Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl DVD: Review By movieguru

Imagine, if you will, the Caribbean Sea in the 17th century and you will get an entirely different picture than that which currently embodies countless glossy travel magazines. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl takes place at an entirely different era. There evil pirates roam the seas in an attempt to lift an ancient curse that leaves them trapped between life and death. Led by the wicked Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), they will stop at nothing. But rogue pirate Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) along with a young blacksmith named Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), may just take on the world's most treacherous pirates and win. At stake lies the life of Will’s beloved Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley, “Bend It Like Beckham”) and the Black Pearl itself.

But before this exciting sea voyage could be hailed a success, it needs to have all the elements in place that would dazzle and win the audience's hearts. First there is a pirate. But Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow is not just any ordinary pirate. Depp is simply delicious here. He illuminates the screen in a way that very few actors ever have. He’s a character that you want watch, over and over again. He is a quite strange creature, but also a rather swaggering sort of pirate. Depp’s performance is amusing, deep, creative, fresh, at times sad, and always entertaining.

Then, you need a crew. Geoffrey Rush lights up the screen, giving Captain Barbossa some sort of an edge that is between good and evil. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley deliver solid performances. And the various character actors spread out across the film bring both personality and laughs to the picture.

And as any aspiring pirate knows, a good adventure needs spectacular visuals. These visuals include exciting sword fights, costumes, gorgeous sea shots and inspiring sets. Verbinski, quite plainly, makes the film look good.

Lastly, aside from all that high-quality fun, the film must also contain another important ingredient, a heart. And it does.

With over 10 hours of features, this disk is certainly a worthy treatment for such a successful film.

There are three commentary tracks included on the first disk. The most interesting one being with director Gore Verbinski and actor Johnny Depp who discuss the script, film, direction and Depp's improvisation. The second track is with the screenwriters, and the third with jokesters Kiera Knightley and Jack Davenport. Also on the disk are some DVD-ROM extras that include a screenplay viewer as well as a storyboard comparison for 229 scenes from the film.

The second disk comes loaded. One feature, An Epic at Sea, offers a look at the making of the film. Here we can learn a bit about the make-up, costumes, actors, ships, locations, stunts, effects... It's all quite interesting, however, it would have been even better if some more interviews with those involved were included.

Another interesting piece, especially for the bigger fans and film enthusiasts, is Fly on the Set. This feature lets you see how five different scenes were filmed. It's not the most entertaining, but does allow a bit of an insider look into the production process.

Below Deck offers more of a historical background on pirates. It's a bit difficult to navigate, but if you're interested in learning more about legends, lifestyles, and superstitions that surround pirates, this is the spot to check out.

Arguably the best part of any DVD is the Blooper Reel. The one on this disk is quite entertaining. Yes, even Depp can flub on his lines sometimes!

These are just some of the many features that you'll find on the disk. There are even some of those so-called "easter eggs" hidden about.

The picture is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The picture quality is crisp, bold and vibrant. It is stunning to look at, and very rarely were there any distortions, or grains.

Pirates of the Caribbean is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS sound mixes. The sound blends in seamlessly with picture, with a strong score that tingles your emotions. Despite the strong sounds on the score, the audio here avoid falling into a common pit fall, and ensures that the dialogue is just as strong and clear.

If you want to go on an adventure but simply do not have the time for a consuming pirate lifestyle, check out this DVD. Pirates of the Caribbean will give you all the fun and adventure that you need, along with a DVD that you can spend hours uncovering. Buy it, and you too will be humming: “Hi Ho Hi Ho and a bottle of rum, it’s a pirate’s life for me…”

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