Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: Difference between revisions

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
File:Pirates of the Caribbean movie.jpg Film poster
Directed by	Gore Verbinski
Written by	Story: Ted Elliott Terry Rossio Stuart Beattie Jay Wolpert Screenplay: Ted Elliott Terry Rossio
Produced by	Jerry Bruckheimer
Starring	Johnny Depp Geoffrey Rush Orlando Bloom Keira Knightley and Jonathan Pryce
Cinematography	Dariusz Wolski
Edited by	Stephen Rivkin Arthur Schmidt Craig Wood
Music by	Klaus Badelt Hans Zimmer (Uncredited)
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures Buena Vista Pictures
Release dates	July 9, 2003
Running time	143 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$140 million

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) is a pirate adventure film set in the Caribbean between 1660 and 1720. It was inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean attractions at Disney theme parks around the world, developed by Walt Disney himself. Pirates was directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and became the first Walt Disney Pictures release to earn a PG-13 rating by the MPAA (all previous WDP releases were rated G or PG).

Pirates grossed almost $654 million worldwide, becoming the 22nd highest grossing film in the United States. It proved to be a success for Walt Disney Pictures and, within weeks of its release, the studio announced that a sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was in development (it was released in the United States on July 7, 2006). Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End is in production, and is slated for a May 25, 2007 release.

Production

When production for the film was first announced in early 2002, movie fans and critics were skeptical of its chances of success; the concept of Disney basing a movie upon one of its own theme-park rides seemed to many a crass marketing ploy. Additionally, the genre of pirate-themed movies had seen a string of big-budget flops (Cutthroat Island, and Treasure Planet, among others).

The lead character is pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp. Among the actors also considered for the role were Jim Carrey, Christopher Walken and Michael Keaton; professional wrestler Kurt Angle auditioned for the role.

In the film he befriends Will Turner, played by Orlando Bloom. Among the many young actors considered for the role were Jude Law, Ewan McGregor, Tobey Maguire, Christopher Masterson and Christian Bale.

Plot

Governor Swann (Jonathan Pryce), the new governor of Port Royal, Jamaica, and his young daughter, Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) sail from England to the Caribbean on board the H.M.S. Dauntless. A young officer, Lieutenant Norrington (Jack Davenport) of the British Royal Navy is also aboard. They come upon a shipwreck with a sole survivor: a boy named Will Turner (Orlando Bloom). Elizabeth discovers a gold skull medallion around Will's neck and, fearing that he will be executed as a pirate, quickly hides it from the others. Elizabeth briefly glimpses another ship with shredded black sails vanishing into the mist.

Eight years later, Captain Norrington is being promoted to Commodore. Elizabeth attends the ceremony at her father's request. Norrington is Elizabeth's suitor; just as he begins to propose to her on the battlements, she faints because of the tight bodice she was wearing, tumbling over the wall into the bay. Destitute pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), only just arrived in Port Royal, rescues Elizabeth from drowning. The skull medallion Elizabeth is wearing around her neck, emits a mysterious pulse through the water as she is sinking (This scene is reportedly not seen in fileshared versions, and was also reportedly not in the theatrical version). After saving Elizabeth, the occupying British forces attempt to arrest Jack for piracy, for which he has been branded on the forearm by the East India Trading Company (pirate lore suggests the tattoos were actually placed on the foreheads of the convicted). Sparrow escapes and ducks into a blacksmith shop where he encounters Will Turner — now a blacksmith's apprentice. Will is also a seeker of Elizabeth, but due to his social rank, hides his feelings for her. Following a swordfight with Turner, Sparrow is knocked unconscious by Will's employer (who slept through the entire fight) and is arrested and jailed.

That night, Port Royal is besieged by the infamous ghost ship known as the Black Pearl — a black-sailed vessel crewed by vicious, bloodthirsty pirates, and captained by a man reputed to be "so evil that Hell itself spat him back out". The mysterious pulse that emanated from Elizabeth's medallion has "called" the Black Pearl. The pirates ransack Port Royal and kidnap Elizabeth (who hides her true identity by claiming her last name is Turner) who is in possession of the medallion. She invokes the right of parlé ("parlai" in Middle English, "parley" in modern American English—a negotiation or discussion between two parties, particularly in military situations, during which no harm can befall the adversary) in order to be taken back to the ship to Captain Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), Sparrow's former First Mate of the Black Pearl. Elizabeth asks Barbossa to cease his attack on Port Royal in exchange for the medallion. Barbossa agrees but, employing a loophole in their agreements, abducts Elizabeth.

