| Pirates of the Caribbean film series | |
|---|---|
2011 DVD box set |
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| Directed by | Gore Verbinski (1-3) Rob Marshall (4) |
| Produced by | Jerry Bruckheimer |
| Written by | Terry Rossio Ted Elliott Stuart Beattie (1) Jay Wolpert (1) |
| Based on | Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean Tim Powers' On Stranger Tides (4) |
| Starring | Johnny Depp Geoffrey Rush Kevin McNally Orlando Bloom (1-3) Keira Knightley (1-3) Jack Davenport (1-3) Bill Nighy (2 & 3) Penélope Cruz (4) Ian McShane (4) |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer Klaus Badelt (1) Rodrigo y Gabriela (4) Eric Whitacre (4) |
| Studio | Jerry Bruckheimer Films |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1: July 9, 2003 2: July 7, 2006 3: May 25, 2007 4: May 20, 2011 |
| Running time | 600 minutes (1-4) |
| Country | United States United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Total (4 films): $815,000,000-$915,000,000 |
| Box office | Total (4 films): $3,721,006,165 |
Pirates of the Caribbean is a series of fantasy-adventure films directed by Gore Verbinski (1–3) and Rob Marshall (4), written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. All four films are based on a Walt Disney theme park ride of the same name, and follow the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), Captain Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally), Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), Angelica (Penélope Cruz), Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Philip Swift (Sam Claflin) and the mermaid Syrena (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey).
The films started with their first release on the big screen in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. After the success of the first film, Walt Disney Pictures revealed that a trilogy was in the works. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was released three years later in 2006. The sequel proved successful, breaking records worldwide the day of its premiere. In the end, it earned $1,066,179,725 at the worldwide box office, becoming the fourth and fastest film (at the time) to reach this amount. The third film in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, was released in 2007. In September 2008, Depp signed on for a fourth film in the franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, released on May 20, 2011 in conventional 2D, Digital 3-D and IMAX 3D. It succeeded in grossing more than $1 billion, becoming the eighth and fourth-fastest film to achieve this. So far, the film franchise has grossed $3.72 billion worldwide and it is the only franchise with two films that reached $1 billion worldwide. It has been confirmed that two more installments to the franchise are included in Disney's future plans.[1] In July 2011, Johnny Depp confirmed he was closing in on a deal for a fifth installment and that the franchise wouldn't be going ahead without Depp's participation.[2]
Although it has never been officially confirmed, there is strong evidence to suggest that the series was influenced by, and perhaps loosely based upon, the Monkey Island series of video games. Ted Elliott, one of the two screenwriters of the first four Pirates of the Caribbean films, was allegedly the writer of a Steven Spielberg-produced animated film adaptation of Monkey Island entitled The Curse of Monkey Island (presumably based on the game of the same name), which was cancelled before its official announcement, three years prior to the release of The Curse of the Black Pearl.[3] This film was allegedly in production at Industrial Light & Magic before being cancelled.[4]
Ron Gilbert, the creator of the Monkey Island series, has jokingly expressed a bitterness towards the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise for its similarities to Monkey Island.[5] Gilbert has also stated that On Stranger Tides, a novel by Tim Powers which was adapted into the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film, was the principal source of inspiration for his video games.[6]
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In the early 1990s[7] screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio conceived of writing a film based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Disney had Jay Wolpert write a script based on the ride, which producer Jerry Bruckheimer rejected, feeling it was "a straight pirate movie".[8] Bruckheimer brought Stuart Beattie in to rewrite the script in March 2002, due to his knowledge of piracy,[9] and later that month Elliott and Rossio were brought in.[8] Elliott and Rossio, inspired by the opening narration of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme-park ride, decided to give the film a supernatural edge.[10] As the budget rose, Michael Eisner and Robert Iger threatened to cancel the film, though Bruckheimer changed their minds when he showed them concept art and animatics.[11]
In May 2002 Gore Verbinski signed on to direct Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush signed on the following month to star.[9] 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 pay tribute to 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; also, the traditional mutiny had already taken place. Verbinski approached Rush for the role of 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.[12] Orlando Bloom read the script after Rush, whom he was working with on Ned Kelly, suggested it to him.[13] 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.[12] Tom Wilkinson was negotiated with to play Governor Swann,[9] but the role went to Jonathan Pryce, whom Depp idolized.[12]
Shooting for The Curse of the Black Pearl began on October 9, 2002 and wrapped by March 7, 2003.[9] Before its release, many executives and journalists had expected the film to flop, as the pirate genre had not been successful for years, the film was based on a theme-park ride, and Depp rarely made a big film.[14] However, The Curse of the Black Pearl became both a critical and commercial success.
