Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. How much did captain jack sparrow earn cursed gold of the pirates
If in any crossword puzzle you come across the question “What was the name of pirate money?”, Then, undoubtedly, without even counting the number of letters, you will say: piastres. Piastres are primarily associated with pirates due to cultural and artistic influences, but historically they have been just as popular with pirates as any other coin of any value. Let's take a look at what kind of money the pirates came across in their booty and what they were.
piastres
The piastre was also called the Spanish peso. This coin was minted from silver, its weight was about 25 grams. The Pillars of Hercules were depicted on the coin, so the piastres were also called pillar dollar or piastres with columns. In the East, the piastres had a more concise name - colonato. In our time, the piastre should not be written off, now it plays the role of a bargaining unit for 1/100 Egyptian, Jordanian, Lebanese, Syrian, Sudanese and South Sudanese pounds.
doubloons
The first doubloon (in translation means "double", hence the name) was a Spanish gold coin denominated at 2 escudos. The coinage began in 1566 and continued until 1849. Doubloons were widespread not only in Europe, but also in the New World. It was the doubloon that served as the prototype for the creation of many other European coins in other countries. During the colonization of the New World, the doubloon played the role assigned to the dollar in our time - it was he who was considered a reserve currency. For this reason, a large number of coins were hidden. Later, this fact of savings gave rise to many stories about pirate treasures, in which this type of coin often appears.
Escudo
Escudo is a Spanish gold coin. Years of minting: 1535-1833. The first coinage was made in Barcelona. The coin, as already mentioned, consisted of gold and weighed almost 3.4 grams. Under the reign of Philip II, the excudo coin became the main gold coin of Spain, and its rate, due to the increase in the price of metals, rose. But due to long wars and illiterate financial policy, Spain defaulted four times in the 16th century. The difficult economic situation was partly due to the large influx of metals from Spanish America, it was their oversupply that caused the escudo to become cheaper and caused inflation.
Conclusion
Piastres, doubloons and escudos are popular coins in the New World, which have become desirable prey for pirates. This trio does not make up even a tenth of all the coins minted in that period of time, but it is this trio that is often found in fiction and cinematographic works on the topic of piracy, therefore, first of all, it is about them that one who is interested in the history of sea robbery should learn more and numismatics. I hope this material has expanded your understanding of these topics.
In May, the Russian premiere of the fifth tape from the series "Pirates caribbean- "Dead Men Tell No Tales". Gold, treasures, doubloons and piastres have always occupied an important place in pirate life. Let's imagine the world of Captain Jack Sparrow and his fellow criminals from a financial and economic point of view.
ALEXEY ALEKSEEV
Cursed Gold of Cortez
In the first film of the epic, "The Curse of the Black Pearl", gold is one of the main springs of the plot.
"This is Aztec gold. One of the 882 identical plaques that the Indians brought in a stone chest personally to Cortes. Blood money, payment for stopping the massacre unleashed by his army. But Cortes' greed was insatiable. Then the gods of the pagans cast a terrible spell on gold. Any mortal who takes even one plaque from the chest will be damned forever."
The creators of "Pirates of the Caribbean" greatly overestimated the "dead man's chest" - by the standards of the ancient pirates, there was not enough gold in it
Strange, but in the Russian dubbing of the first film of the epic plaques for some reason, 663. Where did 219 plaques go on the way between the Caribbean Sea and Russia is a mystery shrouded in darkness. Let's assume that there are still 882 plaques, as in the original. 881 in the chest, and the medallion of Elizabeth Swann was made from the latter. Pirates from the Black Pearl ship are chasing after the medallion in order to remove the curse of the ancient gods. In addition, to get rid of it, you need to perform a symbolic ritual. It is necessary to return to the gods of the Aztecs a bloody debt - all 882 plaques stained with the blood of a descendant of the pirate Bill Bootstrap.
881 gold plaques from the Aztec hoard lay in the chest of Cortes, and one was used to make Elizabeth Swann's medallion
And now a small reproach to the film company Walt Disney Pictures. 882 gold medallions with a skull are very, very few by the standards of the ancient Aztecs and conquistadors. In 1521, the warriors of the historical Cortes captured and sacked the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. The Spaniards got gold in the amount equivalent to 130 thousand Spanish gold coins. Apparently, this amount seemed to them extremely insignificant. The conquistadors tortured the ruler of the Aztec state Cuautemoca, hoping in vain to find out where the Indians were hiding the main treasures.
