Loved it. Had a lot of fun watching it.

Story by Stuart Beattie
Screenplay by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio & Jay Wolpert
Directed by Gore Verbinski

Running Time: 2:12

---Cast:
Johnny Depp Jack Sparrow
Geoffrey Rush Captain Barbossa
Orlando Bloom Will Turner
Keira Knightley Elizabeth Swann
Jonathan Pryce Governor Swann

Pirates of the Caribbean is an extremely fun pirate action movie, filled with swashbuckling, cannonball-shooting, corset cleavage displaying, swordfighting revelry. It has all the familiar earmarks of the pirate action movie. A pre-Revolutionary War settting, an attractive rogue who dances the fine line between bad guy scoundrel and good guy hero, the beautiful damsel in a corset, loyal sidekicks, stiff-as-a-board uniformed authorities, a menacing villain and his henchmen, swordfights, chases, daring escapes, gold treasure, plenty of humor, and oh yeah, a grotesque maritime curse that is deftly utilized by the plot. Hell, there’s even a talking parrot.
---The audience laughed during all the funny moments, and applauded at the very end. The story moved together very quickly for a two hour and twelve minute film, and I was never anxious to look at the time.

Johnny Depp plays Jack Sparrow, a flamboyant pirate who practically exudes charm from every pore on his skin, and who totally steals the movie by exhibiting the most unique full-body gesticulations when he speaks. After trying unsuccessfully to steal—er, commandeer a ship, he is thwarted by an honorable blacksmith named Will Turner who shares a mutual (if unspoken) affection for the beautiful governor’s daughter, Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley). After she is taken by pirates of the ship Black Pearl in the hopes of helping them to lift a terrible curse that was placed on them years earlier, Will agrees to free the jailed Jack in exchange for helping him rescue Elizabeth, setting them both on a wild adventure filled with cutthroat buccaneers, island caves, and constant reversals of fortune. The movie works because it knows how to use the plot and dialogue to move things forward. The action scenes are a wonder to watch, and even when characters engage in expository dialogue over dinner, one never gets bored, particularly given the pleasant humor that punctuates it. Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush have great screen presence, and even Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley become characters that you root for.

Totally forgot to include this nit last night:

In the beginning of the movie, after Jack saves Elizabeth from drowning...(SPOILER WARNING: highlight for the rest)...he then temporarily takes her hostage to escape the hangman for piracy, telling her, "I saved your life, you save mine." But we later learn near te climax of the movie that he suffers from the curse of immortality. So why take her hostage? He could've just jumped into the water and escaped without her. Hell, he could've been hanged, and it wouldn't have done anything to him. For that matter, why did he suffer from the curse? He told Barbossa that he escaped it because he wasn't present when it struck Barbossa and the others.

Sounds promising, Luigi. I'm surprised that Disney coughed up funds for a pirate movie, after the failure of the last two pirate movies released, Cutthroat Island and Roman Polanski's Pirates.

It seems every decade sees a pirate film released... the 1990's had Cutthroat Island, the 1980's had R.P.'s Pirates, the 1970's had one called Swashbuckler. I remember a Burt Lancaster film called The Crimson Pirate (funny movie, btw), which I'm pretty sure was from the 1960's.

And remember, Disney also released the wonderful Muppet's Treasure Island

Screened it last night. It was great. I loved the trailers and I ended up really liking the movie too. It's got many things that every action and pirate fan has ever wanted. It's got the sword duels, ship to ship battle, battles between the masses, and it truly keeps you guessing throughout the whole film. Aside from one plot point, it was unpredictable and I never knew what exactly would happen next.

Much of this is due to Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow. Depp gives a very good performance as the pirate captain and offers some of the best moments of the film. It's sometimes difficult to tell where his loyalties lie and if he's truly in all of it for himself or not. He makes it look very fun to be the "bad" good guy.

Like Depp, Geoffrey Rush also seems to have a good time in his role as the villain. He creates a villain who is fun to watch and makes a good adversary for the heroes.

Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley do good jobs as well, though their characters are not quite as charasmatic and off the wall as the others. Despite this, they still do well in their roles. Orlando Bloom seemed to have a lot of pride in the fact that he builds the swords and "practices with them three hours a day"

I did notice at least one cut from the trailer, that being Sparrow's description of "evil, vicious, demented pirates who cannot be killed"

In response to your nit Luigi (Possible SPOILERS):

Jack didn't suffer from the curse until toward the end. The only way for one to get the curse is to take the Aztec treasure from the chest. Therefore, Jack was not cursed until he used the little sleight of hand and stole a coin from the chest. Remember, he showed Barbossa the coin and we see him take it and hide it when he's convincing his old crew to attack the Dauntless.

So, that got me thinking. If the curse falls on any man that takes the treasure from the chest, doesn't that mean that every pirate on the crew would actually have to take the treasure out of the chest or did they all get cursed because they're part of the crew that stole the gold?

I thought that Will's clothing at the end was very interesting. Made him look like a Musketeer or something.

So anyway,
Grade: A-

Mostly because the final battle seems to drag on a little long.

Yeah, Josh someone at imdb explained it to me already shortly after I posted my review there. But thanks anyway.

First of all, great movie! Jack Sparrow's entrance had me in stitches!

As for a nit that I noticed (fairly Insignificant SPOILERS, I guess...)

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When the pirates talk about the fate of bootstrap Bill, they give the strong impression that the curse was already upon them before he died. This begs the question: when the tied a cannon to his bootstraps and sent him to Davy Jones' locker, wouldn't he have survived? After all, the whole cursed pirate crew goes strolling along underwater to capture the british ship!

Now, I suppose once the curse was broken, he could have simply become mortal and instantly drowned... but in all those years, I think he would have a chance to escape, especially if it was only tied to his clothing.

Any thoughts? Was I mistaken in assuming that the curse was already in effect?