After seeing how well the first film was made, the cast and crew signed for two more sequels to be shot back-to-back,[15] a practical decision on Disney's part to allow more time with the same cast and crew.[16] Writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio knew that with an ensemble cast, they weren't free to invent totally different situations and characters, as with the Indiana Jones and James Bond series, and so had to retroactively turn The Curse of the Black Pearl into the first of a trilogy.[17] They wanted to explore the reality of what would happen after Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann's embrace at the end of the first film, and initially considered the Fountain of Youth as the plot device.[18] They settled on introducing Davy Jones, the Flying Dutchman and the Kraken, a mythology mentioned twice in the first film. They introduced the historical East India Trading Company, which for them represented a counterpoint to the themes of personal freedom represented by pirates.[19]
Filming for the sequels began on February 28, 2005, 8:30 AM,[20] with Dead Man's Chest finishing on March 1, 2006,[21] and At World's End on January 10, 2007.[22]
Due to the trilogy's success and Depp's desire to play Jack Sparrow again, a fourth film was put into the works. On April 2007, Disney bought the rights to Tim Powers' novel On Stranger Tides, which Rossio and Elliot discovered during production of Dead Man's Chest and At World's End and decided to use as the basis for a fourth movie. As Gore Verbinski was unavailable, Bruckheimer invited Rob Marshall to direct the film.[23] Elliott and Rossio decided to do a standalone film,[24] with a story that would support new characters,[25] and incorporate elements from the novel, such as Blackbeard, the Fountain of Youth and mermaids — the latter two having been already alluded in the previous films.[26] Depp, Rush, Greg Ellis and Kevin McNally returned to their roles,[27] and the cast saw the additions of Ian McShane as Blackbeard and Penélope Cruz as Angelica, Blackbeard's daughter and Jack Sparrow's love interest.[28] After the costly production of two simultaneous films, Disney tried to scale down the fourth installment, giving a lower budget,[29] which led to cheaper locations and fewer scenes with special effects.[30] It was also filmed in 3D, with cameras similar to the ones used in Avatar.[23]
Filming for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides began June 15, 2010 and ended on November 19, 2010.[30][31] It was released in the United States on May 20, 2011.[32]
The actors playing in the fourth film were told by Disney not to occupy their time in the near future, as the studio intends to shoot a fifth and sixth film back-to-back.[1] On January 14, 2011, it was confirmed that Terry Rossio will write the screenplay for the fifth installment, without his co-writer Ted Elliott.[33] Johnny Depp said that he would be happy to return as Captain Jack Sparrow saying "As long as we can put all the puzzle pieces together, I would most definitely consider it". Jerry Bruckheimer said that the fifth film would be a stand-alone film. According to Terry Rossio, the script for the fifth film is finished, and he has handed the script to Disney executives.[34] Speaking at the fourth film's press launch in Cannes, Depp said he would play the role for as long as it is popular with the public.[35] Disney has a wishlist of directors they would like to direct, as Rob Marshall has not yet accepted nor declined to direct. The list includes Tim Burton, Sam Raimi, Alfonso Cuaron, Shawn Levy, Chris Weitz, and original Pirates director Gore Verbinski. Verbinski and Burton are Disney's top choices as they have both worked with Disney and Johnny Depp on numerous occasions.[36] On July 6, 2011, Johnny Depp confirmed on a deal for the fifth film.[2] Orlando Bloom said he would like to return for a fifth film if he was offered.[37]
In October 2011, Jerry Bruckheimer confirmed that they are working on a script.[38][39] In an interview, Kevin McNally stated that a summer 2012 production start was possible. Because of the financial success of On Stranger Tides, the film's director Rob Marshall may return to direct.[40] Pirates of the Caribbean 5 is expected to be released to theaters in the summer of 2013.[41]
Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate Captain Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor's daughter, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead, thanks to a cursed chest of 882 pieces of Aztec Gold stolen by Jack's former allies.
Lord Cutler Beckett, a powerful and ruthless East India Trading Co. agent, arrests Will and Elizabeth for aiding Jack Sparrow's escape in the previous film. Beckett, however, offers clemency if Will agrees to search for Sparrow and his magical compass. At the same time, Sparrow tries to release himself from an old debt with villainous Davy Jones by finding the Dead Man's Chest which he can use to command Jones to do his bidding.
Lord Beckett gains power over Davy Jones, and with the help of Jones' ship, The Flying Dutchman, he is now executing his plans to extinguish piracy forever. To stand against the East India Trading Co., Will, Elizabeth, Barbossa, and the crew of the Black Pearl set out to rescue Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones' Locker. Sparrow, as one of the Nine Pirate Lords, is needed in order to summon an ancient goddess, with the power to defeat Beckett's forces.
Captain Jack Sparrow is on a quest to find the fabled Fountain of Youth and crosses paths with a former lover, Angelica. She forces Jack aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, a ship captained by the infamous pirate Blackbeard, Angelica's father. Both are also in search for the Fountain; Angelica to save her father's soul, the Spanish to destroy the fountain believing that the powers are an abomination against God, and Blackbeard to escape a prophecy of his fatal demise by a one legged man. Former pirate captain Barbossa, now a privateer in King George II's Navy, is in search of the fountain with Britain, and to exact revenge against Blackbeard for having sunk the Black Pearl and losing his right leg.
