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Pirates' movies

-The Light at the Edge of the World (1971) : directed by Kevin Billington, with Kirk Douglas
 
So my question would be: Which of the aforementioned films are actually worth watching? If I can lay my greedy little hands on them, that is... <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/whistling.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":wp" border="0" alt="whistling.gif" />
 
-The Light at the Edge of the World : added


<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->So my question would be: Which of the aforementioned films are actually worth watching? If I can lay my greedy little hands on them, that is...<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

the ones mentionned first or the ones with good actor/director
 
That would be a lot of time spent in front of a television screen. I count roughly 121 movies in the list now. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbs1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":2up" border="0" alt="thumbs1.gif" />
 
Here be a fine list o' pyraty movies, mateys! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_mrgreen1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheeky" border="0" alt="icon_mrgreen1.gif" />

<a href="https://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/story.asp?STORY_ID=1795" target="_blank"><b><u>Click Here</u></b></a>
 
<!--quoteo(post=309989:date=Mar 31 2009, 12:39 PM:name=Fred Bob)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Fred Bob @ Mar 31 2009, 12:39 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=309989"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Here be a fine list o' pyraty movies, mateys! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_mrgreen1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheeky" border="0" alt="icon_mrgreen1.gif" />

<a href="https://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/story.asp?STORY_ID=1795" target="_blank"><b><u>Click Here</u></b></a><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->


Omg if they had that as a dvd collection i'd buy it in a second.Those are some of the best classics in the genre to be seen. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/me.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":onya" border="0" alt="me.gif" />
 
That list looks incredible! ME WANTS! I've been trying to get any pirate films on DVD that I could, but my collection is still vastly disappointing. For whatever reason, most pirate films are not available on DVD and if they are, they're not available in The Netherlands! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/boom.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":boom" border="0" alt="boom.gif" />
 
we should start a petition pieter,those always accomplish what they set out to do <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
 
I just checked which of those films are available from the Dutch bol.com:
- Blackbeard - The Pirate Of The Caribbean (NOT the one mentioned on that site)
- Pirates Of Tortuga (is this one worthwhile?)
- Crimson Pirate (this one's a must-get, right? Delivery time of 4-6 weeks though, which means it might not be available at all)
- Blackie the Pirate (this is more like a comedy, is it?
- Captain kidd (said to be pretty dull)

The following I have been unable to find anywhere in Europe so far:
- The Sea Hawk
- Captain Blood
- The Black Swann
and many others.

It's FRIGGIN' SAD!
 
My search has continued and yielded some results at last.
Still, I'm hardly satisfied with what I've got so far and am still on the look-out for more pirate gold.
This is what I've got so far and hopefully this can help others decide whether they're interested in these as well.
And if you know any good ones that I don't yet have and know where to get a good Region 2 DVD, please let me know!

Captain Blood (1935) - 5 stars
Great movie, great story, good acting, there's a good swordfight and a good ship-to-ship battle. This is proper pirating, mates!
Too bad it's in black and white. I reckon one of the best parts of pirate movies is the gorgeous scenery, which just doesn't come accross in black-and-white.
Of course a lot was filmed in studios and with models anyway, so it might've not been as good in colour anyway.

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) - 5 stars
Not a pirate film, but a good seafaring one nonetheless. For such a serious story, it's surprising how light-hearted parts of it are.
This is something you'd not see in modern films anymore, but strangely enough it doesn't detract from the serious parts and actually works!

The Sea Hawk (1940) - 4 stars
Another good film in the same vein as Captain Blood, though I liked the former better.
It's more political and less straight-out-pirate-fun, though all that's still very much in there.

The Black Swan (1942) - 4 stars
Enjoyable for sure and it's in colour this time around. The image and sound quality wasn't the best and without subtitles,
I found it a bit hard to follow at times. But it's still good for sure. Should watch it again because I don't remember that much.

Captain Kidd (1945) - Unknown
I've had this for quite a while, but didn't watch it yet.
It's black and white, doesn't have subtitles (I like watching movies with English subtitles) and is said to be not too good.
I'll be watching it soon though.

Treasure Island (1950) - 4 stars
It's the famous story in colour with a brilliant Long John Silver.
There isn't too much action and it's a bit kid-friendly, but there's nice scenery and it's overall pretty good.

Anne of the Indies (1951) - 4 1/2 stars
While in many other pirate movies, the main character isn't REALLY a pirate or something has been done to make the main character a good person anyway,
for example by having the noble pirate fight against the evil governor, that isn't the case here.
Straight from the start, Anne is behaving like a genuine pirate and is thus more of an anti-hero than most of the others.
However, the story takes some unexpected turns and in the end there is no genuine good nor bad persons, but there is a chance for redemption.
While all the pirate movie elements are here in quality style, including ship-to-ship battles, swordfights and gorgeous scenery in colour,
this is unconventional pirate film is a more serious affair in a good way.
Strangely enough, this movie seems to be only available on a German DVD, but it does contain the English dialogues in addition to the German redub.

Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951) - 5 stars
Again, not a pirate movie, but still a seafaring classic. Writting by the author of the amazing book series,
this movie manages to fit the story of three books comfortably in a two-hour movie.
The movie is very much rooted in the heroic swashbuckling sensibilities of "regular" pirate movies and does so very well.

Against All Flags (1952) - 4 stars
This movie contains lots of enjoyable pirate movie affairs in a very fun whole.
Nothing earth-shattering about this one, but nothing wrong with it either and very entertaining.
While my DVD cover claims it's in black-and-white, it's actually in colour.

