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Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black PearlRating:
Release Date: 02 December, 2003 Retail Price: $19.99 OUR Price: $14.99 You SAVE: $5.00! Cast: Complete Cast (10 total) |
Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl Reviews
Pirates of the Caribbean - A Not-To-Miss Movie
This is the surprise movie of the summer! "Pirates" is truly a swashbuckling adventure, if ever the word "swashbuckling" applied to a movie. The cinematography is terrific; the story, while not of Pulitzer vintage, is rollicking, frolicsome, and exciting; the acting is extremely good; and the music is awesome.
Johnny Depp does an amazing job as Captain Jack Sparrow. His character provides the tragicomic relief needed throughout the movie to keep this film from taking itself too seriously. But he is also at times pithy or even philosophical. Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa is the main villain, but a likable, logical one. Keira Knightley is a charming young Elizabeth Swann who challenges some of her father's perspectives and demonstrates quite a bit of spunk. Orlando Bloom does an excellent job as young Will Turner, hopelessly in love with Elizabeth and with to-be-revealed ties with pirates. Jonathan Pryce and Jack Davenport offer excellent roles as Governor Swann and Commodore Norrington, respectively. Davenport, in particular, gives an ultimately touching rendition of the classical, stiff-upper-lip British gentleman.
I was especially impressed by the movie's music by Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt. The soundtrack, available on CD, will test your sound system's bass response.
This movie is a lot of fun! You may even wish to see it several times, as my whole family has. There were initial reviews complaining about the length of the movie; but I found that, at the end, I could have watched more. There has been some concern voiced by some reviewers about the scariness of the scenes of the ghostly accursed pirates under the full moon, but these vary from person to person: my 11-year old was slightly scared, but they did not phase my 8-year old.
In an evening spent with this movie, Captain Jack will indeed get you joyfully high! (Apologies to Billy Joel.)
As fun a movie as you'll see this year
Pirates of the Caribbean simply exceeded every expectation I had. As a fan of pirate history and stories, I knew I would go see the movie. However, I'm not a fan of marketing tie-ins, and figured that a movie based on a Disney ride would lack in all aspects other than Pirate Ships Shooting Cannons.
Instead, I (and all viewers) were treated to a rollicking, humorous, and unapologetically fun film. Johnny Depp is the rock around which this movie is crafted. His captain Jack Sparrow is a loony buccaneer down on his luck, looking to steal a ship and go after his former crew. Meanwhile, blacksmith's apprentice Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) crafts swords, practices with them, and burns with love for the daughter of the Governor of Port Royal (Keira Knightley). When an ancient curse calls the legendary pirate vessel the Black Pearl to come and sack Port Royal, the adventures are underway.
I'll say no more than that about the plot; if you haven't seen it, you deserve to enjoy the movie spoiler-free. Johnny Depp really makes the film with his quirky staggering and wide-eyed mania, slurring and smirking his way through gleefully cheesy piratical dialogue. Bloom and Knightley are excellent counterpoints, being both virtuous and yet intrigued by piracy.
The DVD is stacked with extra features, including deleted scenes, featurettes, blooper reels, and more. One of the more enjoyable bits is a documentary of sorts filmed by "Pintel" actor Lee Arenburg. Arenburg takes a hand-held camera with him on set, and gives the viewer a neat look at both the filming of the movie and the cast and crew at play on location.
The "Fly on the set" featurette is fun, too, as it lets the viewer watch from the side as certain scenes are slowly crafted from initial blocking up to and including pyro and falling sets.
The special features add even more to what was already a movie worth owning. If you like action, adventure, and humor all wrapped up in a package that almost all ages can appreciate, get this DVD.
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