Having plundered the capital of the Aztecs in 1521, the warriors of Cortes captured only 130 thousand Spanish gold coins - an amount, in their opinion, not too large
Let's try to roughly estimate the cost of a stone chest. One plaque is approximately equal in size to the largest Spanish coin of the 16th century. This is an eight escudo coin. It contained 27.468 grams of 916.7 gold (22 carats). The chest thus contains 24 kg 227 g of gold. The price of one gram of 916.7 gold today is $37.05. Thus, in April 2017, a full chest of damned gold could cost about $900,000. Even if one of the pirates grabbed it alone, he would not have reached the title of a dollar millionaire.
Now let's see how rich the pirates got when they divided the Aztec gold among themselves. The exact size of the Black Pearl team is unknown. Actor Geoffrey Rush, who played the role of Captain Hector Barbossa, named a number from 20 to 50. Suppose there were 22. Roughly speaking, when dividing the treasure, there were 40 plaques per brother. Gold cost 16 times more than silver. silver coin in denominations of eight reales (half an escudo) was known as the peso, the dollar, or "a coin of eight reales", pieces of eight. In the Russian translation of Treasure Island, the parrot calls such coins piastres. So, the members of the damned team got rich on 640 (16x40) similar silver coins.
What did they spend their money on? We know this from Captain Barbossa's complaint to Elizabeth Swann-Turner "for drink, food and pleasant company." "But drink did not quench our thirst, food turned to ashes in our mouths, and the most pleasant company in the world could not satisfy our lust. We are damned people, Miss Turner."
The creators of "Pirates of the Caribbean" attributed the time of the epic to about 1720-1750. Then the exchange rate of the peso-dollar-piastre to the pound sterling, established by decree of Queen Anne in 1704, was in effect. One peso was equal to six shillings. £1 is 20 shillings, one shilling is 12 pence, and one pence is 4 farthings. Therefore, 640 pesos is 3840 shillings, that is, £192.
According to the calculations of the British statistician of the 17th-18th centuries, Gregory King, in 1688 (the situation did not change much over the next half century), a laborer earned £7 per year. The income of soldiers and sailors was £14-20 per year. Officers of the army and navy received £5-7 not a year, but a month.
After the division of gold from the "dead man's chest", each pirate could get the amount that was only enough for "food and drink"
If we assume that there were not 22 sailors on the Black Pearl, but 44, then each of them would be entitled to £96. And if we take the figure from the historian of piracy Mark Rediker, according to which the average pirate crew had 80 people, then the income of each would have decreased by almost half.
So, the money received by the pirates could live for quite a long time. Although without pleasure, as Captain Barbossa rightly noted.
Eat and drink for a shilling
In "Pirates of the Caribbean" we hear the word "shilling" at the very beginning of the first film. It is the shilling that is demanded from Jack Sparrow for the parking of the ship in the bay. He offers three, raising for not giving his name.
Unfortunately, not all information about the prices of food, alcohol and escort services in the ports of the Caribbean Sea in the golden era of piracy has survived to this day. The prices in the metropolis, in England, are much better known.
However, the cost of rum is not a secret, "the most disgusting drink that turns even the most well-mannered people into animals." In Philadelphia in 1740, local rum sold for 1 shilling 8d a gallon, and higher-quality Caribbean rum sold for 2 shillings 5d. It is logical to assume that in the Caribbean, at the place of production, Caribbean swill was cheaper than on the continent. If we assume that the same 1 shilling 8 pence paid for Caribbean rum where it was considered local, and not imported, then in the measurement systems more familiar to us, the price of the product will be 4.4 pence per liter. If we assume that a self-respecting pirate needs to drink a liter of rum daily to function normally, then every 54 days he would spend £1 on a drink.
Another bad habit very popular with pirates, smoking, was also inexpensive. 45 kilos of Virginia tobacco in 1750 cost £1 wholesale.
Now about food. What could one buy at that time with a shilling in England (prices in the colonies could not have been very different)?
Let's return to the statistics of Gregory King. In 1695, the average Englishman spent £3.85 a year on food and drink. Of this amount, £0.79 was for bread and flour products, £0.61 for meat, £0.42 for dairy products, £0.31 for fish, game and eggs, £0.22 for fruits and vegetables, £0.2 for pickles, £1.06 for beer and ale, £0.24 for hard liquor. In the middle of the 18th century, a 200-gram product made from wheat flour was called a "bun for a penny."