Or is disney setting up a sequel?
"He told me enough... He told me that barbossa killed my father!"
"No, Will... I AM your father."

I would imagine that Bill bit the dust before the curse. First they maroon Jack. Bill didn't like that. It probably wasn't too long before they offed Bill since he was against marooning the old Cap'n.

Yes, but they claimed that Bill said something like "You deserve the curse" and THEN sent the gold piece to his son. That's the part I'm not entirely sure about, but it sounds as if the curse was already going, because he was alive when they had the gold pieces AND knew about the curse.

Unless there's some time delay between stealing a piece of gold and the start of the curse, which there doesn't seem to be, considering the 'nit' at the beginning... the curse seemed to work on Jack almost instantly.

Pirates maroon Sparrow.
Pirates steal treasure.
Pirates wonder why they're cursed.
Bill wishes they didn't maroon Jack, mails gold piece away.
Pirates send Bill flying by the bootstraps with a cannonball.
Pirates realizes they need gold pieces and each crewmembers' blood to break curse. Oops.
Pirates attack little Will's ship, but he escapes.

At least that's how I see the chronology. I wouldn't be surprised if Bill returns for the sequel, which there will be I'm sure. I read that Disney intends to start a whole Pirates series.

"Running Time: 2:12" - LUIGI NOVI

Two minutes and twelve seconds? That's an awful short movie.

Why did they need the blood of Bootstrap Bill (or a blood relation) anyway? What made his blood so special? Did each of the men drop some blood into the chest when they returned their coins, and they needed his blood to complete it? If it was because of the curse & the fact the others no longer had blood, well, he was probably cursed too, so there wouldn't be any blood to take. I think the whole deal with the blood was very poorly explained.

You're right, it is poorly explained margie, but to answer your question, Yes. All of the men had to put in their blood, and the curse was still on them because bill's blood wasn't in there.


As for your timeline Brian, yes that's how I see it. Which would imply that Bill is still alive, having been under the curse (unless he sat at the bottom of the ocean going "I how I hate to be trapped here... but I can't take of my boots!"). As for bringing him in the next movie, there was that convienient little line... "You look JUST LIKE him." Emphasis mine.

So if Bill does show, it'll probably just be Orlando again.

Yes, but they claimed that Bill said something like "You deserve the curse" and THEN sent the gold piece to his son. That's the part I'm not entirely sure about, but it sounds as if the curse was already going, because he was alive when they had the gold pieces AND knew about the curse.

You're right. He'd sent the gold to his son, so they had to have already been cursed.

did bill actually take a piece of gold from the chest? If he didnt' he would be the only one who wasn't cursed and he took a piece of gold, not from the chest, since all the other pirates got to it before him, and sent it to his son. therefore, bill not cursed, but all the others are.

Note on the above: wasn't Bootstraps Turner tied to a cannon and heaved overboard, not a cannonball? Sink in deep water, wait for the ropes to decay, walk a long time. . .(I almost thought that he was going to show up, but that would have probably been silly unless carefully set up.)

There was a big nit, right? Sparrow shoots Barbossa; bullet passes through Barbossa and creases Will Turner, who drops the medallion into the chest, ending the curse. Then Barbossa dies of his bullet wound. He sustained that wound while he was immortal. The only ways this can work are: Turner cuts himself (which he could have easily done, and should have done as soon as he got the medallion)---but the curse wasn't broken until he dropped the medallion back in the chest, which was after the shot. Option two is that there is a short period for wounds suffered while under the curse before they heal (kinda like how in Highlander McLeod stabbed himself, but the wound healed itself), and the end of the curse fell within this. Very conveniently, Sparrow's multiple skewerings healed themselves before the curse was lifted. . .

The crew of the Interceptor was throwing everything overboard they could. Oddly, there was still a lot of gunpowder left in the hold. . .

I'm not surprised Sparrow was still set to hang at the end. He took forever to turn the tables on Barbossa, instead of quickly getting the curse lifted (remember, Elizabeth Swann freed the Black Pearl and rowed into the caves after the pirates were out of the water). If the curse had been lifted when most of the pirates were underwater, many, many British sailors and marines would not have died (I mean, even when the marines were fighting the pirates hand to hand, one side was immortal and happy to kill; the death toll must have been horrendus).

So the pirates had been particularly bloodthirsty pirates for ten years, but just gave up when they lost their immortality? They had to know that they would all swing.

How did Turner learn to be an excellent swordsmith? Was his master really a great swordsmith, but as soon as Turner could support him he turned to drink? That's not the sort of work ethic that makes one a great swordsmith in the first place. . .

There was quite a bit of dust covering and around the medallion in the false drawer bottom where Elizabeth Swann had hid it; rather more than I would have thought for that small space---and on top of the medallion as well, even though the false bottom must have been pressing down on the medallion (since it never moved when the drawer was opened or closed).

Elizabeth Swann decided to start a large fire on the desert island to attract attention, since 'the whole British navy' was looking for her. So a ship actually did spot the signal, and it happened to be the ship with her father on it. (She was very, very lucky.) Among the items she burned were apparently some foodstuffs(!) and some kegs that looked as if they might have made a good start to an escape raft (once emptied of rum, of course).

Examination of humorous scene where Sparrow makes his entrance: the guy on the dock says that tying up is one shilling (a day? a week?) but is bribed off with merely three shillings. Now it seems apparent that Sparrow's ship is not going anywhere; where it is (at the end of the dock!) it is a hazard to navigation, and has cut at least five feet out of a 10--15 foot navigable depth. Until someone goes down and looks, it is not apparent how much space the hull is blocking underwater. Given the lack of scuba equipment and power tools, clearing the boat is likely to be a lengthy, expensive hassle. Does three shillings really sound like enough to let the man responsible walk away?

So the third woman who slapped Sparrow didn't really care about the ship he owed her, and was happy just to serve as his helmsman?