File:Carib8.JPG

Jack and Will prepare to commandeer the Interceptor.

The next day, Will (having seen Elizabeth taken by the Pearl's crew) fails in his passionate efforts to convince Commodore Norrington and the Royal Navy to immediately pursue the culprits (despite the Commodore's own feelings towards Elizabeth). While the Commodore puts his faith in strategy, Will seeks help from Jack Sparrow and agrees to break him out of jail in exchange for assistance in rescuing Elizabeth. After absconding with the HMS Interceptor, the Royal Navy's fastest ship, and assembling a crew in the lawless town of Tortuga (Spanish for turtle), Jack and Will set off to find Barbossa and the Black Pearl, which is heading towards Isla de Muerta (Spanish for "Island of the Dead")— a mysterious island that is said to be undiscoverable, save for "those who already know where it is."

File:Carib5.JPG

The Black Pearl attacks Port Royal.

Here, we learn the true story and intentions of Barbossa and his crew. The Black Pearl and its crew were once under the command of Captain Jack Sparrow until they mutinied ten years before. Jack was persuaded into giving the crew the bearings to Isla de Muerta, the location of a supposedly cursed chest of Aztec gold coins they sought. Under the command of Jack's first mate Barbossa, the crew then marooned Jack on a small island, leaving him a pistol containing only one shot, presumably to put himself out of his misery. The crew found the Aztec treasure, and believing the tale of the curse to be a myth, took all the treasure for themselves. Will's father, "Bootstrap Bill" Turner, was the only member of the crew who protested against the mutiny. Bootstrap Bill sent one of the cursed gold pieces away to his son in hopes that the crew would never find it and remain cursed as a fitting punishment for the mutiny; but in doing so accepted that the curse would befall him as well. In retaliation, Barbossa ordered Bootstrap to be tied to a cannon and thrown overboard. He was last seen, according to one of Barbossa's mates of The Black Pearl, Pintel, falling into the hands of Davy Jones (another character who appears in the sequels).

Too late, the crew discovered that the curse was indeed real; whoever steals even one of the coins shall be incapable of digesting food, experiencing what the sense of touch conveys, sleeping, or dying. They are therefore neither dead nor alive. Only if the blood of each person who took part in the thievery is spilled on the gold will this curse be lifted. Unfortunately for the Pearl's crew, Bootstrap Bill now resides at the bottom of the ocean, so one of his family must take his place, or they will remain cursed forever. In the meantime, anyone under it rots deathlessly, to be revealed by moonlight as a mobile skeleton and little else.

Due to Elizabeth's attempt to disguise her rank by using Will's surname, the pirates believe she is Bootstrap's daughter and use her accordingly; poised over the chest of gold, Barbossa makes a cut on her hand and lets her blood flow. There is no change.

Just after the Pearl's crew tries —unsuccessfully— to lift the curse, Will and Elizabeth escape in a boat after sabotaging the others and leaving Jack behind (in keeping with the pirate's code, which says "any man who falls behind is left behind"). When Barbossa and the crew discover Jack still on the isle, Jack offers to trade information on the person whose blood will lift the curse (Will's) in exchange for his return as Captain of the Black Pearl. Jack's negotiations come to naught when the Pearl manages to catch up to the fleeing Interceptor and the crew boards her. Will is trapped below deck while trying to get the medallion. Jack escapes and tries to recover the medallion, but it is taken instead by Barbossa's pet monkey (also named Jack). Successful in their mission, the Pearl's crew takes the Interceptor's crew—including Elizabeth—captive and destroys the ship, seemingly with Will on board. Even as Elizabeth begins to mourn, Will climbs aboard the Pearl and reveals himself to the crew as the true offspring of Bootstrap Bill. Elizabeth and Jack are stranded on the same island on which Jack was stranded a decade ago, while Will is taken back for his blood to be shed to complete the requirements to end the curse. Elizabeth burns all their supplies (Jack's hidden cache of rum), as well as some of the small island's palm trees, to create a signal fire to alert Norrington of her location. Elizabeth and Jack are eventually rescued by Norrington, but Elizabeth is unable to convince him to go back and rescue Will until Elizabeth promises to marry the Commodore.