The food basket of a pirate of the Caribbean and the average Englishman probably differed in composition, but the level of prices shows that the crew of the Black Pearl did not face starvation for quite some time. Even if we take into account that the average Englishman was often cooked by his wife, and the pirate probably ate in catering establishments. On the North American continent in the second half of the 18th century, one could dine in a tavern on the principle of "eat as much as you like from a common cauldron" for one or two shillings.
The most expensive was the favor of girls of easy virtue in London - about £ 2, in ports the prices were much lower - the girls were called twopenny
But the cost of a pleasant company in the metropolis and in the Caribbean could differ dramatically. In London, a rich client could pay £2 for a meeting, and if the counter was a virgin, much more. In ports, the price level was comparable to the lowest price category in the metropolis. The girls were traditionally called twopenny, but in fact the standard rate sounded like this: "shilling and booze."
Piracy as an advanced business model
If pirates were content with such modest entertainment, how to explain the popularity of this profession in the Caribbean region in the first half of the 18th century? The number of active sea robbers in the golden age of piracy is estimated at 2,400 people. True, in 1716-1726, approximately 400-600 people from this number were executed by the authorities of different states.
So why did people become pirates?
With a good combination of circumstances, the pirates could "earn" a lot: for example, in 1695, Henry Avery's pirate ships captured booty worth £600,000.
Let's start with the fact that when hiring "pirates" there were no many restrictions on rights traditional for that time.
The black crew members of the Black Pearl are not a tribute to American political correctness (or not only it).
Already at the beginning of the 18th century, among the crew members of pirate ships were Africans, while the "civilized world" was still very far from the abolition of slavery. On ordinary ships in that era, dark-skinned sailors also sailed, often sold or given "for rent" by the owners. They did not receive payment for their work and did not have the right to vote in solving ship problems. On a pirate ship, the crew members were equal. At the pirate captain Edward England, only one in five had White color skin.
The captain of a pirate ship was made democratically - through elections, and was also deprived of this position - by the decision of the majority of the crew members (which happened quite often). So the story of Jack Sparrow, who was removed from the captain's post and landed on desert island, is quite plausible.
William Snelgrave, a slave trader and ivory merchant who was captured by pirates in 1719, recalled in his book the story of the pirate captain Christopher Moody: he, along with 12 sailors, was forced by the rest of the crew to board a boat, which was sent to free swimming. "And no one ever heard of them again."
On an ordinary merchant ship, the captain's power was enormous. He determined which of the sailors should do what, decided what to feed the crew, how much money to pay crew members, had the right to subject any sailor to corporal punishment. Such an atmosphere in the workplace became the basis for someone to move from the merchant marine to the pirate business.
On a pirate ship, a quartermaster shared power with a democratically elected captain (in Treasure Island, John Silver was captain Flint's quartermaster). The captain was primarily to deal with military operations, and the quartermaster - economic issues. On some ships, the quartermaster had more real power than the captain.
The cardinal difference between pirate ships, on the one hand, and military and merchant ships, on the other, was in the level of income. On pirate ships, booty was divided equally among all sailors. Only the captain received two shares instead of one, the quartermaster - one and a half, sometimes a share and a quarter went to "leading specialists" - the boatswain, ship's doctor, gunner, first mate. Anyone who tried to deceive his comrades by hiding part of the booty was threatened with punishment - "such as the captain and the majority of the crew consider appropriate."
On merchant ships, the income of the "commanders" was five or more times higher than the earnings of ordinary sailors.
It is striking (especially from the point of view of a law-abiding sailor) that pirates care about their disabled comrades. Anyone who lost an arm or leg in combat received compensation of £1,500.
The downside to the pirate wage system was that no loot meant no income. At all. Whereas on a merchant ship the sailor was guaranteed his miserable earnings.
A big plus of the pirate system is that with good production, incomes could be very high. In 1695 several pirate ships under the leadership of Henry Avery, they seized booty worth £600,000. Each of the sailors got at least £1,000. At the beginning of the next century, as a result of one robbery, they earned £1,200 per brother, after which they went out of business.
In 1721, the people of John Taylor and Oliver La Bouche set a record: £4,000 each for one attack. Unfortunately for the pirates, such luck was rare. Many sea robbers were content with more modest incomes. But a free criminal life with the opportunity to hit the jackpot seemed to many more attractive than law-abiding poverty and lawlessness.