So Sparrow has been carrying around a loaded pistol for ten years? Just the one, even though he was saving it for Barbossa? A pistol loaded with 18th century black powder, that he carries around underwater, in raging storms, etc.? There's no way that's going to fire. I would have believed it if he had been shown loading a bullet, and said that he had carried it around for ten years, but the movie suggested that this was the very same pistol, always loaded.

Odd ship, the Interceptor. Turning the wheel moves the aft boom! Usually the wheel just controls the rudder.

During the fight between Barbossa and Sparrow, both seem to feel pain from their (nonlethal) wounds. Odd, since people under the curse aren't supposed to feel.

How did Barbossa get an apple in his hand when he died?

Some good point, those. A few rebufs:

did bill actually take a piece of gold from the chest? If he didnt' he would be the only one who wasn't cursed and he took a piece of gold, not from the chest, since all the other pirates got to it before him, and sent it to his son. therefore, bill not cursed, but all the others are. -Meg

Well, I got the impression that he did take a piece like the rest of the pirates, but wouldn't he HAVE to take one to send it to his son?


Sink in deep water, wait for the ropes to decay, walk a long time. . .(I almost thought that he was going to show up, but that would have probably been silly unless carefully set up.) - TWS Garrison

I was expecting that too.


There was a big nit, right? Sparrow shoots Barbossa; bullet passes through Barbossa and creases Will Turner, who drops the medallion into the chest, ending the curse. Then Barbossa dies of his bullet wound. He sustained that wound while he was immortal. The only ways this can work are: Turner cuts himself (which he could have easily done, and should have done as soon as he got the medallion)---but the curse wasn't broken until he dropped the medallion back in the chest, which was after the shot. - TWS Garrison

As far as I could tell, Will cut himself, and never got grazed by a bullet.
At first, that whole scene confused me, too. Then it occured to me: perhaps the bullet was still lodged in his chest. Once the curse was lifted, that was enough to kill him. Of course, this doesn't explain why some of the other pirates drop dead on the ship.


So Sparrow has been carrying around a loaded pistol for ten years? Just the one, even though he was saving it for Barbossa? A pistol loaded with 18th century black powder, that he carries around underwater, in raging storms, etc.? There's no way that's going to fire. I would have believed it if he had been shown loading a bullet, and said that he had carried it around for ten years, but the movie suggested that this was the very same pistol, always loaded. -TWS Garrison

I thought that perhaps he changed the powder but kept the bullet...


Odd ship, the Interceptor. Turning the wheel moves the aft boom! Usually the wheel just controls the rudder. -TWS Garrison


Perhaps the boom was loose, and the sharp turn made it swing?


Just a few ideas, feel free to respond!

I've wondered about whether the curse makes them feel pain. It would make some sense i guess, the only feeling they could feel would be unpleasant. Sometimes they seem to feel it, like when Will throws the ax at the bomb-happy pirate, or when Elizabeth uses her bed warmer to knock out one of the pirates and pour the burning embers onto the wooden eye guy. At other times they seem to feel nothing such as when Elizabeth stabs Barbossa or Barbossa shot one of the pirates to show the curse was still in effect.

Perhaps they do feel pain, but not in the same way we do... perhaps it is diminished quite a bit. Barbossa at the end was pretty happy to be feeling ANYTHING, although I'm sure he wasn't too happy with the circumstances.

I have no idea why Barbossa had an apple in his hand while he was fighting with Sparrow, but I gather he carried one around with him. So that once the curse broke, he could eat it without it tasting like ash.

On my second viewing I noticed him holding the apple as he walked into the room with the treasure, before the big fight.

When the younger version of Will Turner is rescued, the hair hanging over his ear makes it look like an elf's. The adult Will Turner is played by Orlando bloom, whose most famous role is....

Saw this movie a second time and still loved it.

A few observations, though.

After Sparrow has rescued Elizabeth from drowning, he rips off her corset (a real bodice-ripper, eh?) J. One of the attendant soldiers says, "I never would have thought of that." Sparrow says, "You've obviously never been to Singapore." I totally missed the reference. Anyone care to explain?

Speaking of corsets, isn't it a little strange that Elizabeth has apparently never worn a corset before the day of her near drowning? Her father tells her it's the latest fashion in London. This story is circa 1750 (right?) and I believe they've had corsets (of varying types) since the Italian Renaissance. Perhaps she's just worn stays up to this point and the tightly laced corset with whalebone is too much for her. Anyway, she never would have had to be rescued by Sparrow if she hadn't fainted, so it's a good thing over all she wore that corset!

Was there really a pirate's code? Elizabeth mentions it being set down by the pirates Morgan and Bartholomew.

Another question: Sparrow says something that sounds like "savvy" a couple times ... Is this just a bastardization of "savez?" (a sort of French "you know?" or "get it?").

Finally, how much of the movie corresponds to the Disneyland ride? It's been many years since I've been there.

Daroga- I've been wondering about the Singapore reference too. It seems that everyone in the theater except me laughs at that one.

I just saw the movie again yesterday, and it's still as good as ever.

I did find 2 new nits:

When Elizabeth is walking the plank, and Barbossa asks for the dress back, he turns to the crew and comments "It's still warm."
Obviously, He's just joking with the crowd, because he couldn't feel it. (After all, wind blowing, water spray and coldness were unfeelable through the curse.)

Secondly, when the cursed pirates are attacking the british ship, one of the brave crewman runs over and begins ringing the bell. A pirate comes over and stabs him. Strangely enough, the bell stops ringing immediately, even though its still swinging enough for the hammer to hit the inside of the bell. Seems like someoe wanted the 'silencing the crewman' scene to be more dramatic than realistic.

Anyway, great stunts, great music, great moments, and great lines.

"Yes... but why is the rum gone?"

I have heard people use "savvy?" to mean "understand?" quite a few times. I don't think they used it back in the 1700s, but...

