Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Directed by Gore Verbinski
When wily pirate Captain Barbossa seizes Jack Sparrow’s beloved ship, the Black Pearl, and kidnaps the governor’s daughter, Elizabeth Swann, blacksmith Will Turner reluctantly teams up with the unpredictable pirate Jack to rescue her—only to uncover a terrifying curse that turns Barbossa’s crew into the undead.
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What critics say influenced Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Gore Verbinski who did an excellent directing job in the recent thriller “ The Ring ” conveys the true spirit of swashbuckling films in “Pirates of the Caribbean”, a film that is very reminiscent of the old Errol Flynn Pirate epics that stunned audiences in the early 1900’s in its truest essence; the swashbuckling film genre is dead only recently being brought to the screen with the bland “Cutthroat Island” a film that had style but little substance.
And Geena Davis... well, the jury is still out as to what the hell Geena Davis was thinking when she delivered us to the evil that was "Cutthroat Island"!
"Cutthroat Island" was one of the most expensive duds in film history and all but ruined the once-promising careers of Geena Davis and Renny Harlin.
The pirate genre has been in a perennial funk since Errol Flynn died -- burdened by latter-day efforts like Hook and Cutthroat Island which crushed their entertainment value beneath bloat and bombast.
The result is a great adventure film that can stand on its own merits alongside such genre classics as The Black Pirate, Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk, while bringing something very new to the table.
Bruckheimer readily admits he loved old pirate films such as "Treasure Island"(1934), "Captain Blood" (1935) and "The Crimson Pirate" (1952), and he has created a film with the flavor and fun of those wonderful Hollywood classics.
The result is a great adventure film that can stand on its own merits alongside such genre classics as The Black Pirate, Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk, while bringing something very new to the table.
The movie itself is a wild take on the old Errol Flynn (whom Orlando Bloom slightly resembles) swashbucklers done with a great sense of the genre's history, complete with the appropriate purple-dialogue exchanges during swordfights, and even an obvious tip of the plumed chapeau to Robert Siodmak's Burt Lancaster pirate-romp The Crimson Pirate.
Bruckheimer readily admits he loved old pirate films such as "Treasure Island"(1934), "Captain Blood" (1935) and "The Crimson Pirate" (1952), and he has created a film with the flavor and fun of those wonderful Hollywood classics.
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Critics have compared it to such genre-celebrating pictures as Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Princess Bride ); while it’s not the the same league as Raiders, at least, it’s in the same spirit.
The way Bloom manages to both play the innocent, dashing young hero and slyly send up the character at the same time is reminiscent of Cary Elwes' work in "The Princess Bride."
The strengths of Pirates of the Caribbean lie mainly in Verbinski's sincere tributes to boy's life pirate operas, from volumes of unnatural fog to the good teeth/bad teeth barometer of morality, to parrots on shoulders and characters who mutter "Arrrrrgh, shiver me timbers"--benefiting, as well, from Verbinski's and wonderful cinematographer Dariusz Wolski's (Dark City, Romeo is Bleeding, and Verbinski's own The Mexican ) colour schemes and lighting, which provide Pirates of the Caribbean with a rich texture that again reminds of Gilliam.
Director Gore Verbinski ( The Ring )compares Jack Sparrow to Lee Marvin's character in Cat Ballou.
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Depp, like Marlon Brando in "The Missouri Breaks" or Crispin Glover in anything, barely seems to acknowledge other actors or designers; he's in his own universe.
Roman Polanski labored for years to make one and when he did, the result, "Pirates", was so nightmarishly miscast (Walter Matthau as a grizzled pirate captain?) and executed that it remains the single greatest lapse in judgment of his entire life.