Oh, the vast expanses of the seas, the ships plowing the waves, stuffed with countless treasures, rum and whores. Romance, burst my spleen, whistle everyone overboard! I mean a movie about pirates. It has everything a good movie needs, and a beauty, and an epic thieving pirate, and curses, and treasures. The first film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. But far from the last.
End of the 17th century. A Royal Navy ship from Port Royal spots a blown up ship in the Caribbean. A girl named Elizabeth Swann, the governor's daughter, finds a little boy, Will Turner, next to the ship in the ocean. As he is hauled aboard, Elizabeth finds a pirate medallion on him and takes him away so the adults won't think he's a pirate.
Since then, 10 years have passed. Elizabeth still keeps the medallion and is now determined to put it on. Will works as an apprentice to a blacksmith and has a (noticeably mutual) passion for her, but at this time Commander James Norrington has already proposed to her. Meanwhile, a young pirate and charming rogue - Captain Jack Sparrow - arrives in Port Royal. When meeting with the guards, he explains that he intends to requisition the ship and recruit a team in order to regain his old ship on black sails - the Black Pearl. He manages to board the high-speed ship "Interceptor", but at this time, Elizabeth, who was walking with the commander, falls from the rocks into the ocean under the influence of the tightly tightened corset of her new dress from lack of air.
Jack Sparrow notices this, rushes after her, pulls her on board and tears her corset. The pirate medallion still on it turns out to be familiar to Jack. But at this time, the commander finds him and orders his execution. Thanks to Elizabeth's attempts to intercede for him, he manages to take her hostage, return his belongings and escape. Jack Sparrow is hiding in the forge where Will Turner works. The latter has been going to stab some pirate for a long time and starts a fight with him. At the end of the fight, Sparrow takes out a gun and aims at Turner, but does not have time to shoot - Jack is stunned with a bottle by Will's always drunk mentor, Mr. Brown. As a result, the pirate is taken to prison, and the death penalty is announced to him at dawn next to other pirates. At night, the Black Pearl sails into the port, and on it are pirates led by Captain Hector Barbossa, who 10 years ago raised a rebellion against Jack Sparrow on this ship. Then Jack was landed on a desert island with a sword and a pistol loaded with one bullet.
According to legend, he got out on sea turtles and now intends to return the ship and teach Barbossa a lesson. Pirates, who have been visiting this port for a long time, are attacking the city. An accidental hit on the prison frees the prisoners - all except for Jack (the cannonball has broken through the wall mostly where the other prisoners were sitting), who senses the approach of his ship. It turns out that the pirates came to the port for the medallion, but Elizabeth thought they wanted to kidnap her. Therefore, she said that according to the pirate "code", she should be taken to the captain. Under Barbossa, she introduces herself as Elizabeth Turner. Pirates, recognizing the surname, kidnap her and sail away. The next morning, William finds the commander wondering what course the pirates could take, and invites him to ask Sparrow, but Norrington refuses. Then William turns to Jack Sparrow and frees him. Jack, hearing his name, guesses that he is the son of Bill Turner, known as "Bootstrap". Together, they quietly move to the Interceptor and sail to the pirate base - Isla de Muerte.
Along the way, Jack reveals that Will's father is a pirate. Turner is indignant, but nothing can be done, you need to get to Jack's proposed Tortuga. There, Jack meets his former boatswain, Joshami Gibbs, and informs him that with the help of Will Turner, they can return the ship and take revenge on Barbossa. At this time, Barbossa arranges a dinner with Elizabeth. Meanwhile, he tells her the legend of the Aztec gold, which was cursed by the gods years ago. Among them is Elizabeth's medallion, one of 663 gold plaques stolen by Barbossa's team from the chest.
After that, they become immortal ghosts, and by the light of the moon, Elizabeth notices their appearance, even Barbossa's monkey turns into a skeleton. They can neither die nor enjoy life. In order to regain life and death, they must return all the gold stolen from the chest and bathe it in the blood of every damned pirate. There was a lack of Bootstrap Turner's blood, and since Elizabeth used his last name, they took her with them, mistaking her for a pirate's daughter. Mr. Gibbs recruited a team on the Interceptor, and Anna Maria becomes its captain, from whom Jack had previously taken her brig without permission.
On the way, Gibbs tells Will the legend of Jack's imprisonment on the island. After the rescue, he keeps the gun given to him with one bullet for Barbossa. At this time, the "Black Pearl" reached the appointed place, and Jack too. He asks Will not to go ahead and wait for the right moment, but he disobeys. At the time of the arrival of Jack and Will, the pirates performed the ritual of returning the stolen medallion - they poured Elizabeth's blood on it and threw it into the chest to the 662 plaques already there.