Finally, how much of the movie corresponds to the Disneyland ride? It's been many years since I've been there. - Daroga

It's been many years for me, too. Obviously the "Yo, ho! Yo, ho! A pirate's life for me..." is from the ride. The shot of the men in the jailcell waving a bone to entice the dog carrying the keys is also from the ride. Heck, I'd even say the oily, platic-like faces of the damned pirates was also meant to resemble the creepy animatronic ones from the ride.

A lot of the shots from Tortuga (or however that's spelled)

The woman on top the barrels pouring liquor into the guys throat and I think the shot of the guy hanging from a balcony by his feet, courtesy of someone else. I also believe there's a part of the ride where someone is sleeping with some pigs (much in the way that Gibbs was when Jack and Will woke him up). And, of course, in the ride a pirate ship exchanges cannon fire with a fort.

Daroga: Finally, how much of the movie corresponds to the Disneyland ride?
Luigi Novi: There are a few threads at the Internet Movie Database’s message boards for the film discussing the list of all the references here, here, and here.

A possible explanation for what happened to Bootstrap Bill... as has been discussed, Bill would have to have been under the curse in order for his blood to reverse it.

Now, they tied a cannonball to his bootstraps and fired him out into sea, somewhere in the Pacific. Presumably, he sunk to the bottom. Assuming he manages to free himself from the cannonball... where would he go? Can he swim? I don't recall if any of the damned pirates are shown swimming or not... but we do see them walking (and quite easily) along the bottom of the sea in order to board the English ship, bringing up the matter of buoyancy.

If he can't swim... then poor Bill would have to walk the (possibly thousands) of miles to the nearest land mass... assuming insanity hadn't taken over (or a passing shark hadn't digested him) this could take years... and even then, there's no guarantee that wherever he surfaces will be inhabited.

If he can swim, he can only swim for as long as the moon isn't shining on him... because as soon as it does, the air in his body will escape and he'll sink right back to the bottom (again, buoyancy).

So is it any wonder he's never appeared?

Since I've brought up buoyancy (and forgive me if it's already been pointed out), Depp and Bloom use an overturned boat to walk along the sea floor, using the trapped air inside to breathe... except, shouldn't the boat (and themselves) float to the top? I don't recall them wearing any kind of weights.

The Singapore line may be a reference to foot-binding, but it also may be a bondage reference, Singapore being a rather wanton place apparently.

savvy - 1785, W. Indies pidgin borrowing of Fr. savez(-vous)? "do you know?" or Sp. sabe (usted) "you know," both from V.L. *sapere, from L. sapere "be wise, be knowing." The adj. is 1905, from the noun.

Also, "parlay:"
parlay - 1701, term in the card game faro, from Fr. paroli, from It. parole "words, promises" (see parole). Meaning "exploit to advantage" is from 1942.

Both are appropriate as far as time and location.

Oh yeah, and the other spelling:

parley (n.) - 1449, from M.Fr. parlée, from fem. pp. of O.Fr. parler "to speak," from L.L. parabolare, from parabola "speech, discourse," from L. parabola "comparison" (see parable). The verb is 14c., probably a separate borrowing of O.Fr. parler.

anyone know if this story is true or based on on a writer s imagination? that jack sparrow guy is already one of the undead? how? anyone can tell me? and is there a pirates code?

anyone know if this story is true or based on on a writer s imagination? - savvy

Yes.


that jack sparrow guy is already one of the undead? - savvy

No, Jack wasn't "already" one of the undead, he became undead later.


how? - savvy

As discussed before, he became undead when he swiped the gold coin from the box.


anyone can tell me? - savvy

Yes.


and is there a pirates code? - savvy

In reality? I tend to doubt it.

Well, I ended up answering me own question. No, there was no code. A nice invention of Disney's. Different pirate captains drew up articles, though, which all the crew had to sign and agree upon. Bartholomew Roberts, one of the real pirates mentioned in the film, had a clause to an article that absolutely forbid women on board. Read about articles here.
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Garden/5213/articles.htm

Dath Sarcasm, would being eaten by a shark even stop one of these guys? (Although that may be getting into some messy imagery that is better just left alone...)

Also, an excelent point on buyouncy. I asumed (based on how the pirates invade the British ship) that he would have walked anyway.


Finally, "anyone know if this story is true or based on on a writer s imagination?"- do you savvy.
LOL! Yes, this is a true story of undead pirates in the Carribean! Tune in soon to hear the real life experiences of an exorcist/family man in Disney's "Haunted Mansion." And if you're too impatient to wait, check out Walt Disney's cross-species cultural documentary in "The Country Bears." :-)

LOL, Zarm...

As for the shark... I suppose it depends on how broken up the body had become when it is eaten. When one pirate's hand is severed, we see it can move around... but I would think that a single bone would not be able to move on its own.

Another thing to consider... if Bill sank in deep enough water, he would not have the strength to get up and walk... or at least it would prove to be extremely difficult as the muscles attempt to combat the "weight" of the water pressure.

It sounded like they may have actually tied him to a cannon and dropped him overboard.

thx dath sarcasm et al

to dath and sarm, we are in ca, so its tough to get to disneyworld, 3,000 miles away..need a transporter beam.. where are ya at? im in ca

WA, myself. Believe it or not, we are actually experiencing a heatwave. Bet no one ever thought they'd need an air conditoner in Washington state before, huh?


By the way, another nit, although it's somewhat questionable...

When the curse is broken at the end (Oh yeah, SPOILER warning. Like it really matters.) Blood suddenly blossoms from Barbossa's chest rather rapidly, as if the entire injury snaps into place once he's mortal again. I have no problem with that, it looks kind of cool and always gets an "Eeeeeewwwww" from the audiance. But this implies to me that he had no blood to bleed while he was cursed. This also explains a lack of blood when the pirates are stabbed. Makes sense to me.
However, when Elizabeth stabs Barbossa with a knife, either the rasberry jelly on the blade didn't wipe off, or there was blood on it.
Any ideas to reconcile this?


