THE BLUE LAGOON
Fiji
Nothing says the 1980s quite like a 14-year-old Brooke Shields frolicking topless on a beach with her curly-haired blond cousin played by Christopher Atkins in The Blue Lagoon. The romantic adventure drama, filmed on Fiji's Turtle Island, tells the story of Richard and Emmeline, who are marooned in paradise following a shipwreck. Rather racy for the time, Shields' hair was glued to her breasts in the topless scenes, and older body doubles were used.
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY
Hawaii
This Pearl Harbor classic, starring Burt Lancaster and Frank Sinatra, is about a soldier transferred to Hawaii in the early 1940s whose captain wants him to resurrect his latent boxing skills. When he refuses, his life becomes a living hell. All this, plus infidelity, romance and lots of snogging on the beach.
THE HURRICANE
Tahiti
French Polynesia is the backdrop for this 1937 tale about Terangi who sails to Tahiti with his new bride Marama. After he punches a drunk Frenchman in a bar who insults him, Terangi unjustly winds up in the clink. Worth watching for the much-lauded hurricane scene alone.
THE ORATOR
Samoa
This is reportedly the first-ever Samoan feature film entirely shot in Samoa, in the Samoan language, with a Samoan cast and story. The highly acclaimed movie tells the story of Saili, a taro farmer and dwarf who has not inherited his father's chiefly status, and must fight for his proper place.
JOE VS THE VOLCANO
Waponi Woo
Okay, so Waponi Woo is not a real place, but if you use your imagination, it could be anywhere in the South Pacific. Tom Hanks plays a man diagnosed with a rare disease, who accepts cash to travel to a South Pacific island and throw himself into a volcano on behalf of the superstitious natives. His plans are upset when he falls in love with Angelica (Meg Ryan), who is given the job of escorting him there.