Due to the origin of Elizabeth (who, of course, is not the daughter of Bootstrap at all), the rite has no effect and does not free the pirates from the curse. Realizing this, Barbossa throws Elizabeth down a slide into the water. Will emerges from the water and takes Elizabeth along with the "bloody" locket. Barbossa notices the loss, and his team goes looking for it. At this time, Jack appears, not quite recovered from the stun, who is taken prisoner. Elizabeth, already on the Interceptor, gives the medallion to Will. According to the law of the pirate code - "Do not wait for those who are behind" - they sail away, but the "Pearl", known as the fastest ship, catches up with them, along with Jack in captivity.
There is a battle going on. Barbossa takes the medallion and takes the entire team prisoner. William demands to let everyone go, threatening suicide. This is unacceptable, because in this case the curse will never be lifted. But Barbossa locks up the team, and drops Elizabeth and Jack on the island (the same one from which Jack got out last time), also giving them one pistol with one bullet. On the island, Jack admits that he did not get out with the help of turtles, but with smugglers on the ship. Here they had a cache of food and rum, and by evening Jack and Elizabeth were having a good time. But in the morning, Elizabeth burns all the rum and palm forest on the island in order to attract the attention of the Royal Navy. Jack is angry with her because he loves rum, but soon notices the ship "Striking" from this fleet. "Smasher" saves Jack and Elizabeth, but Jack is still sentenced to death again.
At the request of Elizabeth, Jack is offered a deal - to show the way to Isla de Muerte in exchange for an indulgence. Two ships sail to the island. Jack proposes a plan to the commander: he lures the opponents into the sea, and the "Striking" shoots them. No matter how much Elizabeth tried to explain that they could not be killed, the governor's people did not listen. Jack Sparrow swims to the island, where Will's blood is about to be sacrificed to the gods, and warns Barbossa that the fleet is approaching and that the spell should be broken later. Barbossa's team goes into battle with the Striker, while Jack fights Barbossa. Meanwhile, Elizabeth swims off the ship to the island and fights Barbossa's remaining men. Jack, using one of the plaques, became immortal himself, thereby saving himself from certain death when Barbossa stuck a saber in his stomach. During the fight, he throws a plaque to Will, and then shoots Barbossa with the coveted pistol. He says that Jack wasted the bullet, but then sees that Will throws the plaques, along with his blood and Jack's blood, into the chest. Barbossa sees that his wound is bleeding and dies. The entire Barbossa team on the Razorer notices that they have lost their immortality and surrender to the authorities. (In the second film of the series, two pirates from this team appear - Bald and One-Eyed - in prison they were able to lure a dog with keys and escaped. The fate of the rest is unknown.)
Everyone returns to Port Royal. Jack, despite his help, is re-sentenced to hang. When they hang him, Will throws his sword at his feet, and Jack is saved. Elizabeth also goes over to Sparrow's side and distracts the Commander and Governor by pretending to pass out from lack of air. Then Jack escapes, and the impressed Commander doesn't really protest, giving him a day's head start. Jack, saying goodbye to the young couple, swims to the moored "Pearl". Anna Maria declares Jack to be her captain, and a small part of Barbossa's crew returns to Jack Sparrow.
After the credits, there is a short scene in which the action takes place in a cave on Isla de Muerte. Barbossa's monkey, left on the island, sneaks up on a chest containing cursed Aztec gold coins and steals one. In a beam of moonlight, you can see that the monkey becomes cursed and immortal again. For this reason, in all the following films, she is invulnerable.
How I love Pirates of the Caribbean! Great music, vivid images, juicy picture! Fights, chases, mysticism, intrigue... This franchise made me take a fresh look at Hollywood cinema, made me fall in love with myself and still does not let go. Of the blockbuster series, I love the X-Men more. “The Curse of the Black Pearl was a great fairy tale for all ages with lots of funny, scary and tense moments. "Dead Man's Chest" turned out to be incredibly eventful, dynamic and significantly expanded the universe. "At the End of the World", although it came out a little chaotic, it adequately completed the trilogy. Well, five years later, the heroes loved by everyone returned in the part “On Stranger Tides”.
The fifth film in the franchise is coming out in May, Dead Men Tell No Tales, which I'm looking forward to. But you already understood from the title that not everything is so simple. So here are the top 11 annoying Pirates of the Caribbean moments!
