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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

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Pirates of the Caribbean:
The Curse of the Black Pearl
File:Pirates of the Caribbean movie.jpg
Directed byGore Verbinski
Written byStory:
Ted Elliott
Terry Rossio
Stuart Beattie
Jay Wolpert
Screenplay:
Ted Elliott
Terry Rossio
Produced byJerry Bruckheimer
StarringJohnny Depp
Geoffrey Rush
Orlando Bloom
Keira Knightley
Jack Davenport
and
Jonathan Pryce
CinematographyDariusz Wolski
Edited byStephen E. Rivkin
Arthur Schmidt
Craig Wood
Music byKlaus Badelt
Hans Zimmer
(Uncredited)
Distributed byWalt Disney Pictures
Buena Vista Pictures
Release dates
United States Canada July 9, 2003
United Kingdom August 8 2003
Running time
143 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$140 million

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 adventure film, inspired by the theme park ride of the same name at Disney theme parks around the world. The film concerns Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) as they rescue Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) from the clutches of the cursed crew of the Black Pearl, captained by Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush).

The film was directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and became the first Walt Disney Pictures release to earn a PG-13 rating by the MPAA (all previous WDP releases were rated G or PG). The world premiere was held at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, on June 28 2003. The Curse of the Black Pearl grossed almost $654 million worldwide, becoming the 22nd highest grossing film in the United States. Two back-to-back sequels, Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, were released.

Plot

As Governor Weatherby Swann and his daughter, Elizabeth, sail to Port Royal, Jamaica, their ship, HMS Dauntless encounters a shipwreck with a sole survivor, the young Will Turner. Elizabeth finds and takes a gold skull medallion from around the unconscious Will's neck and hides it, fearing he will be accused of piracy. She then sees the ghostly Black Pearl. Eight years later, Captain James Norrington of the British Royal Navy is promoted to Commodore. At his ceremony, he proposes to Elizabeth, but before answering, she tumbles into the bay. The skull medallion she is wearing emits a mysterious pulse through the water. Meanwhile, pirate Captain Jack Sparrow has arrived in Port Royal to commandeer a ship. Seeing Elizabeth fall, he rescues her, but is promptly arrested for piracy. He escapes and ducks into a blacksmith shop where he encounters Will Turner, now a blacksmith's apprentice and self-taught expert swordsman. Following a swordfight with Turner, Sparrow is knocked unconscious and jailed. That night, Port Royal is besieged by the Black Pearl, having been called by the mysterious pulse from Elizabeth's medallion. Elizabeth is captured and invokes parley— an agreement ensuring one's safety until meeting and negotiating with the opposing side. To protect her identity, Elizabeth tells Captain Hector Barbossa her last name is "Turner". She negotiates for the pirates to cease the attack on Port Royal in exchange for the medallion. Barbossa agrees, but keeps Elizabeth prisoner since she did not explicity ask to be freed, believing she is the key to breaking an ancient curse they are under.

File:Carib8.JPG
Jack and Will prepare to command the Interceptor.

Unable to persuade Commodore Norrington to take immediate action, Will, who is in love with Elizabeth, persuades Jack Sparrow to help him rescue Elizabeth in exchange for freeing him from jail. Jack agrees only after learning Will's last name. After hijacking HMS Interceptor Jack and Will recruit a crew in Tortuga with help from Jack's friend, Gibbs. They set sail for Isla de Muerta, a mysterious island that can only be found "by those who know where it is" - a place that Jack knows the pirates will go to break the curse. While sailing their route, Will learns the Black Pearl was formerly commanded by Sparrow, but when Jack shared the bearings to a hidden chest of Aztec gold coins, First Mate Barbossa instigated a mutiny and marooned Jack on an island. Jack escapes three days later. The pirates find and spend the treasure but soon learn it is cursed—rendering them into immortal skeletal beings whose true forms are only revealed in moonlight. The curse can only be lifted when every coin and each pirate's blood is returned to the chest. "Bootstrap Bill" Turner sends a coin to his son, William, believing the crew should remain cursed for what they did to Jack. Barbossa then orders Bootstrap tied to a cannon and thrown overboard only to realize later his blood is also needed to break the curse; a Turner kin must now take his place. Believing Elizabeth is Bootstrap's child, Barbossa poises her over the Aztec chest, anoints the last coin with her blood and drops it into the chest—unsurprisingly, the curse remains in effect.

