Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

The idea of a movie based on a Disneyland ride--let alone one produced by summer blockbuster king Jerry "Kaboom" Bruckheimer--had me dreading Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl since it was first announced two years ago. But I'm now here to eat every bad word I said: exhilarating from beginning to end, vivid with atmosphere, cleverly cliché-mocking, and blessed with two topnotch, over-the-top performances by Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush (I should have trusted these two intrepid actors), it may well be one of the most enjoyable pirate escapades of all time. Festooned in a billowy shirt and kohl-blackened eyes, Depp's dirty, flirty, disarmingly dishonest swashbuckler is blackmailed by a young blacksmith (Orlando Bloom) into mounting the rescue of the girl he loves (Keira Knightley) from a band of raucous buccaneers (led by the joyously ominous Rush) who have kidnapped her to end a curse that has left them in limbo between life and death. Visually vibrant and spectacularly staged, the film even manages to incorporate scenes from the Disneyland ride without being obnoxious about it. Great, great fun. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentaries (one by director Gore Verbinski and star Johnny Depp, another by writers Stuart Beattie, Terry Rossio, and Jay Wolpert; and selected commentaries by costars Keira Knightley and Jack Davenport, and an interview with producer Jerry Bruckheimer), “An Epic at Sea” 38-minute making-of documentary that includes production details and premiere footage, five “Fly on the Set” behind-the-scenes featurettes (21 min.), four minutes of “Producer's Photo Gallery” segments, the “Diary of a Pirate” (10 min.) and “Diary of a Ship” (11 min.) featurettes, a “Below Deck” interactive history of pirates with branching segments and the 22-minute story featurette “A Prisoner's Last Tale,” 19 deleted/extended scenes (19 min.), a seven-minute “Moonlight Serenade” scene progression, a three-minute blooper reel, image galleries (with storyboard, costume, concept art and publicity slideshows), an 18-minute “Pirates in the Park” segment from the 1968 TV special Disneyland: From the Pirates of the Caribbean to The World of Tomorrow, an Easter egg, trailers, and DVD-ROM features (including a script scanner and virtual reality viewer). Bottom line: a treasure trove of extras, matey, for one of 2003's most popular films.] (R. Blackwelder)[Blu-ray Review—Sept. 30, 2008—Disney, 143 min., PG-13, $34.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl sports an amazing transfer with English 5.1 uncompressed sound. The bonus features on this release are almost identical to those on the standard DVD release, including audio commentaries (one by director Gore Verbinski and star Johnny Depp, another by writers Stuart Beattie, Terry Rossio, and Jay Wolpert; and selected commentaries by costars Keira Knightley and Jack Davenport, and an interview with producer Jerry Bruckheimer), “An Epic at Sea” 38-minute “making-of” documentary that includes production details and premiere footage, five “Fly on the Set” behind-the-scenes featurettes (21 min.), four minutes of “Producer's Photo Gallery” segments, the “Diary of a Pirate” (10 min.) and “Diary of a Ship” (11 min.) featurettes, a “Below Deck” interactive history of pirates with branching segments, the 22-minute story featurette “A Prisoner's Last Tale,” 19 deleted/extended scenes (19 min.), a seven-minute “Moonlight Serenade” scene progression, a three-minute blooper reel, image galleries (with storyboard, costume, concept art, and publicity slideshows), an 18-minute “Pirates in the Park” segment from the 1968 TV special Disneyland: From the Pirates of the Caribbean to The World of Tomorrow, Easter eggs, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the “Scoundrels of the Sea” pop-up feature that lets you view featurettes throughout the film. Bottom line: a reference-quality Blu-ray release of the first and best film in the popular Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, this is also newly available in the Blu-ray boxed set Pirates of the Caribbean Three Movie Hi Def Collection, priced at $82.99.]