5
(supernatural)
6
(violence, gruesome images, strong language)
7
(worth seeing multiple times)
I wanted to see "Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of the Black Pearl" from the first time I saw a preview, but I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. After all, my Disney DVD library is RELATIVELY tiny (and most of those are Touchstone). Though I will probably get heckled by fans of the old school, I have to say this is the best pirate movie ever!
Keep in mind we’re working with the romantic image of pirates with only the most general factual basis behind it. Not only that, but we’re also dealing with cursed pirates making this about as much of a ghost story as a swashbuckling adventure. I think that’s a large part of why I love it. If it had been strictly pirates, no supernatural living dead, I might have still liked it just fine, but I doubt I would have watched it as many times as I have.
The movie is mostly about the adventures of Jack Sparrow pirate extrordinaire, Will Turner son of Jack’s shipmate, and Elizabeth Swann love interest of Will and pirate wannabe. Their first squabbles are with the British government, particularly Commodore Norrington whose lot in life is to stop all pirates, then Captain Barbossa shows up. He makes the whole naval fleet look like a Disneyland kiddy ride. His crew has gotten themselves in trouble with a curse that involves the child of Bootstrap Bill, problem is they don’t have a clue who the offspring is.
The crew of the Black Pearl under the command of Barbossa kidnaps Elizabeth which brings Will on the run, but he needs Jack’s help who is willing to do so because of his own history with the cursed pirates. Norrington is after them all for differing reasons. The pirates can’t be harmed as a result of the curse that makes them undead, but neither can they experience pleasure, not even anything as simple as enjoying a favorite food. To beat the pirates the heroes must unravel the mysteries of the curse while dodging cannonballs and sword blades.
It’s a solid story, a fairly complex plot with lots of little nuances, interesting and developing characters, and plenty of adventure. All that makes for a good movie, but the one thing it has that so many other movies lack these days is atmosphere. The foggy seas with the cursed pirate ship slipping silently away, ghostly pirates in a cave full of treasure, or Jack navigating stormy waters gives it the feel of a delightfully frightening campfire ghost story. Even though it’s dark a lot there’s also a spirit of fun. Jack’s despair at the loss of his rum supply is one of my favorite moments. “But why is the rum gone?” he laments.
I mentioned plot nuances. By that I mean several little mysteries to make the viewer wonder without spelling everything out in detail. What’s the history and fate of Bootstrap Bill? How did Jack escape a deserted island? What is Jack and Barbossa’s history together? Some aren’t answered directly, but only one I thought of wasn’t answered at all. Why does Will hate pirates with so much passion?
The acting is terrific. Keira Knightley is a lovely newcomer with promise. Lord Of The Rings has already built an appreciation for Orlando Bloom with me, and he does a fine job here as well. All the supporting roles of the British leaders and primary pirates are well done. But the two that outshine the rest are Geoffrey Rush and Johnny Depp.
Geoff is great because he plays Barbossa as more than a villain. He’s a tortured soul trying to end his misery. There’s a certain amount of sympathy to be had for him, his greatest desire at this point is to be able to enjoy eating an apple.
Johnny plays Jack in such an unusual way that I wasn’t sure what to make of him at first. It makes perfect sense to recognize that he’s playing the pirate like a rock star. His mannerisms are extremely quirky, even goofy, but he’s effective and sure of himself as a pirate. I enjoy the uniqueness of the character and attribute to it my fondness for the film to a large degree.
If you want swashbuckling adventure on the high seas you can’t go wrong. It makes for a good family movie since both parents and teens can enjoy it.
Morality
There’s little that’s questionable. There are only a couple of strong words. There is no sex, nudity, or anything like that. We do get a threat to make Elizabeth sit with the crew while naked and some prostitutes wearing cleavage-bearing tops.
There is some violence but none of it is graphic with the obvious exception of skeletal undead pirates. We see them in their bony glory quite a bit, but while it might be spooky it's not actually scary.
Spirituality
We're dealing with the undead brought upon the victims by a magical curse. It has the feel of a mythological story in that way. We don't really get into anything as far as deities in this first movie although future ones will treat some of the classical mythological gods as real.
Dealing with a movie with pirate heroes we are given positives and negatives. On the one hand we are entertained by a glamorized criminal lifestyle. The pirates lie and steal as a way of life – not exactly positive qualities. While some of them do have selfless moments they are by nature primarily a self-serving lot.
On the other hand, we see the complications that being this way brings into their lives. They can trust no one, face dire consequences if captured either by the law or rival pirates, and are put through stressful times. They really only rise above and triumph when they finally decide to put the well-being of someone else above themselves.
Final Thoughts
While I like all of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, none have the charm and spooky feel of "Curse of the Black Pearl." This first one is easily the best of them all and remains my favorite pirate movie of all time.
Buying Guide
There are a ton of buying options for each of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. When I eventually broke it all down the final list turned out to be less daunting than I'd predicted, but there are likely still more editions (or more precisely exclusive additions to the standard editions) floating around somewhere in DVD Land so don't think for a second that my list is exhaustive.
Starting with DVD you have a standard 2-disc Collector's Edition (there does not appear to be a cheaper 1-disc alternative like many moves offer) which is what I will cover in detail below. There is a 3 disc version packaged with “The Lost Disc” which includes extra extras.
Blu-ray searches turn up a few different product listings but they appear to be essentially the same thing. The biggest difference seems to be inclusion of a DVD copy. The HD audio and video have been getting the highest possible marks from multiple reviewers. Extras are said to include everything from the DVD (including the Lost Disc) and then some – including an interactive feature, but it looks like the DVD-ROM features are probably omitted.
If you're looking for some of the other movies there are a couple of trilogy packs, but they seem to be harder to come by now that a 4th movie has been released (with more on the horizon which means this list of options will soon be outdated if it isn't already). They include everything you'll get with the individual Blus. One includes an additional disc of extras (this is the Ultimate Trilogy) while the other one doesn't.
A 4 movie collection is packaged in a pirates' chest with a number of of special extras such as a disc case that looks like a gold coin. This is a 15 disc set that includes the movies in various formats (Blu, DVD, and 3D for the last one) plus extras. It appears to contain a bonus disc of extras most likely exclusive to the set and is said to include everything in the previous releases (not necessarily counting the trilogy-exclusive extras which I haven't been able to verify). While this sounds enticing, review after review gives the packaging negative marks saying that the disc holder and chest are cheap and shoddy.
Final Recommendation:
Despite all the options the choices are mostly straight-forward. Do you want Blu or DVD or a pack that includes both? Do you want this movie by itself or with the others in the series? The pirate chest set might not be as great as it sounds like it would be, at least when it comes to the special packaging, so be wary. Whichever you decide on count on getting a high quality presentation and a ton of enjoyable extras.
The 2-disc Collector's Edition is exactly what it says, a 2-DVD set.
Video
2.35:
This is great-looking anamorphic widescreen presentation. Blu-ray is no doubt an improvement, but this looks so good that I have no complaints.
Audio
5.1 Dolby, 5.1 DTS:
The audio is dynamic and strong with excellent immersion.
Packaging
The case is standard plastic. The original run came with a cardboard slip case.
We get 2 inserts. One looks standard with some artwork and details on the extras included on disc 1. The other has info on disc 2's extras, a map of the interface for both discs, and a chapters list.
The interface features some music and animation.
Lots of previews play automatically before the interface comes up (typical of Disney releases).
Extras