Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor's daughter, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead.

Director:

Gore Verbinski

Writers:

Ted Elliott (screen story), Terry Rossio (screen story)

Stars:

Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom

Top Rated Movies #244 | Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 38 wins & 98 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johnny Depp	...	Jack Sparrow
Geoffrey Rush	...	Barbossa
Orlando Bloom	...	Will Turner
Keira Knightley	...	Elizabeth Swann
Jack Davenport	...	Norrington
Jonathan Pryce	...	Governor Weatherby Swann
Lee Arenberg	...	Pintel
Mackenzie Crook	...	Ragetti
Damian O'Hare	...	Lt. Gillette
Giles New	...	Murtogg
Angus Barnett	...	Mullroy
David Bailie	...	Cotton
Michael Berry Jr.	...	Twigg
Isaac C. Singleton Jr.	...	Bo'sun
Kevin McNally	...	Joshamee Gibbs (as Kevin R. McNally)

Storyline

This swash-buckling tale follows the quest of Captain Jack Sparrow, a savvy pirate, and Will Turner, a resourceful blacksmith, as they search for Elizabeth Swann. Elizabeth, the daughter of the governor and the love of Will's life, has been kidnapped by the feared Captain Barbossa. Little do they know, but the fierce and clever Barbossa has been cursed. He, along with his large crew, are under an ancient curse, doomed for eternity to neither live, nor die. That is, unless a blood sacrifice is made.

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Plot Keywords:

curse | undead | pirate | governor | caribbean | 

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Taglines:

Over 3000 Islands of Paradise -- For Some it's A Blessing -- For Others... It's A Curse.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for action/adventure violence

Details

Official Sites:

Cascade Film [Russia] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 July 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

P.O.T.C.

Filming Locations:

Bequia, St Vincent and the Grenadines

Box Office

Budget:

$140,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$46,630,690, 13 July 2003, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$305,413,918, 8 January 2004

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$654,264,015, 11 January 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Johnny Depp wore contact lenses, which served as sunglasses, so he wouldn't be squinting in the sun all the time.

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Goofs

(at around 3 mins) In the opening scene Governor Swann approaches young Elizabeth on a crowded deck and asks her to accompany Will. We can see his body being picked up and moved by sailors. In a later shot, we see Elizabeth standing on an empty deck looking at young Will's body laying on the deck.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Young Elizabeth: [singing] Yo, ho, yo, ho/ a pirate's life for me/ Yo, ho, yo, ho/ it's a pirate's life for me/drink up me hearties, yo, ho...
Mr. Gibbs: [surprises her by coming up from behind her] Quiet, missy! Cursed pirates sail these waters. You want to call them down on us?
Norrington: [sharply] Mr. Gibbs, that will do!
Mr. Gibbs: She was singing about pirates. Bad luck to sing about pirates, with us mired in this unnatural fog... mark my words!
Norrington: Consider them marked.
Mr. Gibbs: 'Aye, Lieutenant.
[as he moves off]
Mr. Gibbs: Bad luck to have a woman on...

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits, not even the production company and studio bumpers, save the title.

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Alternate Versions

When shown on the DisneyChannel on its 10 year anniversary in 2013, a number of scenes had been edited to remove the most gruesome images and expletives. Some of the most notable differences include removing close up shots of a moving skeleton arm, a close up of a fork stuck into a pirate's (fake) eye, and virtually all instances of the monkey in skeleton form is also gone (including the post-credit bit). Likewise, in the case of language, much of Captain Jack Sparrow's profanity has either been looped over or otherwise uses an alternative take to remove the curse words.

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Connections

Referenced in Good Morning Britain: Episode dated 17 October 2018 (2018)

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Soundtracks

Pirate Musk
Written by Craig Eastman
Performed by Craig Eastman

User Reviews

A Pirate For Our Times

What lifts this film above typical Disney fluff is Johnny Depp's humorous performance as pirate Jack Sparrow, the eccentric, individualistic anti-hero, who confronts other pirates, and outwits a humorless, incompetent bureaucratic establishment. Sparrow looks more like Cher than Johnny Depp, and talks more like William F. Buckley than a pirate. Geoffrey Rush is a worthy foil as the main rival pirate, Barbossa, a character who vaguely resembles Margaret Hamilton in "The Wizard Of Oz".

Most of the plot is silly. There's lots of fighting, shouting, and general mayhem, all accompanied by a frantic score. It's a cinematic slight of hand that conveys an illusion of substance. Still, it's an entertaining popcorn flick.

I'm glad I watched it. Depp's deft performance gives us a memorable character, one that is perhaps unique in cinema history.