In I deliberately did not mention the flywheel of time, I ignored the eagles. There will be no bracketing here, because there are simply no such well-known plot holes in the plot. It's a pity.
11. Undead Monkey
The hilarious monkey named Jack is the ultimate example of how you can make a character for comedic relief without being annoying. In the scene after the credits of the first part, she steals a coin from the chest, turns into the walking dead and makes the final screamer to the camera. Of course, Verbinski and the company did not abandon such a funny character and included him in subsequent films, and in the third part they also endowed him with incredible intelligence. But ... she repeatedly appears in the frame at night in subsequent parts! By the light of the moon! And there are no signs of her "corpse-likeness" at all! That is, the creators initially scored on this detail. It seems like a trifle, but it is very striking!
10. Pintel and Ragetti got good
Another hello from the first part. Most of Barbossa's immortal crew from The Curse of the Black Pearl were completely unmemorable thugs. But there was a pleasant exception. Charming couple Pintel and Ragetti, who somehow reminded me of the duo of robbers from Home Alone. And in the sequel, they decided not to abandon them and made them good. They even teased this moment a little, making one of them a devout person reading the Bible. As often happens, bandits decide to take the right path and find their salvation in the holy books. But damn it, I couldn't just forget the sins of the first part! At their first appearance, Pintel shamelessly shoots an innocent butler with the cynical phrase "Walked a long time!". It is clear that a pirate is, in principle, a violator of the law. But this scene is very jarring, especially when viewing subsequent parts.
9. Davy Jones' stash
In general, everything that happened with the Davy Jones Cache is some kind of one drug trip. As it is customary to write in such cases: "So many questions and so few answers." Why, after eating the Kraken, the "Pearl" and Jack ended up intact somewhere incomprehensibly where? What are these crabs? Why did he “float” to the seashore with their help? And do other ships that the Kraken eats also fall into this "cache"? If yes, what size is it? And how did it happen that the pirates who came to the rescue immediately found Jack? Although, of course, it cannot be called a strong jamb. Because everything can be answered: "It's magic, shut up and watch!"
8 Elisabeth's Stupid Blackmail That Worked
One of the weirdest scenes in the first part. At the first viewing, it does not raise any questions at all, but it is worth reviewing the film, and you are already thinking: pirates, what is wrong with you? So, Barbossa's team finds the last coin of cursed gold and, as it seems to them, the daughter of Bill Bootstrap (why they didn't know that Bootstrap had a son and not a daughter is another story). And Elizabeth begins to dictate terms to the pirates. How did she do it? She began to threaten to throw the locket overboard. But... But... But it's completely pointless! A little earlier, the pirates themselves say that they are drawn to gold, especially in the water! In fact, they found the coin when Elizabeth inadvertently fell into the sea with it. And further footage showed that they calmly walk on the seabed. So what prevented them from going down and calmly picking up the medallion? In addition, in the blackmail scene, they were standing in the bay, which means that there would be absolutely no problems with this!
7. Physics went out for a smoke and never came back
I don’t understand claims in the spirit of “the fact that Sparrow’s wound moves from the left side of his face to the right one confuses you, but the fact that the living dead walk in the film does not.” Because any fairy tale, any fantasy initially sets some laws of the genre, some conventions. But at the same time, a number of things in her should not differ from real world, otherwise there would be zero sense in a fairy tale and one could do anything. The only tales that are initially set up to break any laws are Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. And yes, I am not embarrassed by the revived dead pirates, but they will be embarrassed by banal movie bloopers and just stupidity. And here I am really confused by the endless violations of the laws of physics in the franchise. As far as we are given to understand, Jack and Will are two ordinary person like you and me. They weigh like normal adult men. SO WHY THE FUCK THEY MANAGE TO WALK ON THE BOTTOM AND CARRY AN OVERCUT BOAT LIKE A DIVING DOME?! This is completely unrealistic, if only they did not weigh 200 kg each. And how does Jack in the second part, running away from the natives, manage to fall from a gigantic height (albeit with a slightly slower fall) and not break anything? How do the characters in the third part manage to turn the whole ship over, albeit rocking it back and forth? Yes, even the scene of meeting Jack has no physical meaning - he swims up to the pier on an almost sunken boat, which, having gone under water, does not stop, but continues to move, as if it does not have a sail, but a motor.
