Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy

Disney’s blockbuster trilogy is now available as a six-disc Blu-ray set at a significant discount—and if you’re a fan of the franchise, it’s one of the best values in the burgeoning high-def market available today. This is merely a repackaging of each of the three individual Blu-rays, but there is enough content here to keep you busy for quite some time (as is evidenced by the positively massive Extras section of this review). But first, let’s begin with a quick summary of each of the films, followed by a look at the trilogy as a whole.

Curse of the Black Pearl

Disney blew everyone out of the beautiful, 1080p water with this captivating story of adventure and peril. You’re probably already well aware of the particulars, but in case you aren’t, we’re introduced to one Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), a free spirit in the strongest sense imaginable, driven by a neverending string of reckless, fearless impulses—and also fortunately a man of remarkable luck. His fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants style of leadership is perfect for his position as captain of the Black Pearl, a dreadful ship filled with one of the most infamous bands of pirates known to man.

The story begins with Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), who is infatuated with the daughter of the Governor of Port Royale, Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley). While attending a ceremony, her breathing is constricted by the corset she was given by her father to wear, causing her to fall helplessly into the ocean below. When Captain Jack Sparrow rescues her, he is imprisoned regardless by the British rulers. But when Elizabeth is abducted shortly thereafter by none other than Jack’s ship (now under control of a new captain—Barbossa, played by Geoffrey Rush, following a mutiny), Will breaks Jack out of prison on the condition that he lead him to the Black Pearl so that he can rescue Elizabeth. Unfortunately, the crew ends up plundering a huge reserve of Aztec gold which carries a curse that makes every one of them undead. Their only means of rectification is by way of Will’s blood, which he is not so eager to surrender.

It’s a complex storyline to be certain, but it’s the method of delivery that makes it so unusually compelling. Head writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio of Aladdin fame prodigiously entwine a perplexing series of twists and surprises into a cohesive whole that flows as beautifully as the digitally-compressed ocean waves in the film. Everything leads logically into the next turn of events without as much as a hint of artificiality. And the film is as free-spirited as the life of a pirate itself should be thought to be, a philosophy which is epitomized by Captain Jack Sparrow.

Jack Sparrow himself is a brilliant character brought to life by Johnny Depp, who is a perfect fit for the role. His irresponsible style of dealing with nearly every situation is accented by his self-centeredness in such a way that somehow we actually come to love the character for his unpredictability. Depp has said that his inspiration for the role was none other than Keith Richards, who receives further homage in the third film via his role as Captain Teague. Overall, the first film is a theatrical triumph of completely unexpected proportions, and Disney’s standard-setting video clarity and unrivaled compression quality of the Blu-ray release make it one of the most visually-appealing home video offerings ever.

Dead Man’s Chest

The sequel, Dead Man’s Chest, is equally appealing in the aesthetic sense, but unfortunately, the storyline is unnecessarily complicated by an onslaught of comparatively less-inspired characters. It’s also weighed down by a rather pointless (and lengthy) scene where Jack is about to be sacrificed by a terrible tribe of cannibals on a remote island but is rescued at the last minute by Will. Either way, once the action picks up and we’re in the thick of the plot, it’s at least still enjoyable, albeit a far cry from the non-stop thrills and adventure of the first film.

In this installment, Will and Elizabeth, who intend to marry, have been arrested by Lord Beckett (Tom Hollander) for aiding Jack Sparrow in his escape from hanging. They are released, however, under the agreement that Will find Jack and return to Beckett a magical compass that points always to what its bearer most intensely desires. Meanwhile, Jack learns that his theft of the Black Pearl has landed him an agreement with the horrifying Davy Jones, a half man, half sea creature whose tentacled skin exhibits some of the most amazing special effects work of any film to date. Jack is doomed to serve under Davy Jones’ rule on his ship, the Flying Dutchman, for thirteen years, and Jones is on his way to claim him captive—with the help of his legendary sea beast Kraken. What follows is a series of visually-stimulating but par-for-the-course action sequences that combine to form a film that is enjoyable but nothing as revolutionary or captivating as the first. It just doesn’t have the same creativity and charm that carried the first movie so far.

At World’s End

The third Pirates of the Caribbean movie picks up right where the second film left off, (small spoilers here) Johnny having been devoured by Kraken and the crew of the Black Pearl once again under the rule of Barbossa in his absence. This film is much heavier on dialogue and drama and a little bit lighter on action (at least in the first half). The writers admit in one of their featurettes that in order to keep things interesting in this third installment, they decided to “get weird”. In light of a scene where Jack is hallucinating in Davy Jones’ locker and thus commands a ship filled with many versions of himself (imitating a chicken, interacting with a donkey, et al), they succeeded (the scene was entertaining). But where they go wrong is the overly complex nature of the storyline and the jittery way in which it unfolds. Unlike the first film, this movie is not so seamlessly written, and as a result it’s actually quite difficult to follow the storyline. Subplot after subplot is revealed without sufficient introduction and we’re left with an amalgam of confusing story arcs that is only mildly satisfying in its resolution.