P.S. Darth Sarcasm, would it amuse you to know that I recently recieved E-mail from someone on this board asking if you and I are one and the same?
Apparently, 'we' must enjoy talking to ourselves... :-)

LOL, Zarm!

As for the blood issue... I assumed that it was blood on the knife she uses to stab Barbossa, but because he was cursed, the blood simply didn't flow. When the curse was lifted after being shot, the hole the bullet made was still present and the blood seeped through and he died (as well as a number of other pirates).


to dath and sarm, we are in ca, so its tough to get to disneyworld, 3,000 miles away..need a transporter beam.. where are ya at? im in ca - do you savvy

I'm in CA, too. There's a little place called DisneyLAND here... much closer.

thx zarm and dath twins....yo yo oh and a bottle of scotch? or is it rum? i forget...mmmmm drinking too much romulan ale here

About the blood, and how the pirates would be able to give it, maybe it was the people who recieved the gold from the Black Peral who needed to contribute the blood.

Just a thought.

So once Bootstrap gave it away, he wasn't affected? Interesting thought, but...

If that were the case, the crew of the Pearl would still be sailing merrily on their way while all of the people that were paid with the gold were the cursed ones.

I think it's safe to say that they needed the blood of everyone who stole the gold in the first place. After all, didn't one of the Pirates say "Let's spill all of our blood again, just to be safe!" (Which invalidates my earlier nit about the knife, BTW.)

They just wanted will because the Turner blood still flowed in his veins. (Which, if you think about it, wouldn't really work if it was only the people who stole the gold, because will didn't steal it, so they should have to go find Bootstrap, if he was still alive (Which I think he was (Buy, look at all these parenthesis)))

So, if Will an innocent (of the theft) had to pay in blood for his father's misdeeds, perhaps the blood of all the other innocents WAS required.

I don't know. I'm getting a headache...

sarm, try 2 asprins and call dr mccoy in the morning

As long as I don't have to give a blood sample....

Way to kill the thread, Zarm.

The FX were very good, especially the changing back and forth as they entered and exited the moonlight.

Speaking as a fencer, the swordplay in the duel between Will and Jack was excellently (and properly) done.

I was watching this last night and noticed in the scene in which Will Turner swordfights with Captain Sparrow that you can see what looks like a tattoo on the underside of Will's right wrist. I can't really make out what it is, but it seems to be made of strange characters. Is this the mysterious location of Orlando Bloom's fellowship tatoo?

That would be it. That's why Will is always wearing something tied around his wrist.

Similarly, Depp has numerous tattoos that were concealed with the use of dirt.

Something I noticed from July 22nd that no one mentioned:

Now, they tied a cannonball to his bootstraps and fired him out into sea, somewhere in the Pacific. ~ Darth Sarcasm

As someone else already pointed out, Bootstrap's bootstraps were tied to a cannon, and he was just dropped overboard. But I have to tell ya, if Barbossa had a cannon that could fire a man into the Pacific from the Caribbean, it's no wonder he was able to plunder and pillage for ten years!

When Elizabeth is looking out her window down into the harbour where the Black Pearl is first firing the cannons, it seems like she's looking a good distance down. A few minutes later, a cannon ball goes through her house and whams into a pirate and out the door. Is it really conceivable that the Pearl's cannons can shoot THAT far?

(Yes, if they can shoot a man into the Pacific!) ;)

LOL!

I knew I should've taken that left turn in Albuquerque.

In order for the curse to be broken they all had to spill their blood. But Jack became cursed at the end of the movie, wouldn't he also have to spill his blood in order to lift it?

He did. He cuts his hand before tossing the coin to Will.

explains why they cut that scene in the Deleted Scenes section of the DVD in which Jack climbs up to the chest and contributes his coin and blood to the chest (presumably after Barbossa is dead). since that way he'd have to have stolen two coins, plus the curse wouldnt be lifted yet and etc etc.

the Pearl's cannons seemed to be magically enhanced somehow, since i didnt think that a ship that far down from the fort could fire cannon shot that would reach the fort less than 2 seconds after firing...then again, why does the shot at the side of the fort (when Jack and the audience are watching through the window) reach the fort in less than 2 seconds, but the shot at the jail reaches it in enough time for JAck to jump down and take cover?

When the moonlight is shining over Port Royal, Jack makes good use of it to figure out that there is a curse on the Black Pearl. But, why does Elizabeth act so surprised when she discovers the same thing after dinner with Barbossa? She was in the boats with the crew at the time. Did she have her head in her hands the whole time and only looked up when the camera came along?

I should probably change the above statement, since its really only the crew thats cursed, not the ship. Which raises teh question of how it can sail with sails that looked as though they were worn by victims of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Pretty impressive that after the pirate attack on Port Royal, there was no visible damage to either the Interceptor or the Dauntless, even tho a ship in the harbor at the same position the Dauntless occupied when she was commandeered temporarily by our two heroes was shown smoking as though on fire.

Also impressive that the Fort was repaired so fast that it was intact at Jack's hanging.

How did Jack and Will get into the water without arousing suspicion? Hmm, two guys carrying a boat upside down into the water? Nah, couldn't be anything suspicious.... or, if you prefer: hmm, an upside down boat with two pairs of feet, walking into the ocean all by itself? Nah, couldn't be anything suspicious....

Amazing that this poor monkey is in such good condition, considering that he's been starving and parched of thirst for 10 years. I mean, it reflects well upon the pirates' resilience that they aren't crawling around in pain from hunger and thirst, but a monkey doesnt have that kind of willpower. I'd expect it to be running around screeching, eating and drinking everything in sight.

Why do they have a fully-stocked galley on the Black Pearl anyway? none of them can eat or drink anything. Is it "just in case"? And why do they have a cake with a piece cut out at the end of the movie? Who took a piece? and why? its not like it woulda been any good to them...

ok, that's all i got.