File:Barbossa Skeleton.jpg
Barbossa reveals himself to be cursed to Elizabeth

On the island, Will suspects Sparrow may betray him and knocks him out. He rescues Elizabeth, and they escape to the Interceptor. Jack barters with Barbossa—in exchange for revealing Bootstrap's real child, he wants to captain the Black Pearl. Jack's negotiations come to naught, however, when the Pearl pursues the Interceptor, sinking her and taking the crew captive. Will reveals that he is Bootstrap Bill's true offspring and demands that Elizabeth and the crew be freed. Otherwise, he threatens to shoot himself and fall overboard, lost forever. Barbossa agrees, noting again the lack of specifics with which their demands were made, and strands Elizabeth and Jack on a deserted island (the same island Jack was marooned on ten years before) and throws Jack's crew into the brig. Will is taken back to Isla de Muerta for the ritual.

Elizabeth burns a cache of abandoned rum to create a signal fire that is spotted by Norrington. She convinces Norrington to rescue Will by accepting his earlier marriage proposal. Arriving at the island, Norrington sets an ambush outside the cave while Jack goes inside and persuades Barbossa to form an alliance. He tells him to delay breaking the curse until after they have taken the Dauntless and killed the crew. Jack then sneaks a coin from the chest, rendering himself immortal. But whatever Jack's actual intent is, his plan goes awry when Barbossa orders his crew to infiltrate the Dauntless from underwater. Jack's true allegiance is revealed when he attacks and then shoots Barbossa. Jack tosses his bloodied coin to Will, who returns the last two medallions to the chest, breaking the curse. No longer immortal, the fatally wounded Barbossa falls dead. Realizing they are no longer cursed, the now-mortal pirates surrender to the navy.

Back in Port Royal, Jack is about to be executed. Believing Jack deserves to live, Will rescues him. Both are quickly captured, but Elizabeth lends her support and declares her love for Will. Norrington releases her from their engagement, and Will is pardoned. Meanwhile, Jack escapes by falling into the bay. His crew, who escaped with the Black Pearl, rescue him. Norrington is impressed enough to allow him one day's head start before giving pursuit.

Cast

  • Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow: An eccentric pirate noted for a slightly drunken swagger, accompanied by slurred speech and awkwardly flailing hand gestures. His obsession for rum is only matched by his obsession with regaining the Black Pearl, which he captained ten years before. Jack uses his wits rather than weapons, and has gained a reputation with made up stories.
  • Orlando Bloom as Will Turner: A blacksmith's apprentice working in Port Royal, he is in love with Elizabeth Swann. Will struggles with the fact his father, "Bootstrap" Bill, was a pirate, unable to reconcile that he was a good man too.
  • Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann: The daughter of Governor Weatherby Swann, Elizabeth has been fascinated with pirates since childhood. During the Black Pearl's attack on Port Royal, she gives her name as Turner and is mistaken for "Bootstrap" Bill's child. She also is in love with Will Turner.
  • Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa: The captain of the Black Pearl, he was Jack Sparrow's first mate before he led a mutiny ten years before, having become annoyed with Jack's non-violent methods. He stole Aztec gold, and he and his crew are cursed to walk the Earth as undead skeletons unless they can return all the gold coins and pay a blood debt: complicated by the fact that they drowned one of their crew, "Bootstrap" Bill Turner. He also has a love of green apples.
  • Jack Davenport as Commodore Norrington: An officer in the Royal Navy who is in love with Elizabeth, and also has a deep-seated hatred for pirates. He considers Jack Sparrow to be, "the worst pirate I have ever heard of."
  • Jonathan Pryce as Governor Weatherby Swann: Governor of Port Royal, Jamaica and father of Elizabeth Swann.
  • Lee Arenberg as Pintel: A cursed pirate aboard the Black Pearl.
  • Mackenzie Crook as Ragetti: A pirate aboard the Black Pearl, Pintel's buddy, with a wooden eye.
  • Kevin McNally as Joshamee Gibbs: Jack Sparrow's friend, he was once a sailor for the Royal Navy.
  • Zoë Saldaña as Anamaria: A woman who lent Sparrow her boat, and is furious at him for not returning it. He promises her the Interceptor.

Development

During the early 1990s, screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio began to think of a supernatural spin on the pirate genre,[1] having been inspired by the opening narration of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme park ride.[2] Meanwhile, Disney had Jay Wolpert write a script based on the ride, which producer Jerry Bruckheimer rejected, feeling it was, "a straight pirate movie."[3] Stuart Beattie was brought in to rewrite the script in March 2002, due to his knowledge of piracy,[4] and later that month Elliott and Rossio were brought in, entertaining Bruckheimer with the notion of cursed pirates.[3] As the budget rose, Michael Eisner and Bob Iger threatened to cancel the film, though Bruckheimer changed their minds when he showed them concept art and animatics.[5]