That having been said, the action in the second half of the film is truly top-notch, with an excessively long Maelstrom scene provoked by the goddess Calypso headlining it all. Here, we see some of the most sophisticated special effects work ever to go into a film; Industrial Light and Magic truly have outdone themselves here. Meanwhile, we are treated to an incredibly cheesy mid-battle marriage sequence between Will and Elizabeth that just feels out of place. Like most of the movie, the scene is only marginally entertaining with regard to the plot, but in terms of special effects, it’s a bona fide winner. All things considered, At World’s End is a great weekend popcorn flick, but it’s missing the free spirit sense of adventure tied together by the extraordinary continuity of the first film. Neither of the sequels compares to the glittery adventure and imagination of the original.

A Treasure Trove of Extras

The Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy is simply chocked full of extras, most of which are in standard def 480i—but they’re still fascinating. At World’s End, on the other hand, treats us to a full wardrobe of 1080i extras, including one of the coolest features I’ve ever seen on a DVD or Blu-ray—Enter the Maelstrom (read about it below).

I apologize in advance for the length of this section of the review, but I honestly didn’t realize how many special features were included before I started writing this.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (all 480i except where noted)

• Three Audio Commentary Tracks

  • Director Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp

  • Writers Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert

  • Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, and Producer Jerry Bruckheimer

• Scoundrels of the Sea (1080i) – A cool collection of a couple dozen features that can be accessed via an in-movie mini-game if you so choose (or you can simply select them from a menu). The innovative mini-game pops up coins throughout the film that can be “collected” with the remote and added to your chest. At the end of the movie, you’re then treated to a personalized documentary based on which coins you collected. It’s a really cool idea and it makes watching the movie again on Blu-ray lots of fun.

• Movie Showcase (1080p) – Three clips from the film that are meant to showcase the quality of Blu-ray video.

• An Epic At Sea: The Making of Pirates (38:09) – This is the introductory special feature, with plenty of cast interviews and other information. It’s insightful, but it wasn’t my favorite of the assortment.

• “Fly on the Wall” Segments (35:17) – Eight different sequences from the film are shown in raw production and followed with a finished clip.

• Becoming Captain Jack (7:19) – Johnny Depp explains his philosophy in creating the beloved character that well all know as Jack Sparrow.

• Becoming Barbossa (5:31) – Geoffrey Rush does the same.

• Thar She Blows! (6:17)

• The Monkey’s Name is Jack (4:35) – A brief piece featuring some interviews about the monkey in the movie.

• Sneak Attack Animatic (4:16) – A short CGI sequence used by the creators to visualize one of the scenes from the film before it was produced.

• Pirates Around the World (4:11) – A look at some scenes from Pirates in different languages.

• Spirit of the Ride (7:11) – A quick feature chronicling the references to the classic Disneyland ride throughout the film.

• Dead Men Tell No Tales: The History of the Attraction (13:55) – The history and construction of the Disneyland ride is discussed in detail—a very cool extra.

• Deleted Scenes (19:03) – Some scenes that didn’t make it into the film, which are also individually selectable. There’s a lot more of these on the first movie than on either of the sequels, perhaps lending some credence to the claim that the latter two are overlong.

• Diary of a Ship (11:03) – A short documentary about The Interceptor and the real-life ship that represented it in the film.

• Diary of a Pirate (9:39) – Pintel (Lee Arenberg) spends some time traversing his involvement in the film. He’s very funny and the feature is enjoyable.

• Producer’s Photo Diary With Jerry Bruckheimer (4:18) – Jerry Bruckheimer takes us through some pictures from the production of the film.

• Blooper Reel (3:10) – The usual giggles and screw-ups.

• “Below Deck” – An Interactive History of Pirates – A standard DVD interactive feature that is packed with nonfiction video about pirates, accessible via a unique pirate ship-style menu.

• “Moonlight Serenade” Scene Progression (6:33) – A short before-and-after CGI feature explaining how the skeleton pirates were created.

• Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (18:19) – A clip from the old TV show where Disney himself explains his vision for the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

• Image Galleries – Quite a few stills from production, arranged by category.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (all 480i except where noted)

• Audio Commentary Track with screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio – Two of the more successful writers in the industry convene for a truly entertaining and quite laid-back narration of the movie.

• Liar’s Dice (1080p) – A fairly basic game hailing from South American culture, this is a Blu-ray exclusive interactive game where you bluff your way through (or attempt to call your opponent’s bluff) a game of dice. Similar to Poker in some respects, but very much simpler, this is a fun time-waster, but nothing that will hold your attention for long. What is entertaining, however, is the number of video clips used to string together the action as you play. These feature some of the characters from the film, most notably Pintel (Lee Arenberg), against whom you play each time. It’s filmed in 1080p.

• Movie Showcase (1080p) – Three quick bookmarks taking you to the filmmakers’ favorite HD scenes in the movie.

• Several Movie Trailers (1080p)

• Charting the Return (25:41) – If there is just one feature you watch on the Dead Man’s Chest set, it should be this one… well, and According to Plan, too, so don’t watch just one. Here, we’re treated to a delightfully honest look at the preproduction of the film—including plenty of footage of the struggles imposed by everything lagging behind schedule. It’s an eye-opening account of the birth of the second film.