The Crimson Pirate (1952)
Part spoof, part pirate movie, this is one of the most fun of the bunch.
There's great action scenes with great stunts and some unexpected stuff involving balloons at the end.

Sea Devils (1953) - Unknown
Haven't watched this one yet. Can't find much information on the internet about it either, but is apparently a bit dull. I'll find out!

Long John Silver (1954)
Sequel to Treasure Island with the same actor playing Long John Silver.
It's a fun return to the character, but doesn't have too much else going for it.

Long John Silver (1955)
TV series with the same actor from Treasure Island playing Long John Silver again.
His acting remains nicely piratey, but nothing else has impressed me so far.
I watched some episodes, but not all yet. Image and sound quality are dodgy.

Moby Dick (1956) - 4 stars
This one is pretty good, but I don't remember too much from it.
I think I like the more modern adaption better, but I should watch it again.

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) - 4 stars

Swiss Family Robinson (1960) - 4 stars

Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) - 4 stars
The movie has great production values and therefore looks and sounds great, with wonderfully nautical and exotic music to go with it.
While the acting is somewhat weird on Fletcher Christian, the movie doesn't lose it's 5th star until the very end.
I've read the book the movie is based on and the ending goes in 180 degrees the other direction,
making Fletcher Christian very heroic in an idealistic but annoyingly stupid way.

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974) - 3 1/2 stars
Swashbuckler (1976) - 3 1/2 stars
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) - 3 stars
Savage Islands/Nate and Hayes (1983) - 3 1/2 stars
The Bounty (1984) - 4 stars
The Goonies (1985) - 4 stars
Shipwrecked (1990) - 3 1/2 stars

Cutthroat Island (1995) - 4 1/2 stars
Why people complain about this film, I'll probably never know. It's said to be riddled with cliches, over-the-top affairs and bad acting.
And while I'll admit that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand the story, it does manage to put a lot of exciting piratey scenes in one movie.
In fact, having seen a fair amount of pirate movies now, I'll probably have to consider this movie THE stereotyical pirate movie.
It's got everything you'd expect from a pirate movie, including a carriage chase, a land-based swordfight, a storm,
finding a treasure on an island and a final epic ship-to-ship battle involving sea-based swordfighting that goes all the way into the rigging as well.
While other pirate films generally have some of these in them, there's no other film that I've found that actually has it ALL.
After all, how many movies are there where pirates actually go after buried treasure?
Only Treasure Island and that's a bit of a kid's movie and doesn't have much action.

Oh... and did I mention that this movie has just about the best film music that any film could possibly wish for?
It's big, it's unsubtle and it's absolutely wonderful. There's not too many themes, but what there is sounds very good.
And the action music, of which there is a lot, never gets repetitive. When I first listened to the original CD,
I kept wondering how the next track could possibly be better than the track before. And then it was anyway.
But while there's a great build-up of excitement in the score, there's no superfluous parts. Great stuff all the way!

Muppet Treasure Island (1996) - 4 stars
Moby Dick (1998) - 4 stars
Hornblower: The Even Chance, The Examination for Lieutenant (1998) - 4 1/2 stars
Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil, Frogs and Lobsters (1999) - 4 1/2 stars
Hornblower: Mutiny, Retribution (2001) - 4 1/2 stars
Treasure Planet (2002) - 3 1/2 stars
Hornblower: Loyalty, Duty (2003) - 4 1/2 stars
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) - 4 stars

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) - 5 stars
Great pirating fun meets modern movie-making at last! This time with some supernatural elements.
Jack Sparrow is a wonderful character and in this movie, everything else works perfectly well too.
The story is complex, but makes sense when you think about it, the action is fun and the look is great.
The only drawbacks are that the music, while entertaining, sounds frequently too modern and out-of-place
and the "modern day dark movie"-syndrome is taking its toll on this film, resulting in the Caribbean not quite looking like the Caribbean.
And I know what I'm talking about, because I spend a large part of the year sailing around the Caribbean isles as part of my job.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) - 4 1/2 stars
Very realistic in a gritty and dark-like way. Very good too. There's not too much story and not much action either,
but there's enough atmosphere, suspense and good acting to make up for that.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) - 3 stars
Although the good parts are still very entertaining, they went on the wrong track here.
The story takes too much of a dark and dramatic turn and the supernatural element takes centre stage in an unnecessary way.
Still, the Kraken taking down a ship is an iconic image that hasn't been seen in other films and therefore this deserves some credit.
Davy Jones is also a very well-rendered character and quite believable. And there's several highly entertaining scenes.
But on the whole, a big step down from the original.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) - 2 1/2 stars
The story gets complicated beyond the point of just being confusing into the realm of "this just plain doesn't make sense".
The build-up to a potential massive fleet-to-fleet battle is wasted by swapping it with another ship-to-ship battle,
but in a supernatural storm, which is cool in a way but by far not as cool as what could've been.
There's incredible amounts of ear-scratching weirdness in there too, rather than some coherent whole.
Still, not all is bad. The good parts are very good; it's just too bad there's so much going on to counteract that.

Note: Above list to be further updated later.
 
I'm thinking of getting these too:
The Spanish Main
Thief Of Bagdad
Sinbad The Sailor
The Master of Ballentrae
Blackbeard: Terror at Sea
 
does not seem to be here and i know well it was kind of a flop i guess but , Dreamworks Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas is up there in the films i like

and before yall get to puting me in irons i allso love The 7th Voyage of Sinbad :p

allso felt like diging this up for reasons because a list of pirate movies is allways handy
 
Hate to Necro a thread but at the same time, I don't think this (my post) warrants it's own page so I'll just add it here. From a brief glance at a BBC review that I saw, the movie isn't that good but....pirates!
 
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