In May 2002 Gore Verbinski signed on to direct Pirates of the Caribbean, and Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush signed on the following month to star.[4] Verbinski was attracted to the idea of using modern technology to resurrect a genre that had disappeared after the Golden Age of Hollywood, and recalled his childhood memories of the ride, feeling the film was an opportunity to tribute the "scary and funny" tone of it. Depp was attracted to the story as he found it quirky: rather than trying to find treasure, the crew of the Black Pearl were trying to return it in order to lift their curse, and that the traditional mutiny had already taken place. Verbinski approached Rush for Barbossa, as he knew he would not play it with attempts at complexity, but with a simple villainy that would suit the story's tone.[6] Orlando Bloom read the script after Rush, whom he was working with on Ned Kelly, suggested it to him.[7] Keira Knightley came as a surprise to Verbinski: he had not seen her performance in Bend It Like Beckham and was impressed by her audition.[6] Tom Wilkinson was negotiated with to play Governor Swann,[4] but the role went to Jonathan Pryce, whom Depp idolized.[6]

Initially Jack Sparrow was, according to Bruckheimer, "a young Burt Lancaster, just the cocky pirate." At the first read-through, Depp surprised the rest of the cast and crew by portraying the character in an off-kilter manner.[8] After researching 18th century pirates, Depp compared them to modern rock stars and decided to base his performance on Keith Richards.[3] Although Verbinski and Bruckheimer had confidence in Depp, partly because it would be Bloom who was playing the traditional Errol Flynn-type,[6] Disney executives were confused, asking Depp whether the character was drunk or gay, and Michael Eisner even proclaimed while watching rushes, "He's ruining the film!"[8] Depp answered back, "Look, these are the choices I made. You know my work. So either trust me or give me the boot."[3]

Design

Verbinski did not want an entirely romanticized feel to the film: he wanted a sense of historical fantasy. Most of the actors wore prosthetics and contact lenses. Depp had contacts that acted as sunglasses, while Rush and Lee Arenberg wore dulled contacts that gave a sinister feel to the characters. Mackenzie Crook wore two contacts to represent his character's wooden eye: a soft version, and a harder version for when it protrudes. In addition, their rotten teeth and scurvy skin were dyed on,[9] although Depp did have gold teeth added, which he forgot to remove after filming.[10] Depp also used a genuine pistol which was made in 1760 in London, which the crew bought from a dealer in Connecticut.[9] The crew spent five months creating the cavern in which Barbossa and the Black Pearl crew attempt to reverse their curse,[1] filling it with five feet of water, eight hundred and eighty-two Aztec coins and some gold paint on the styrofoam rocks for more impressions of treasure. The crew also built the fortress at Port Royal in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, and Governor Swann's palace was built at Manhattan Beach.[9] A fire broke in September 2002, causing $525,000 worth of damage, though no one was injured.[11]

File:Dauntlessbarge.jpg
The barge used for the Dauntless

The filmmakers chose St. Vincent as their primary shooting location, as it was the most quiet beach they could find, and built three piers and a backlot for Port Royal and Tortuga.[9] Of most importance to the film were the three ships: the Black Pearl, the Dauntless and the Interceptor. For budget reasons, the ships were built on docks, with only six days spent in the open sea for the battle between the Black Pearl and the Interceptor.[12] The Dauntless and the Black Pearl were built on barges, with computer-generated imagery finishing the structures.[9] The Black Pearl was also built on the Spruce Goose stage, in order to control fog and lighting.[9] The Interceptor was a replica of the Lady Washington, fully repainted before going on a 40 day voyage beginning December 2 2002, arriving on location on January 12 2003.[13] A miniature was also built for the storm sequence.[9]

Production

Shooting began on October 9 2002 and wrapped by March 2003.[4] The quick shoot was only marred by two accidents: as Jack Sparrow steals the Interceptor, three of the ropes attaching it to the Dauntless did not break at first, and when it did snap debris hit Depp's knee, though he was not injured, and the way the incident played out on film made it look like Sparrow merely ducks. A more humourous accident was when the boat Sparrow was supposed to arrive in at Port Royal sank.[6] In October the crew was shooting scenes at Rancho Palos Verdes, by December they were shooting at St. Vincent and in January they were at the cavern set at Los Angeles.[14] The script often changed with Elliott and Rossio on set, with additions such as Gibbs (Kevin McNally) telling Will of how Sparrow escaped from an island, strapping two turtles together with rope made of his back hair, and Pryce was written into the climactic battle to keep some empathy for the audience.[6]