But, why does Elizabeth act so surprised when she discovers the same thing after dinner with Barbossa? - Justin M

If memory serves, it was a cloudy night... and the moon only peeked out for short while. It's also possible that the moon was obscured in Elizabeth's location, either by cloud cover or other obstructions.


Amazing that this poor monkey is in such good condition, considering that he's been starving and parched of thirst for 10 years. I mean, it reflects well upon the pirates' resilience that they aren't crawling around in pain from hunger and thirst, but a monkey doesnt have that kind of willpower. I'd expect it to be running around screeching, eating and drinking everything in sight. - Justin M

I don't recall them saying that they were hungry or thirsty... just that they couldn't enjoy the fruits of life. If this is the case, then the monkey is less likely to be affected than the pirates, since animals usually eat for sustenance... not enjoyment.

Barbossa says

For too long I've been parched of thirst and unable to quench it. Too long I've been starving to death and haven't died. I feel nothing. Not the wind on my face nor the spray of the sea. Nor the warmth of a woman's flesh.

Elizabeth was dragged into the cabin when she was first brought on board the Pearl, and didn't get a chance to escape until the dinner. I gather that she was also alone during that time, and therefore, couldn't have seen the curse until then.

And from the time of parley until Barbossa's acceptance, it was cloudy out.

I would gather (though this cannot be confirmed) that just because Barbossa and the crew cannot taste the food or drink (it turns to ashes or summat) doesn't mean they don't feed themselves. Maybe if they don't, they'll drop dead of dehydration and starvation after the curse is broken? That was never explained, which is a pity.

Thanks, Brian. That does sound familiar.

Of course, the problem lies in Barbossa's own words... if he feels nothing, as he claims, then he should feel no hunger or thirst. Then again, if he feels nothing, then he shouldn't want what he's missing, either.

What I understood (and I could be wrong) is that they merely couldn't take pleasure in food and drink, and that the curse keeps them alive without the need for it. Why, after all, would corpses need it?

Well, then again, if he really feels nothing, then he probably shouldnt scream in pain when Jack slashes him across the back in the huge fight at the end(although he doesnt react with pain in every other point at which he gets stabbed or shot). In some other instances the pirates seem to react with pain when they shouldn't (when the three pirates get run through with the gold staff, when the guy with the grenades gets an axe in the back). The pain/feeling inconsistency is still kind of a sticking point with me.

I've always viewed it as they weren't feeling pain, but were feeling surprised that [insert action] happened to them.

Johnny's Depp's performance has been nominated for an Oscar. Good for him.

Well, here's a question. Maybe I should know the answer, considering I've seen this movie a half dozen times. Nevertheless ... So Will and Jack end up in Tortuga. I'm curious as to what they did with the Interceptor. It was mentioned earlier that two men couldn't handle the Dauntless; even though the Commodore's men saw to it that the Interceptor had been "ready to make way," does that necessarily mean they'd be able to drop anchor unassisted in Tortuga? I don't know that much about nautical archeaology, but was it wise to leave the Interceptor unmanned as they went ashore in Tortuga? Wouldn't one of the "scum of the Caribbean" hanging around Tortuga decide he liked the pretty boat and sail off with it? Then again, perhaps all the other pirates on Tortuga were too drunk to notice.

It was docked in the scene where Jack and Will meet their Tortuga crew.

Ah. Yes. I must have had all my attention in that scene (and every scene) focused on Jack. Thanks.

As for the curse/pain thing, I always assumed that the curse allowed them to feel anything unpleasent (hunger, pain, weariness,) but nothing pleasureable.

AS to the line that said they got no pleasure from the things they spent the gold on?

For anyone thats watched after the credits...


(MINOR SPOILLERS IN A MOST MINISCULE WAY)


...where the monkey takes a new gold piece, this raises a question. If Pirates 2 involves the curse again (which it probably won't), would newly cursed victims have to simply return all of the coins and blood that they were responsible for, or would they also have to track down the monkey and his coin as well?

In other words, could there be several different sets of cursed individuals under diffrent requirements, or would anybody taking a piece after the first individual simply be joining in the first individual's curse?

Zarm,

I actually waited for it... Weren't those the world's longest credits?

OT: But what was the first movie to include a post-credit "easter egg"? I'm thinking it was Airplane!. I can't remember one before that... Anyone?

The second time I saw it in the theatres (I think I saw it four times) I waited through the credits. After I saw the "easter egg," I cursed aloud at how inane that was. I was frankly quite disappointed. As for your question, Zarm, sorry, mate, ye're on yer own there: I've no idea.

Odd ship, the Interceptor. Turning the wheel moves the aft boom! Usually the wheel just controls the rudder.-someone important, I forgot to check, sorry
It's an automatic

and is there a pirates code?- savvy
Yes there is, it's called the Ferangi Rules of Acquisition.

Some Nits and NANJAOs of my own.
1. How did the monkey get cursed?
2. When Will Turner gets knocked over the edge and he hangs, did anyone catch where his sword landed? Was it where Jack could pick it up?
3. I don't know about anyone else, but when those two women ;) row out from the cave, I would have opened fire. This is a Pirate's cave; there shouldn't be anyone rowing out so happy and...
4. When the Commodore's men swung over to the Dauntless to capture Sparrow and Turner, did the Commodore leave anyone onboard the Interceptor? Was that a very good strategy? (“That must be the most $tupid military commander ever." )
5. So the soldier who said he had seen the ship with black sails, just what did he see? I would think that if he had seen the ship with black sails, he would remember the holes and I would think he would have been attacked...
6. Since when do cannonballs explode like the pulse phasers from Star Trek? See the Patriot for cannonball realism.


Regarding the curse and when Sparrow knew of it.

