Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (
2003) is an
action-adventure/
comedy film set in the
Caribbean during the late
1600s. 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).
As of
July 21 2006,
Pirates had grossed at the box office more than $653 million worldwideâ€"the 25th highest grossing movie ever. 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 3 is also in production, slated for May 25th,
2007[ ].
Tagline:
Prepare to be blown out of the water.
When production for the film was first announced in early
2002, movie fans and critics were skeptical of its chances of being a 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 story starts when Governor
Swann (
Jonathan Pryce), the new governor of
Port Royal,
Jamaica, and his young daughter
Elizabeth (
Keira Knightley) set out from England to the Caribbean, escorted by
Lieutenant Norrington (
Jack Davenport) of the
British Royal Navy. They come upon a shipwreck with a sole survivor: a boy named
Will Turner (
Orlando Bloom). Elizabeth discovers a golden skull medallion around Will's neck and, fearing that he will be executed as a pirate, quickly hides it from the others. Just before the ship continues its journey, Elizabeth briefly glimpses another ship with shredded black sails vanishing in the mists.
Eight years later, Norrington is being appointed
Commodore, and Elizabeth attends his promotion ceremony. Norrington begins to propose to Elizabeth on the battlements, but before he can formally state his proposal she faints due to the heat and the tightness of her corset, tumbling over the wall into the ocean. Destitute pirate
Captain Jack Sparrow (
Johnny Depp), only just arrived in Port Royal, rescues Elizabeth from drowning. Strangely, the skull medallion (which Elizabeth is wearing around her neck) emits a mysterious pulse through the water as she is falling to the bottom of the sea (this scene is reportedly not seen in fileshared versions, and was also reportedly not seen in the theatrical version). When Jack returns to dry land after saving her, the occupying British forces attempt to arrest him for his previous crimes â€" including 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). As he tries to escape, Sparrow meets Will Turner â€" now the local blacksmith's apprentice, who is in love with Elizabeth but is too shy and refined to admit his feelings to her â€" and, following a swordfight with Turner, Sparrow is knocked unconscious by Will's employer (who slept through the entire swordfight) and arrested.
That night, Port Royal is besieged by the infamous ghost ship known as the
Black Pearl â€" a black vessel crewed by a vicious, bloodthirsty crew, and captained by a man reputed to be "so evil that Hell itself spat him back out". The mysterious pulse which emanated from Elizabeth's medallion seems to have "called" the
Black Pearl somehow. Crew members from the
Pearl find Elizabeth (who hides her true identity as the governor's daughter by claiming Turner as her last name) in possession of the medallion. She invokes the rule 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
Barbossa (
Geoffrey Rush), Sparrow's former
First Mate of the
Black Pearl. Elizabeth asks Barbossa that he cease his attack on Port Royal in exchange for the medallion. Barbossa agrees but, employing a loophole in their agreements, abducts Elizabeth.
|
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 pursue the culprits immediately (despite the Commodore's own feelings towards Elizabeth). While the Commodore puts his faith in strategy, Will agrees to break Jack out of jail in exchange for assistance in locating the Black Pearl and finding Elizabeth. After absconding with the Interceptor, the Royal Navy's fastest ship, and assembling a crew to man it on the lawless island of
Tortuga (Spanish for
turtle), Jack and Will set off to find Barbossa and the
Black Pearl, which is heading towards
Isla de Muerta â€" a mysterious island that is said to be undiscoverable, save for "those who already know where it is."
|
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 talked into giving the crew the bearings to Isla de Muerta, the location of a chest of
Aztec gold treasure 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 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 pirate who appears in the sequels).
Too late, the crew discovered that the curse was indeed real; their gluttony, greed, and lust for worldly possessions can never be satisfied, and they became undead, unable to die (the only way possible is if their entire bodies were completly shattered). Moonlight reveals that the pirates are living, rotting skeletons that cannot die from a mere gunshot or stab wound. In order to remove the curse, they must return all the pieces of the treasure to its chest and give a blood sacrifice from everyone who removed them. After a decade, they have succeeded in fulfilling almost all of the requirements to end the curse â€" save for obtaining the blood of Bootstrap Bill and the gold piece he stole. With the medallion (in reality, the last piece of the treasure) and Elizabeth (whom they believe is the daughter of Bootstrap Turner) in custody, Barbossa believes he finally has what he needs to lift the curse.
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 him.
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 Royal Navy ship
Dauntless and taken the ship. This proves to all be part of Jack's plan; 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. Moreover, in order for the curse to be lifted, his blood must now also be given. 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 â€" and now mortal â€" 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 of love towards 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.
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).
The success of Pirates resulted in the production of two sequels:
*
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest*
Pirates of the Caribbean 3 All awards are from 2004, unless otherwise noted.Academy Awards* Nominee,
Best Actor,
Johnny Depp* Nominee,
Best Makeup, Ve Neill, Martin Samuel
* Nominee,
Best Sound, Christopher Boyes, David Parker, David E. Campbell, Lee Orloff
* Nominee,
Best Sound Editing, Christopher Boyes, George Watters II
* Nominee,
Best Visual Effects,
John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Charles Gibson, Terry D. Frazee
Art Directors Guild* Nominee, Excellence in Production Design Award, Feature Film - Period or Fantasy Film,
Brian MorrisASCAP Film and Television Music Awards* Winner, Top Box Office Films,
Klaus BadeltBAFTA Awards* Winner, Best Make Up/Hair, Ve Neill, Martin Samuel
* Nominee, Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects,
John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Terry D. Frazee, Charles Gibson
* Nominee, Best Costume Design, Penny Rose
* Nominee, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role,
Johnny Depp * Nominee, Best Sound, Christopher Boyes, George Watters II, Lee Orloff, David Parker, David E. Campbell
Golden Globes* Nominee, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy,
Johnny DeppThe Eddies, American Cinema Editors, USA* Winner, Best Edited Feature Film - Comedy or Musical,
Craig Wood, Stephen E. Rivkin,
Arthur SchmidtSaturn Awards, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA* Winner, Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award, Female,
Keira Knightley* Nominee, Best Actor,
Johnny Depp* Nominee, Best Costume, Penny Rose
* Nominee, Best DVD Special Edition Release
* Nominee, Best Director,
Gore Verbinski* Nominee, Best Fantasy Film
* Nominee, Best Make Up, Ve Neill, Martin Samuel
* Nominee, Best Music,
Klaus Badelt* Nominee, Best Special Effects,
John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Terry D. Frazee, Charles Gibson
* Nominee, Best Supporting Actor,
Geoffrey Rush* Nominee, Best Supporting Actress,
Keira KnightleyScreen Actors Guild Awards* Winner, Outstanding perforamnce by a Male Actor in a Leading Role,
Johnny DeppFootnotes
Timeline of Pirates of the Caribbean Films*
Official site*
