Pirates (1986)

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Gérard Brach (writer)
John Brownjohn (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 July 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy

Plot:

Captain Red runs a hardy pirate ship with the able assistance of Frog, a dashing young French sailor...

Plot Keywords:

Ship | Pirate | Galleon | Governor | Mutiny

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Walter Matthau	...	Captain Thomas Bartholomew Red
Cris Campion	...	The Frog - Jean-Baptiste
Damien Thomas	...	Don Alfonso de la Torré
Olu Jacobs	...	Boomako
Ferdy Mayne	...	Captain Linares
David Kelly	...	Surgeon
Tony Peck	...	Spanish Officer (as Anthony Peck)
Anthony Dawson	...	Spanish Officer
Richard Dieux	...	Spanish Officer
Jacques Maury	...	Spanish Officer
José Santamaría	...	Master at Arms (as Jose Santamaría)
Robert Dorning	...	Commander of Marines
Luc Jamati	...	Pepito Gonzalez
Emilio Fernandez	...	Angelito (as Emilio Fernandez)
Wladyslaw Komar	...	Jesus (also as Wladislaw Komar)

Runtime:

121 min | Argentina:116 min | Sweden:118 min

Country:

France | Tunisia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

UK:PG (original rating/video rating) | Iceland:14 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Malta

Company:

Carthago Films S.a.r.l.

Trivia:

As of 2002 the ship "Neptune" from the movie is anchored in the harbor of the Italian city of Genoa (near the "Molo Vecchio"). It has been made a museum and can be visited.

Quotes:

Padre: Confess your sins, my son, and receive forgiveness before the Almighty.
Captain Thomas Bartholomew Red: Well, Padre. I once had a mind to eat the Frog.
Padre: God placed the beasts upon the Earth for man's sustenance, my son. Come now; what else besides?
Captain Thomas Bartholomew Red: Beggin' your pardon, but that's the Frog standing alongside.
[Nods toward his French shipmate]
Padre: Well, now. That is another matter entirely...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in W klatce (1988)

Matthau is Superb! One of Polanskis most underestimated movie.

Watch this movie. Walther Matthaus acting is quite superb. People are talking about Pirates of the Carribean these days, and Depps performance, which is also quite funny but it is my opinion that Matthau personifies that which Depp (tries to) plays in PotC. Matthau is the perfect old-school pirate drunkard and simply hilarious. As an extra notable performance is Frog (Cris Campion) playing a french retard which falls in love with the fair Maria-Dolores. This Polanski film is a gem. I cant call it the best pirate movie ever made because i haven't seen them all, but i can tell you that its the best I've seen yet, and i suspect that it will stay that way. Its just a shame that it never got the credits that it deserved.

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