In the jail cell after Sparrow is briefly throttled by the pirate with a boney arm, he comments inquisitively that there is a curse. Why? It appeared he knew quite about the curse and how to break it upon learning who Will was; knowing Will's blood would break the curse made it seem like he already knew of it prior to meeting the undead pirates.

and is there a pirates code?- savvy
Yes there is, it's called the Ferangi Rules of Acquisition.

If this question was never (legitimately) answered, I'd like to say: not any official code, no. Pirate ships kept collections of articles that detailed what those aboard could and couldn't do. Capt. Bartholomew Roberts (from whence Princess Bride's Dread Pirate Roberts comes I presume, and the "Bartholomew" Elizabeth mentions in POTC), for example, kept a tidy ship, with one of the articles strictly forbidding women from being on board.

Torque asks:
1. How did the monkey get cursed?
One would assume by taking a piece of gold out of the chest and carrying it around for awhile.

re: Norrington's stewpid tactics ...
This is a flimsy excuse, but maybe he was operating out of the Sailing and Fighting Instructions for His Majesty's Fleet. It generally seems, however, that those who DIDN'T follow the instructions in the Navy made stewpid mistakes. Such as in the case of Admiral Byng, who was hanged for errors based on failure to follow the instructions. (I'm sure none of that made sense.)

5. So the soldier who said he had seen the ship with black sails, just what did he see? I would think that if he had seen the ship with black sails, he would remember the holes and I would think he would have been attacked...
As the other marine pointed out, ships other than the Black Pearl might fly black sails. Good point about remembering the holes. However, seeing the ship doesn't necessarily equal being attacked. Think of Elizabeth (age 12), who saw the Pearl but was not attacked; she saw a glimpse of it retreating.

6. Since when do cannonballs explode like the pulse phasers from Star Trek? See the Patriot for cannonball realism.
NANJAO: what do you mean exactly? I've seen The Patriot but I don't remember that much about it and certainly not how the cannonballs exploded.

In the jail cell after Sparrow is briefly throttled by the pirate with a boney arm, he comments inquisitively that there is a curse. Why?
He comments inquisitively? I think it's more of a confirmation. As was established earlier in the scene, when he chides the other prisoners for believing so easily in stories about the Pearl ("No survivors? How did the stories get out?"), Sparrow is a skeptic about the curse. When he is presented with bonafide (ouch! pun!) evidence, he accepts the curse and starts thinking about how to break it.

Daroga, that may be the worst pun in the history of movie related discourse. I love it. :-)

Anyway, Pirates music sighting (er, hearing...). The 2004 Athens Olympics Men's Gymnastics on August 18th used a medley of Pirates music to introduce one of the American gymnasts. I heard the "Walking under the canoe" town theme, followed by the "Goodbye... Elizabeth/Arrival of captain jack Sparrow" music.
(P.S. Anyone catch the amazing comeback victory of Paul Hamm in the gymnastics? POTC fans should be happy that they decided to associate the music with such a fantastic legacy.)

Thanks, Zarm! Probably the best compliment I've received on Nitcentral!

Speaking for all POTC fans, yes, I am happy that Paul Hamm's comeback was associated with POTC's music. 'Cause the music rawks.

Question: According to Wikipedia, there's an easter egg on the 2nd disc of the DVD, which can be seen by accessing the "Moonlight Serenade" scene progression menu and pressing down until the tooth on the skull is highlighted and hit select. What's the easter egg? What happens?

Actually there where explosing cannonballs. They where hollow iron balls with a fuse similar to modern fireworks that when the shot exploded to fire the ball out of the cannon it lit the fuse (at least in theory) and when it hit boom and shrapnel. Otherwise a simple iron ball would impact and shatter and smash things (although rising a large cloud of dust and debris might look like an explosion) like it did in Patriot.

One of the points that was realistic in patriot to me was when the ball wound up becoming the bowling ball of doom and took the guys leg off by spinning and bouncing along the ground at a high velocity.

(Dead Man's Chest MINOR SPOILERS)


.


.


.

So, based on the revelation that Jack's Compass, recieved from Tia Dalma, actually points to whatever the user desires most, can we infer that Jack was, in fact, not tracking the Isla De Muerta, but the Black Pearl the whole time?

ABC plans to counterprogram the Emmy awards telecast on August 27 by running this film. Usually, the networks don't offer competitive programming against the Emmy's, but since ABC feels snubbed by the television academy, it's going full steam ahead with viable counterprogramming. Not having watched the Emmys since I was bored to tears by it in 1974, I don't even think it's a horserace. A tremendously entertaining movie vs. a DOA awards show. You make the choice.

I haven't watched either the Emmys or the Oscars in years. It's just a bunch of industry insiders stroking themselves,and imagining we give a darn.

Never watched it period. They never made sense to me.

When Jack is marooned on that island, for the second time, with Elizabeth I believe you can see a bra-strap on Keira Knightly as they were walking out of the water.

TWS already pointed out Ms. Swan's statement about the "whole British Navy" was looking for her so I'll refrain on doing so; oops already did.

Turning a boat upside down to walk along the bottom of the sea was an interesting idea but I didn't see any other weights keeping them down there so I'm pretty sure they would just float to the top. That may have only been a row boat but it can hold a lot of air, and adding the natural buoyancy of the human body would not work the way it is shown.

Is it specifically stated that the bloodied coin has to be in the chest? I don't recall any so why would the gunshot wound inflicted before Barbossa's return to mortality effect him? Obviously some proximity to the chest is viable and the Captain was quite mortal when shot.

Why do the accursed squeal like banshees while in their skeletal form? Also, why are their clothes tattered in that form as well, while ok in normal form? Are their clothes cursed too?

"Was there really a pirate's code? Elizabeth mentions it being set down by the pirates Morgan and Bartholomew." Daroga

You've already answered the code question, and found that Bartholomew was real, but I believe Captain Morgan was a real pirate as well; why else would he have a brand of rum named after him?