6 Useless Calypso
The writers of the third part decided to surprise us with a few unexpected moves. And one of them was that the ugly sorceress Tia Dalma actually turned out to be the locked mistress of the sea Calypso. And so Barbossa had a long quarrel with the pirate barons, should she be released or not. It seems that everyone decided not to do this, but the hero of Geoffrey Rush did his own thing and still released her. Hoping for some goodies. And what did Calypso end up doing? Maybe she got her revenge on Davy Jones? Or vice versa, helped a former lover? Revenge on the pirates who captured her? Or helped the pirates who freed her? What did she do? She stupidly turned into a whirlpool. So what? And for what? And why? She is such a powerful goddess! And that's all she could do? An absolutely pointless and ridiculous scene that was needed solely to show a cool battle scene in a funnel.
5. Some kind of game with the curse of the Aztecs
As we remember, the pirates in the first part stole the cursed gold of the Aztecs and turned into the living dead. In the moonlight we saw their true nature - skeletons covered in decayed rags. They became immortal, but in return they lost the joy of food and feminine warmth. Their task was to collect all the lost coins and return them to their original place ... And all this curse will cause many questions. And why didn't the rest of the coin carriers become cursed - Will, Elizabeth? They kind of don't count because they didn't want to get rich on them? But after all, the monkey also hardly thought about buying bananas with these coins, then why did she become cursed? And why then were all pirates cursed? Did they all steal these coins? Surely someone stayed on duty on the ship while the rest climbed into this cave.
No less questions are the clothes of the dead. Here it is in the moonlight became decayed. And if they changed clothes, the curse would spread to new clothes Or would it remain on the old one?
Well, the main question: the pirates clearly did not lead a peaceful lifestyle - even in pursuit of one coin, they cut out half a fort. And it’s scary to imagine how many people were put, collecting the previous ones. And did they really not cut off a single limb from anyone? Watch the scene with Governor Swan and the severed hand. It turns out that half of the Caribbean should be in revived limbs!
And when Will removed the curse, Barbossa immediately died from a bullet fired by Jack. Why then did the other pirates who fought with the soldiers not die from their wounds? And they were there for sure, and not alone.
4. Curse of Will Turner
The ending of the third part came out very dramatic. It seems that everything ended with a happy ending: the bad guys were defeated, the good guys won, but ... Everything is not so rosy. Will dies in Elizabeth's arms, but Jack saves him and makes him captain of the Flying Dutchman. It seems like it's good, but a heavy curse falls on the hero: he can go to land only one day in ten years. “The main thing is what kind of day it will be,” Will says beautifully. And at the very end, we are first shown that she and Elizabeth are spending time as part of a film with a children's rating, and 10 years later, a long-haired boy runs to meet a folder.
But nobody cursed Elizabeth! Nothing prevents her, for example, to sit down with Jack on the ship, ride to the Flying Dutchman and have mercy on her beloved Will, until his polyps and tentacles grow! Of course, he is a busy man, but he can find an evening for a sweetheart! Even sea captains see their wives more often than once every ten years!
What's more, this entire ten-year curse is completely nullified by one negotiating scene on the islet. On one side are Jack, Barbossa and Elizabeth. On the other - Lord Beckett, Will and ... Davy Jones with their feet in a tub! So fir-trees-sticks, then put Will in a barrel and at least take them to the Gobi Desert! And you can also make a bucket for each leg - and let him walk where he wants, the main thing is not to spill it! The negotiation scene is really interesting, but this Jones in a barrel completely robs the curse of any meaning.
3. Pirate Lord Barbossa
An epic trilogy had to end epic. And one of the brightest moments of the third part is the massive congress of pirate barons from all over the world. At a large meeting there are barons from China, France, Turkey, Africa and other walking stereotypes. There is also Jack among them, which is strange in itself, given his "isolation" from the pirate brethren, and - here's a surprise! - Barbossa! This really hit me hard the first time I saw it. Somehow I didn’t pay much attention to the larger jambs and inconsistencies that are lower in the rating. And this raises questions from the very first second. On what basis did Barbossa become a pirate baron? We were told in the first part in plain text: "He was a cook in Jack's team and started a riot." Cock, Carl! Why on earth did a pirate baron go to work as a cook? Say: was it his plan to take possession of the fast "Pearl"? Let us suppose. Why didn't Jack recognize him then? After all, he should have crossed paths with him at least once, when all the pirate barons locked Calypso together! It is immediately obvious: the creators of the third part did not even bother to revise the first one, saying the legendary bad-comedian "SHAAAAAYUT!"
