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There’s nothing quite like Curse of the Black Pearl

Heron at Home

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There’s nothing quite like the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and The Curse of the Black Pearl is the best of all of them.

Now a classic adventure movie, and an ideal example of what modern Hollywood blockbusters could be like, let’s look at how its crowd pleasing swashbuckling story, compelling characters like Jack Sparrow and Barbossa, and director Verbinski’s distinct stylistic blend of comedy and horror have ensured this unlikely adaptation of a Disney theme park ride stands the test of time.

Rejected titles:
Curse of the Black Pearl: The Last Great Adventure Movie
The Ideal Hollywood Blockbuster

00:00 20 years of POTC
02:04 The Black Pearl
05:06 Johnny Depp’s iconic Jack Sparrow
08:50 An accessible story
14:03 Elizabeth Swan and Will Turner
18:17 Barbossa and making pirates cool
22:37 Verbinski and a bygone era of blockbusters

Music from Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag & Sea of Thieves

20 Comments

@HeronAtHome Creator 2 weeks ago Pinned

Dead Man's Chest video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoL0bOH8cd0

@try-w5s 2 months ago

Remember when jack sparrow was smart, and only acted stupid to throw his enemies off YEAH I REMEMBER THAT.

@scifigeek14 2 months ago

To this day, I will tell people that the first pirates movie is a near perfect film. It has a level of circular storytelling (things set up at the beginning coming back at the end in a satisfying way) that I admire and try to emulate in my own writing.

@yaboofernoodle 2 months ago

Just realized how telling the trio is; all of them are pursuing their versions of freedom. Freedom to marry above station, freedom from society's expectations, and freedom to live free and do anything you want to

@SuperNovaSirius 2 months ago

"Tropical gothic." I will from this day on identify as such, thank you very much.

@whoisdamaris 2 months ago

The first movie is just perfect. It's ridiculously well-written done.

@OrangeSlices185 2 months ago

The scene at 8:25 where Jack threatens Elisabeth feels, to me, so important to his character. Until then we've only seen the navy's first impression of him as a drunken, overconfident idiot. He makes them drop their guard, and then suddenly seizes an opportunity and within moments he's taken complete control of the situation.

It shows so well how unpredictable and easily underestimated he is, and that for all his blundering, he is a pirate for a reason. He can be dangerous when he wants to, and he's not someone you want to cross. I really can't think of another scene, especially in the sequels, that shows this aspect of him so well.

@Pomoscorzo 2 months ago

You did not mention that the soundtrack is fantastic. 😊

@Uzername4928 1 month ago

11:54 one neat thing you forgot to mention is at the end of the film, when Norrington accepts that Elizabeth loves Will, he takes out the sword Will made him and tells him thats its a good sword, and he'd expect the man who made it to show that level of dedication in every part of his life, revealing he knew who the true blacksmith was all along, giving Will credit, and getting character development himself. Its an awesome little callback

@Broomer52 2 months ago

I’ve always believed that Jack can’t carry a story on his own. He’s the foil to other characters. His face is on the cover but he’s more like a supporting character

@freman007 2 months ago

It's like that Disney meme.

"Remember, a good pirate doesn't take other people's property."

Yeah, I think you're missing the entire point of being a pirate, kid.

@try-w5s 2 months ago

Jack sparrow worked perfectly in the first movie because he was a character without an arc he was the one who impacted the character development of others in a meaningful way whilst still been a fun character they did things perfectly here but I feel with the sequels when he's given a character arc it just doesn't work as well.

@ZephaniahFriend 2 months ago

I love the first 3 pirates movies, and don’t wanna hear otherwise. So much better than anything Disney makes these days

@Here-For-You 2 months ago

I remember being maybe 8 or so and having a vivid memory of being in some rich persons house, I don’t know who these people were or where I was, but I remember seeing that scene of them stepping into the moonlight on the ship and turning into skeletons and asking how they did that, that’s when I learned was special effects were.

@ElvisRose_ 2 months ago

I will never forget going to see this with my sister. We went into this literally asking each other, "A movie based on a theme park ride? What's this going to be about?" and we walked out asking each other, "HOW did they make a movie THAT good based on THEME park ride?!" We were truly living in a great age of cinema in the early 2000s.

@lkf8799 2 months ago

Loved the first one.

Someone in another video said that Jack Sparrow shines as a supporting character. The franchise struggled when it made Jack the main character.

Still mostly enjoyable even during it's more ridiculous moments 😉

@tj_internet 2 months ago (edited)

5:50 I still step off any escalator like this. Just as I sometimes still run like Jack on a beach chased by cannibals. Its like unspoken, subconscious rules living rent free in my mind. I never feel this kind of influence anymore nowadays

@InMyVictory 1 month ago

The 2000s were a golden era for so much entertainment, and I don't understand why we're still not quite acknowledging that. Movies were still well written, kid's television was at its absolute peak, Video games from that time still hold up. People, we're spoiled beyond believe.

@HurricaneNoelle 2 months ago

Greed corrupting you to the point where you no longer feel or enjoy anything anymore is a pretty profound message for what's supposed to be a silly pirate movie