. Not all of them the young stars. They opted for less nudity, and scenes were shot afterward with extras providing body parts for the love-making scenes which were edited in. There is a lot to see of the long-legged teen however.

Which is best, PARADISE or BLUE LAGOON? BLUE LAGOON, it at least doesn't have the chimps. But play it safe and go for RETURN TO THE BLUE LAGOON, with Milla Jovovich.

Brooke Shields or Phoebe Cates? I haven't seen BLUE LAGOON in years, but fresh off PARADISE, I think Phoebe Cates is serious competition for Brooke Shields.

Something I'm most definitely not going to shut up about are those chumps, er, chimps. They ruin everything! The movie is dorky enough already, but when the chimp appears, I feared the little beast might show up again, but whew! it was gone, only to reappear shortly before the halfway mark and really cause it all to capsize under the weight of all that corniness. Then, inexplicably, there's a second one, and they run about in stereo, any semblance of a real movie goes out the window, the ship was already beleaguered, but now it is truly sunk.

The mood of the movie goes from romance to action to slapstick comedy, with a gory corpse thrown in really out of place in here. Kind of bi-polar, very noticeable in the structure.

As for woolly Willie Aames, the poor man's Tarzan, well, long way off from EIGHT IS ENOUGH, huh? Kinda a stretch having him here. Little guy would be eaten for breakfast. But don't blame either of the kids in the slightest, they did their best, but the script, what an inane clumsy clod wrote that childish chimpanzee-ridden junk?

How utterly convenient that these resourceful kids can lose everything in the desert, and, then, moments later, can come up with anything they need, clothing, cooking utensils, bedding, even a fishing rod. And when the plot demands a romantic setting, they are suddenly out of the desert, in somebody's back yard, how expedient.

And as for The Jackal, somebody like that would hardly come charging out all alone, where were his men? Ooh what a lame corny script!

Nothing you could take seriously. Except the beauty of the female star.

1st watched 12/4/2007, 2 out of 10(Dir-Stuart Gillard): Silly, titillating story of two young people alone in the desert being chased by a slave trader who wants the female, played by Phoebe Cates, to be his concubine. They run into oasis's as their being chased that become their temporary paradises as they play out the teenage horny version of "adam and eve." The movie starts in a city in the middle east and they are both accompanied by adult companions but as they are in route to get back to their own countries, the slave trader kills their entire group except Phoebe's companion and Willie Aames, who plays the male young character in the story. Phoebe's companion soon dies off and they are left alone to fend for themselves. This is the when the titillation begins as we get to see Phoebe nude bathing and all of a sudden Willie's characters only interest is getting into Phoebe's pants and then turns into a spoiled adolescent who isn't getting his way. Willie Aames is absolutely horrible in this film acting debut(which is probably why he didn't do much else in the movies) and Phoebe's OK when she's given a decent line. But most of the time the script calls for her to giggle at Willie's antics and de-robe whenever possible. I can't say I dislike the disrobed Phoebe, but a complete movie it doesn't make and it seems like the makers run out of ways for this to happen so they end the movie. Well, I guess I am exaggerating a little, because their was a storyline but ultimately it becomes secondary to the subplot of adolescent sexual discovery in the desert. Good movie to have around for an early 80's sample of the attempt by Hollywood to make kiddie-porn but as a movie it doesn't hold up.

This movie is NOT a rip-off of The Blue Lagoon as most of the reviewers seem to think. The setting is entirely different, as is the plot. The Blue Lagoon is about a couple of very young kids who get stranded on a Pacific island and not found until many years later when they are "grown up", with a child of their own. In Paradise, the time span is much shorter; the young couple start the movie as teenagers in North Africa, and get lost in the desert after their caravan is attacked by Arabs. It is not long before the rescuers arrive.

Paradise is way better than The Blue Lagoon, and the nudity is honestly portrayed -- if you watch The Blue Lagoon, you will notice that you never see Brooke Shields' face andbody in the same shot -- she used a body double for the rare nude scenes in that movie.

I'm not sure what's up with the reviewer who had the Korean copy with only Willie Aames full frontals censored -- I bought what was meant to be an uncut DVD of Paradise through Amazon marketplace and ended up with a Korean rip-off in which ALL the full frontal scenes were censored -- I'd gladly do a swap -- as it is, I'm hanging onto my VHS copy until I can get a DVD containing Phoebe Cates' wonderful nude scenes in their entirety. After all it is Phoebe's beauty which makes this movie worth 10/10 for me!

If crappier films were made at the time, they didn't hit your local theatre. But this one probably did. Yes, the dirty old man in me appreciates Phoebe Cates in full nude. I'll be honest about that. (Perhaps there's a fan edit that qualifies as good soft-core porn?) But there is no other justification for watching this. Take my advice and use your bandwidth more wisely.