Due to the quick schedule of the shoot, Industrial Light & Magic immediately began visual effects work. Whilst the skeletal forms of the pirates revealed by moonlight take up relatively little screentime, the crew knew their computer-generated forms had to convince in terms of replicating performances and characteristics of the actors, or else the transistion would not work. Each scene featuring them was shot twice: a reference plate with the actors, and then without them to add in the skeletons,[1] an ethic complicated by Verbinski's decision to shoot the battles with handheld cameras.[6] The actors also had to perform their scenes again on the motion capture stage.[9] With the shoot only wrapping four months before release, Verbinski spent eighteen-hour days on the edit,[6] while at the same time spending time on six hundred effects shots, two hundred and fifty of which were merely removing modern sailboats from shots.[15] He also had to quickly manage the score with Klaus Badelt and Hans Zimmer, who headed 15 composers to finish the score quickly.[6]

Reception

Before its release, many had expected Pirates of the Caribbean to be a flop, as the pirate genre had not been successful for years, with Cutthroat Island (1995) a notable flop, that the film was based on a theme park ride, and that Johnny Depp rarely made a big film.[16] Walt Disney Pictures also took a big risk in allowing it to be the first PG-13-rated film by the studio, with one executive noting that she found the film too intense for her five-year old child.[3] Nonetheless, the studio was confident enough to add The Curse of the Black Pearl subtitle to the film in case sequels were made.[4] Their confidence paid off: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl grossed approximately $47 million in its US opening weekend, before grossing $305 million domestically in a worldwide total of approximately $654 million, becoming the fourth highest grossing film of 2003.[17]

Critics favourably received the film, as indicated by a 79% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with 153 positive reviews out of 193 listed.[18] Alan Morrison of Empire felt it was "the best blockbuster of the summer", acclaiming all the comic performances despite his disappointment with the swashbuckling sequences.[19] Roger Ebert acclaimed Depp and Rush's performances, with "It can be said that [Depp's] performance is original in its every atom. There has never been a pirate, or for that matter a human being, like this in any other movie... his behavior shows a lifetime of rehearsal." However, he felt the film went for too long,[20] a criticism shared by Kenneth Turan's highly negative review, feeling it "spends far too much time on its huge supporting cast of pirates (nowhere near as entertaining as everyone assumes) and on bloated adventure set pieces that redound to no one's credit", despite having also enjoyed Depp's performance.[21]

Johnny Depp was nominated at the 76th Academy Awards for his portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow, though he lost the award to Sean Penn in Mystic River. The Curse of the Black Pearl was also nominated for Achievement in Makeup, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects, but did not win in any of those categories. At the Golden Globes, The Curse of the Black Pearl was nominated for acting (Depp), but lost to Bill Murray in Lost in Translation. Johnny Depp won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for his performance as Jack Sparrow.

Home release

The DVD and VHS editions of the film was released five months after the theatrical release, December 2, 2003. A UMD release of the film followed in 2005. The high-definition Blu-ray Disc version of the film was released on May 22, 2007.

This movie was also among the first to be sold at the iTunes music store. It was ranked the number-one movie download upon its release.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Gerard Raiti (2003-07-11). "ILM and Disney Make Pirate Perfection". VFXWorld. Retrieved 2007-05-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie, Jay Wolpert (2003). Audio Commentary. Buena Vista. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e Stax (2003-06-25). "Depp & Bruckheimer Talk Pirates". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e Greg Dean Schmitz. "Greg's Previews - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
  5. ^ "Exclusive Interview: Jerry Bruckheimer". Moviehole. 2007-05-21. Retrieved 2007-05-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Gore Verbinski, Johnny Depp (2003). Audio Commentary. Buena Vista. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  7. ^ Caroline Westbrook (2003-08-08). "Pirates films tests its stars". BBC. Retrieved 2007-05-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ a b Ian Nathan (2006-07-01). "Pirates of the Caribbean 2". Empire. p. 68. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h An Epic At Sea: The Making of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Buena Vista. 2003. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  10. ^ "Depp's Golden Teeth". Internet Movie Database. 2003-06-23. Retrieved 2007-05-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "'Pirates' Hit By Blaze". Internet Movie Database. 2002-09-12. Retrieved 2007-05-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Ian Nathan (2003-07-25). "Thrill Ride". Empire. p. 87. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Diary of a Ship. Buena Vista. 2003. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  14. ^ Fly on the Set. Buena Vista. 2003. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  15. ^ Chris Hewitt (2003-05-30). "Caribbean Queen". Empire. p. 31. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Chris Nashawaty. "Box Office Buccaneer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
  17. ^ "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
  18. ^ "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
  19. ^ Alan Morrison. "Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl". Empire. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
  20. ^ Roger Ebert (2003-07-09). "Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2007-05-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ Kenneth Turan. "'Pirates of the Caribbean'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
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