File:Pirates4.JPG

Will breaks the curse.

Upon arriving at the cursed island, Jack convinces Norrington's forces to lie in ambush for Barbossa's crew while he goes in and convinces them to come out. He convinces Barbossa to delay spilling Will's blood to break the curse until after they have killed the crew of the HMS Dauntless and taken the ship. This proves to all be part of a larger plan laid for Jack's revenge; however, he was not expecting the undead crew to walk along the ocean floor to the ship, which allows them to escape the planned ambush. As the Black Pearl crew engages the Royal Navy in hand-to-hand combat aboard the Dauntless, Jack steals one of the cursed coins and engages in his own swordfight with Barbossa, his former first mate. Because he stole one of the coins, Jack too is now cursed and thus can't be killed until the curse is lifted. During their fight, he distracts Barbossa long enough until both he and Will can give their blood and return their respective coins (Will has Elizabeth's medallion, Jack the coin he recently stole). Before Will drops the coins into the chest, Jack shoots Barbossa with his pistol, containing the one shot he was given when marooned after Barbossa's mutiny. When Barbossa claims, "Ten years you carry that pistol and now you waste your shot." Will claims, "He didn't waste it!" and drops the coins into the chest breaking the curse. After the curse ends and all the Black Pearl crew becomes mortal again, Barbossa falls to the treasure-covered ground and drops his sour, green apple. Once they realize they are no longer cursed — and now mortal — Barbossa's crew surrenders to the Royal Navy.

Back at Port Royal, Norrington prepares to hang Jack as per law, but Will, who believes him decent enough a man not to deserve death, rescues Jack. Elizabeth, inspired by Will's sudden defiance, as well as his confession to her, declines marriage to Norrington and declares her feelings for Will instead. Norrington agrees to release her from her promise and Will is pardoned for his criminal act; meanwhile, Jack escapes and awkwardly falls into the ocean, to be rescued by his crew, which now man the Black Pearl. Norrington watches as Jack sets sail for unknown adventure, impressed by the pirate enough to allow him one day's head start before setting out in pursuit.

Following the end credits, in a final scene on Isla de Muerta, Barbossa's pet monkey, Jack, climbs out of the water and onto the Aztec chest, where he takes a piece of the treasure. Jack's skin sloughs off and the now cursed monkey glares straight ahead for a moment before pouncing forward, the scene disappearing into his mouth. This explains why Jack the monkey is still cursed in Dead Man's Chest.

Reaction

Critics were pleasantly surprised to find the film an enjoyable swashbuckler, and the movie became a huge box-office success, grossing over $300 million in North America alone, and made over $600 million worldwide, thus making it the 26th highest grossing movie of all time worldwide.

It has been voted onto IMDb's "top 250 films of all-time" list by its users.

The film also received five Academy Award nominations: Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects, and a surprise Best Actor nomination for Johnny Depp.

Other films based upon Disney theme-park attractions (The Country Bears, The Haunted Mansion) fared poorly; it is notable, however, that films promoted and distributed by Disney are often the work of separate production companies (in this case, Jerry Bruckheimer Films).

Roger Ebert claimed the film "came into your homes...and overstayed its welcome." Despite giving a positive review, Ebert claims it was just a little too long with lots of unnecessary plotlines.

DVD and iTunes

The DVD for the film was released five months after the theatrical release, December 2, 2003.

This movie is among the first available on the iTunes music store. It was ranked the number-one movie download upon its release.

Sequels

The success of Pirates resulted in the production of two sequels:

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End

See also

• Timeline of Pirates of the Caribbean Films

External links

• Official Site
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl at IMDb
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl at Rotten Tomatoes