"When Elizabeth is looking out her window down into the harbour where the Black Pearl is first firing the cannons, it seems like she's looking a good distance down. Is it really conceivable that the Pearl's cannons can shoot THAT far?" Mjenkins

I believe cannonballs could travel that distance, but what I thought odd was the angle it was firing. Some of it seemed much too steep for a ship's cannon of that era.

"Of course, this doesn't explain why some of the other pirates drop dead on the ship." Zarm

The one pirate, that I recall, dropping dead was just stabbed by the commodore as the curse was lifted.

I can't believe I missed this before. As the Pearl pulled alongside the Interceptor, following Elizabeth's brilliant manuver, both ships completely stopped so they could have their fire fight. Sorry, but they would only be able to get in a few shots before they passed each other and have to turn around.

"Was there really a pirate's code? Elizabeth mentions it being set down by the pirates Morgan and Bartholomew." Daroga

I believe that there really was a pirate by that name but the Pirates Code was an invention of the writers.


I can't believe I missed this before. As the Pearl pulled alongside the Interceptor, following Elizabeth's brilliant manuver, both ships completely stopped so they could have their fire fight. Sorry, but they would only be able to get in a few shots before they passed each other and have to turn around.

The Interceptor would have stopped as they just dropped anchor and the ship was now facing another direction, taking the wind out of her sails. The Pearl, on the other hand, would have kept going right past them, unless they dropped their sails very quickly.


"When Elizabeth is looking out her window down into the harbour where the Black Pearl is first firing the cannons, it seems like she's looking a good distance down. Is it really conceivable that the Pearl's cannons can shoot THAT far?" Mjenkins

I remember seeing some civil war reenactors with a canon. I believe that they said it could fire a cannon ball up to 3 miles away, but of course it wouldn't me anything resembling accurate that that distance.

You're right about the Interceptor stopping eventually Brian but not on a dime like it did. It was at full sail when the starboard anchor was dropped and the momentum alone should've carried it in a full circle, plus taking up the sails would've taken most of the time it took to swing around to meet the Pearl.

By Daroga on Monday, July 21, 2003 - 9:39 am:

This story is circa 1750 (right?)

Wrong, the golden age of pirates was from around 1650 - 1720.

Was there really a pirate's code? Elizabeth mentions it being set down by the pirates Morgan and Bartholomew.

Yes there was - in fact all pirate ships had their own codes regarding sharing the spoils of captured ships that was practically identical. And all pirates tended to follow general rules if they ran into each other at sea - Basically not to fight one another.

This wasn't written down, and hence wasn't 'offical', but most pirates followed this as fighting one another wasn't worth it.

By inblackestnight on Saturday, June 16, 2007 - 9:44 pm:
I believe Captain Morgan was a real pirate as well

Morgan would have killed you for saying that. Henry Morgan was not a pirate, except to the Spanish. He was a Priveteer fighting against the Spanish under British colours. He never pestered non-Spanish ships unless Britain was at war with that country.

He STRONGLY objected to being called a pirate by the Spanish, and in one letter corrects a Spanish officer who discribed him as such. Most true pirates were quite happy at calling themselves such - Morgan never once called himself a Pirate.

I believe cannonballs could travel that distance

Cannons could fire in excess of a mile or more - depending on load and size of gun. Hitting anything was a different matter.


Nits; Governor Swann congratulates Corrington on his promotion to the rank of Commodore. Commodore was not a rank in the Royal Navy until the late 1990's. Before them it was a position given to a Captain in charge of a squadren/fleet of ships, but it wasn't a rank one could be promoted to.

The Royal Navy didn't have offical uniforms until 1750 - some 20-30 years after the pirate age.

Cyber: Morgan would have killed you for saying that.
I guess I don't have to worry about that now, nor would I then unless I said it to his face When I said that I was joking anyway.

Now, that was a rum thing to say

This wasn't written down, and hence wasn't 'offical', but most pirates followed this as fighting one another wasn't worth it.

So what you're saying is that they were more 'guidelines' than actual rules.

So what you're saying is that they were more 'guidelines' than actual rules.

In regards the interactions between two different pirate ships running into each other, in general yes. However there was a real Brotherhood of Pirates (although it wasn't quite called that) in the Caribbean - Henry Morgan was part of it. This Brotherhood did have a series of informal rules, and not attacking other 'pirate' ships at sea was part of these rules.

The Brotherhood existed from around 1660 to around the late 1690's, if not a little later, and covered British and French pirates.

One of the main problems is that not all pirates were in the strictest sense pirates at all. Both Henry Morgan, and before him Sir Francis Drake, were labelled as being Pirates. However nether of them ever attacked British ships, they only went after Spanish ships or other nationalities that Britain was at war with. Both were, in reality privateers - that is operating as private warships in the service of a larger power. Many 'pirates' in the Caribbean did the same, but to add to the confusion they would switch allegiance when or if their services were not needed elsewhere. (Apart from the Spanish, who treated everyone in these waters as being hostile).

The situation was further confused between 1655 - 1680 on Jamaica. Which lacking any naval force what-so-ever had to rely on British Pirates as its sole means of protection against the larger and more numerous Spanish islands. Since Britain and France were at war at varying points during this period this could and did sometimes lead to pirate against pirate battles.

Henry Morgan was one of the leading 'pirates' of the late 1600's - although as I said he never called or considered himself as such. He was also, somewhat ironically, one of the major pirate hunters and one of the reasons why large scale organised piracy in the Caribbean and the Brotherhood was history by 1710. Morgan was arrested for piracy and shipped back to England to stand trial. He was cleared of piracy, and eventually made governor of Jamaica where he lead the crackdown on Pirates.
After this pirates were very much single ships working alone - although on occasion a pirate crew might be large enough to crew a second ship they tended to go their own ways, and there were also occasions where two pirate ships might decide to work together.