• According to Plan (63:01) – This in-depth documentary pulls no punches and explores a truly fascinating breadth of production details. Starting at the beginning of production, we’re led through the triumphs and the challenges experienced by the crew as they island-hopped their way to completion of the project.

• Captain Jack: From Head to Toe (approx. 24 minutes) – This assortment of 22 different video clips (which can be played together if you choose) features explanations of every aspect of Jack’s costume.

• Mastering the Blade – Three short videos about how some of the actors learned to swing a sword.

  • Orlando Bloom (5:37)

  • Keira Knightley (5:07)

  • Jack Davenport (5:17)

• Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy of a Legend (12:33) – A look at how actor Bill Nighy and Industrial Light and Magic brought one of the most complex achievements of modern special effects to life in the film. Who knew that a coffee-stained Styrofoam cup could be so indispensible to the folks at ILM? This is a fascinating extra.

• Creating the Kraken (9:57) – I think I could watch this ILM stuff all day long and never get bored. There’s plenty more of that here in this featurette exploring the creation of the massive sea creature. We also receive input from the writers and actors.

• Dead Men Tell New Tales: Re-Imagineering the Attraction (13:01) – A documentary about the classic Disneyland ride and how it was “spruced up” for the 50^th anniversary of the park. This is great fun and definitely makes you want to take a trip back to the park.

• Fly on the Set: The Bone Cage (3:48) – A quick look at the cage sequence and how it was made (the actors must have been pretty shaky about it all!).

• Jerry Bruckheimer: A Producer’s Photo Diary (4:42) – Jerry Bruckheimer narrates a trip through some of his favorite parts of production.

• Pirates on Main Street: The Dead Man’s Chest Premiere (3:59) – Check out the premiere of the film on the faux streets of Disneyland.

• Stills from the Set – A collection of 39 pictures taken during filming.

• Bloopers of the Caribbean (3:51)

• Pirates on Location – Two clips exploring the experience of filming in a couple of different locations.

  • Cannibal Island (8:16)

  • Tortuga Bar Brawl (3:36)

• Inside Dead Man’s Chest – Three promotional pieces.

  • Pirate Lore (2:33)

  • Locations & Sets (4:17)

  • Story & Characters (2:37)

• Theatrical and Teaser Trailers (not so impressive in 480i)

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (all 1080i except where noted)

• Enter The Maelstrom: The Interactive Experience – One of the coolest extras I have ever seen on a DVD or Blu-ray. This begins as a six-minute sequence of time-lapse shots of the hanger where the incredible maelstrom sequence was filmed, narrated by Jerry Bruckheimer. Throughout the sequence, a series of icons appear on the screen which can be selected to display a few minutes of in-depth high-definition footage about that particular aspect of the production which includes interviews and a full explanation of how it works. For instance, when the crew begins construction on the massive blue screen, a selectable icon over the blue screen provides access to a featurette where members of the crew explain the details of its construction and give visual examples of how it was used. There are dozens of these sub-features. It’s truly amazing stuff, and definitely a strong incentive to purchase the Blu-ray over the DVD version.

• Keith & The Captain: On-Set With Johnny And The Rock Legend (4:40) – Keith Richards is interviewed about his role in the film. We also get to see some glimpses of him playing his guitar and hanging out with Johnny.

• The Tale of Many Jacks (4:50) – The designers decided that since it was the third movie, to keep it interesting they’d get weird.

• Deleted Scenes – A couple of deleted scenes. As always, their deletion makes sense.

  • I Like Riddles (1:00)

  • Two Captains, One Ship (1:28)

• The World of Chow Yun-Fat (4:12)

• The Pirate Maestro: The Music of Hans Zimmer (10:29) – A look inside the meticulous process of Hans Zimmer in developing a score for such a blockbuster film.

• Masters of Design – A series of five featurettes exploring some of the work that went into the intricacies of the film. Some of these are truly fascinating, such as Sao Feng’s Map, which reveals how much more planning went into the art and design of the map than is immediately obvious.

  • James Byrkit: Sao Feng’s Map (6:19)

  • Crash McCreery: The Cursed Crew (5:18)

  • Rick Heinrichs: Singapore (5:11)

  • Penny Rose: Teague’s Costume (3:36)

  • Kris Peck: The Code Book (5:20)

• Anatomy Of A Scene: The Maelstrom (19:25) – A mini-documentary about the production of the Maelstrom sequence. The Interactive Experience extra is obviously better, but this is still a cool twenty-minute experience.

• Hoist the Colours (4:38) – A short feature about the development of the Hoist the Colours theme song that is used throughout the film.

• Inside the Brethren Court (10:26) – A cool collection of nine minute-long features profiling each of the pirate lords. The root menu is presented as the bowl containing each of the nine pieces of eight permitting entry to the Brethren Court.

• Bloopers of the Caribbean (1080p) (5:21) – A rather humorous collection of screw-ups from the third film.