Pirates (1986)

The adventures of pirate Captain Red and his first mate Frog.

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

John Brownjohn (screenplay collaboration), Gérard Brach (as Gerard Brach)

Stars:

Walter Matthau, Cris Campion, Damien Thomas

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 (as Wladislaw Komar)

Storyline

Captain Red runs a hardy pirate ship with the able assistance of Frog, a dashing young French sailor. One day Capt. Red is captured and taken aboard a Spanish galleon, but thanks to his inventiveness, he raises the crew to mutiny, takes over the ship, and kidnaps the niece of the governor of Maracaibo. The question is, can he keep this pace up?

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Plot Keywords:

pirate | pirate ship | swashbuckler | sword | farce | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

France Tunisia

Language:

English French Spanish

Release Date:

18 July 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pirates

Filming Locations:

Malta

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,035,447, 20 July 1986

Gross USA:

$1,641,825

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,641,825

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carthago Films S.a.r.l., Accent Films, Cominco

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pirates (1986) was originally planned to be made by Roman Polanski before The Tenant (1976) and to co-star actress Isabelle Adjani. When the swashbuckler film went into turnaround a part in The Tenant (1976) was re-written specifically for Adjani.

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Quotes

The Frog - Jean-Baptiste: Gold would be your ruin, Captain. It would cost us our heads.
Captain Thomas Bartholomew Red: It's easier to live without a head than without gold, you numbskull!
The Frog - Jean-Baptiste: I fight for hatred of the spanish! I fight for glory; not gold.
Captain Thomas Bartholomew Red: Man fights for what he lacks the most!

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Alternate Versions

16 secs were cut from the UK theatrical version by the BBFC and the 1987 Warner video was pre-cut by 1 min 30 secs with edits to the attempted rape of María-Dolores in order for the film to receive a PG certificate. The uncut version was released in 1996 with a "15" certificate.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movies That Ruined the Director's Reputation (2016)

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Soundtracks

The Maid of Amsterdam (A-Rovin')
(uncredited)
Traditional sea shanty
Performed by Walter Matthau and crew

User Reviews

Excellent dark pirate adventure/comedy

Pirate movies are few and far between. Its hard to get people to buy off on a script containing ~40 minutes of "Arrrr" and "Aye Matie".

However, Pirates is just a great fun romp through being a nasty, dirty, pirate. This is one of Walter Matthau's best roles. He literally becomes Captain Red. At no moment do you associate this man w/ any of this other roles.

Too many jokes and gags to list, but not a comedy in the traditional sense. It is an adventure first with humor thrown in.

Less of a comedy and more adventure than Yellowbeard. Darker, deeper, better, and less glitzy than Cutthroat Island. All around, a great classic pirate movie and virtually defines the genre.