| Role | Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Curse of the Black Pearl | Dead Man's Chest | At World's End | On Stranger Tides | |
| Director | Gore Verbinski | Rob Marshall | ||
| Producer | Jerry Bruckheimer | |||
| Writer | Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio Stuart Beattie Jay Wolpert |
Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio | ||
| Music | Klaus Badelt and Hans Zimmer | Hans Zimmer | Hans Zimmer Rodrigo y Gabriela |
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| Cinematographer | Dariusz Wolski | |||
All Pirates of the Caribbean films were successful at the box office, with grosses of over $600 million, and all but Curse of the Black Pearl ranking among the fifty highest-grossing films of all time. Two of the films had earnings surpassing the $1-billion-mark, Dead Man's Chest and On Stranger Tides.[43]
Curse of the Black Pearl was 2003's third highest gross in North America (behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Finding Nemo) and fourth worldwide (behind Return of the King, Finding Nemo and The Matrix Reloaded).[44] Dead Man's Chest was the most successful film of 2006,[45] and At World's End led the worldwide grosses in 2007, though being only fourth in North America (behind Spider-Man 3, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Shrek the Third).[46] On Stranger Tides is the third highest-grossing film of 2011 (behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II and Transformers: Dark of the Moon) worldwide and the eighth highest of all time.[47] All of the sequels broke box office records upon release.[48][49][50]
| Film | Release date | Box office revenue | Box office ranking | Budget | Reference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States and Canada | Other Countries | Worldwide | All time United States and Canada | All time worldwide | ||||
| Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | July 9, 2003 | $305,413,918 | $348,850,097 | $654,264,015 | #34 #91(A) |
#50 | $140,000,000 | [51] |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | July 7, 2006 | $423,315,812 | $642,863,913 | $1,066,179,725 | #8 #45(A) |
#6 | $225,000,000 | [52] |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | May 24, 2007 | $309,420,425 | $654,000,000 | $963,420,425 | #31 #115(A) |
#12 | $300,000,000 | [53] |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | May 20, 2011 | $241,071,802 | $802,800,000 | $1,043,871,802 | #73 TBA(A) |
#7 | $150,000,000– $250,000,000 |
[54][55] |
| Total | $1,279,221,957 | $2,448,514,010 | $3,727,735,967 | $815,000,000– $915,000,000 |
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List indicator(s)
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| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | Yahoo! Movies | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Cream of the Crop | |||
| Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | 78% (197 reviews)[56] | 66% (38 reviews)[57] | 63 (40 reviews)[58] | B- (14 reviews)[59] |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | 54% (218 reviews)[60] | 40% (40 reviews)[61] | 53 (37 reviews)[62] | B- (14 reviews)[63] |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | 45% (214 reviews)[64] | 34% (41 reviews)[65] | 50 (36 reviews)[66] | C+ (15 reviews)[67] |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | 33% (237 reviews)[68] | 31% (38 reviews)[69] | 45 (39 reviews)[70] | C (11 reviews)[71] |
| Average Ratings | 53% | 42% | 56% | N/A |
Together, all the first three films were nominated for a total of 11 Academy Awards, of which a single award was won.
| Award | Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Curse of the Black Pearl | Dead Man's Chest | At World's End | ||
| Actor in a Leading Role | Nomination (Johnny Depp) |
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| Art Direction-Set Decoration | Nomination | |||
| Makeup | Nomination | Nomination | ||
| Sound Editing | Nomination | Nomination | ||
| Sound Mixing | Nomination | Nomination | ||
| Visual Effects | Nomination | Won | Nomination | |
Together, all the four films were nominated for a total of 2 Golden Globe Awards, of which none were won.
| Award | Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Curse of the Black Pearl | Dead Man's Chest | At World's End | On Stranger Tides | |
| Best Actor | Nomination (Johnny Depp) |
Nomination (Johnny Depp) |
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Together, all the first three films were nominated for a total of 13 MTV Movie Awards, of which 4 were won.
| Award | Film | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Curse of the Black Pearl | Dead Man's Chest | At World's End | |
| Best Movie | Nomination | Won | Nomination |
| Best Male Performance | Won (Johnny Depp) |
Won (Johnny Depp) |
|
| Best Female Performance | Nomination (Keira Knightley) |
Nomination (Keira Knightley) |
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| Best Breakthrough Female Performance | Nomination (Keira Knightley) |
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| Best On-Screen Team | Nomination (Johnny Depp & Orlando Bloom) |
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| Best Villain | Nomination (Geoffrey Rush) |
Nomination (Bill Nighy) |
|
| Best Comedic Performance | Nomination (Johnny Depp) |
Won (Johnny Depp) |
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Together, all the four films were nominated for a total of 25 Teen Choice Awards, of which 16 were won.
Only the first film was released on VHS in 2003. The first three films have been released on DVD. All three have been released on a 2-disc special edition and a single disc edition. The Curse of the Black Pearl has a 3-disc edition called The Lost Disc filled with more special features than the single disc and 2-disc release. A boxed set containing the first three films was released in 2007 featuring the single disc editions of the films. The films have all been released on Blu-ray.
The fourth film On Stranger Tides was released on September 12, 2011 in the UK and October 18, 2011 in the United States. A DVD, Blu-ray, 3D and digital copy combo were released along with a single disc edition and a Blu-ray, DVD double combo.
A new box set containing all four films was released alongside On Stranger Tides, in the shape of Dead Man's Chest.
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