Pirates of the Caribbean Review:

One of the biggest hits of 2003, and based off of one of Disney’s most popular and oldest theme park rides, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a fun-filled blockbusters from producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The film is nothing more than a popcorn "pirate" movie that actually entertains.

The pirates of the ship named the Black Pearl are led by the distraught Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). The crew of the Black Pearl have been cursed due to stealing priceless Aztec gold. The curse on Barbossa and his crew is that they are neither dead nor alive, they have no sense of feel, and the moonlight transforms them into living skeletons. The only way the curse can be reversed is to restore a coin of Aztec gold that was stolen.

At Port Royal, the crew of the Black Pearl attacks the town and kidnaps the gorgeous Elizabeth Swann (Bend it Like Beckham’s Keira Knightley) Elizabeth has the last coin needed to lift the curse in her possession. She received the coin from childhood friend Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), when he was found abandoned at sea. Hearing of Elizabeth’s kidnapping, Will joins forces with a unique pirate named Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) to find the Black Pearl and rescue her. The film then shifts into a non-stop action adventure directed with precision by Gore Verbinski ("The Ring").

The best aspect of Pirates of the Caribbean is the obvious tribute the film pays to the popular theme park ride. There are many exact composites from scenes of the ride that are in the film. Johnny Depp gives one of the best performances of last year, with his basis of Sparrow being a pirate that has been out in the sun too long being immensely unforgettable. Though the film’s Disneyish themes can be handle, this film is just way too long. There is no reason that this film should have been over two hours long, at least forty-five minutes of the film could have been trimmed. Watching this film again, makes it for sure that the longevity is its only really serious flaw, but it is still a fun movie.

Picture & Audio

The Disney DVD is perfectly clear, with no scratches or flaws from its transfer from film to disc. As with the majority of DVDs, this film looks beautiful.

The sound of the disc is THX certified and is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as in DTS 5.1. The film has terrific sound and effects, with each being heard clearly throughout. Hans Zimmer’s drilling score also sounds great throughout the view of the film. Even Johnny Depp’s at times slurred dialogue is picked up and clearly heard throughout in his "robotic’ voice.

Special Features (Included on Disc 2)

Audio Commentaries:
Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp
Jerry Bruckheimer, Keira Knightley and Jack Davenport
Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert (writers)

19 Deleted and Alternate Scenes:
Most of the deleted scenes were cut in the editing room for good purpose, with the majority of them offering nothing too significant to the film, just as fillers. One scene contains Elizabeth questioning Jack as to why he didn’t tell Will about the curse, and how she does not trust him. Other scenes that are altered have longer progression for the actors to their cues, or the character’s walking path, etc.

Blooper Reel:
An amusing reel of bloopers strung together with the stars missing their lines, their cues, and Orlando Bloom stumbling in his blacksmith shop.

"An Epic At Sea"-The Making of Pirates:
This is a standard featurette that looks into the making of the film with behind the scenes looks and interviews with and about the actors, the locations, the production designers, the ships, costumes, make-up, swords, visual effects, and even the premiere of the film. All are amusing, especially the make-up section, in which it is divulged that Johnny Depp wore contacts during the film, but the lens were sunglasses to give him protection from the sun.

"Below Deck"-An Interactive History of Pirates:
A history lesson segment about real life pirates, from video clips, to explanation of pirates’ superstitions, choice of weapon, ship, and code. All in all a good featurette.

"Fly On The Set"-Featurettes:
This featurette has random crewmembers totting video cameras through the production looking in to the areas that follow:
Town Attack
Tortuga
Blacksmith Shop
The Cave
Jack’s Hanging

"Diary of a Pirate":
Co-star of the film Lee Arenberg, who plays Pintel, keeps a video journal on the movie during production. This featurette is very amusing, which includes Arenberg visiting his make-up chair for 2 hours a day, and discussing scenes with Gore Verbinski, whom he refers to as "the general on the set."

"Diary of a Ship":
This is an another video journal by a crewmember that follows the travels of a replica ship used in the filming of the movie. The journey begins in Washington and goes all the way to the Caribbean.

Producer’s Photo Diary with Jerry Bruckheimer:
This feature contains executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s photographs taking from the set and during the production of the film.

Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color:
This is a Disney TV segment from the 1960’s that is about the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The episode endeavors throughout the ride at Disneyland and even shows some footage of the opening day of the ride.

"Moonlight Serenade"-Scene Progression:
One of the disc’s best features shows the deconstruction from a production standpoint of the scene where the audience first sees the pirates turn into skeletons. Industrial Light & Magic gurus narrate and take you through the detailed work of bringing this scene to life.

Image Galleries:
This is compositions of slideshows that contain concept art, inspiration for the film, storyboards of sets, characters, costumes, as well as publicity
stills.

Enhanced Computer Features:
"Moonlight Becomes Ye" Effects Studio
Disneyland Pirates Virtual Reality Viewer
"Dead Men Tell No Tales"-The History of The Attraction
Pirates of the Caribbean Attraction Image Gallery
Script Scanner
Storyboard Viewer

Overall

Pirates of the Caribbean is a big and fun blockbuster, and is already breaking sales records on DVD. This is a film that is a sure crowd pleaser that will be watched over and over in homes through the years. The picture quality and sound of the DVD is top notch. The special features, which contains over 10 hours of extra footage, has enough information about the film and pirates, that after viewing it all, you could lecture about pirates at any school. Some of the features are unnecessary and just thrown in to be longer, but most of them are pleasing features to ponder on. There are no Easter eggs found through this review, but there have to be a few somewhere in the menus or featurettes. This is a splendid DVD to add to any movielover’s collection.

Grades of the DVD

The Film: B
Video Quality: A
Audio Quality : A
Extra Features: B+
DVD as a whole: B+

DVD review by Joseph C. Tucker
12/28/03
Joseph C Tucker

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