2. Merged Kraken
Kraken is one of the brightest monsters in general in world cinema. In the second part, we were shown all its inevitability and indestructibility. Severed tentacles grow back, shots from cannons are not taken, and if this beast rushed at you, then one can only hope that a dedicated team will find you in Davy Jones's chest. And the creators did everything right: almost until the very end they did not show us it in full and pumped up suspense before his next attack. And what will happen to the Kraken in the third part? But nothing, he will lie dead on the shore, and Pintel and Ragetti will jump on him! At the same time, he was killed by Davy Jones himself on the orders of Beckett. It remains only to ask: “What, so it was possible?”. Moreover, we were not even shown the actual process of the murder, because it must have been very epic. But the most incomprehensible - what for Beckett needed to kill the Kraken? This is the most powerful weapon that obeys Davy Jones, who obeys you! It's like voluntarily destroying a nuclear warhead. I somehow did not notice any nobility in Lord Beckett to deprive myself of such an advantage! The only explanation is that the writers stupidly did not know what to do next with the Kraken and how to get him out of the final battle.
As a bonus today, I would like to mention an issue that is not specific to this series, but has spread to other films. Namely - the image of Captain Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp was a 100% hit in this image in 2003. They say that many people auditioned for this role, including Jim Carrey, but Gore Verbinski managed to find someone who would play an extravagant hero, but within certain limits, and not like Jim Carrey. Alas, because of this role, the previously multifaceted actor Johnny Depp began to play the same character over and over again: Willy Wonka, Alice in Wonderland, The Lone Ranger ... And even in serious roles like the same Sweeney Todd's "sparrow" notes were traced. Although it seems like recent times the actor is getting better.
1. The entire Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides movie
There are successful sequels - for example, "Back to the Future" -2 and 3. There are sequels that come out even better than the original ("Terminator 2"). There are bad sequels. There are even terrible ones. But On Stranger Tides is even worse. He's just... no. This is an empty, not catchy film that evokes absolutely no emotions from viewing. After viewing it, only the question remains: why is it needed? No, of course, to cut down the dough on the franchise, but still. The original trilogy came out as a brilliant finished story, with amazing humor, great dialogues and popular phrases. Can you remember at least one phrase from the fourth part? The fourth part came out absolutely useless, optional. She does not develop the plot of the trilogy in any way, does not expand the universe in any way and does not try to start new history. That is, it seems like in the scene after the credits we were shown Penelope Cruz with Jack's voodoo doll, but even at the first viewing it became obvious: there is no development of the story here and never will be.
"On Stranger Tides" is remembered only for the fact that it constantly slips into quoting old phrases. There isn't even new music. All the same He's a pirate theme and a couple of non-catchy compositions.
love line? God, she's pointless and miserable. Will and Elizabeth pissed me off in the trilogy, but at least their relationship was interesting. There is also a missionary and a mermaid, who do not even have a billionth share of charisma, doing meaningless things (why, for example, did the mermaid want to help the sailors who hunted her sisters?).
The villain? Come on, why should I be afraid of some man, even if he manages the ropes of his ship? I'm in previous parts saw skeletons come to life, the terrifying Kraken and the Davy Jones team! That's who inspired real fear - a crowd of immortal monsters from the depths of the sea! And then ... well, some regular pirate, who is not even a match for Barbossa from the first part, let alone Davy Jones. It is not clear why Jack was suddenly so afraid of him.
Do you remember that the post is called "top 11 most ANNOUNTING moments"? And what irritates me most of all in the fourth part is that there is simply nothing to hate her for! As a separate story, it looks quite tolerable, albeit a little clichéd. But I don't see any reason to love her (well, other than Penélope Cruz's breasts rising above her corset)! And it hurts as hell that such a posh franchise contains such an empty film.
As I wrote above, in May we are waiting for the fifth part of the adventures of Jack Sparrow ... Sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow. Orlando Bloom will return to the franchise, they seem to promise a cameo by Keira Knightley ... Well, the most colorful Geoffrey Rush is in place. And although I look forward to it with my heart, I understand in my mind that it is not worth waiting for any discoveries from her. And the reason for this is the useless fourth part. However, we should not forget that no one will take away from us three great first films. And thanks to Gore Verbinski and company for that! Are you savvy?
In cinemas, they began to show the new "Pirates of the Caribbean", which differ from the previous ones only in the name and names of the characters. Time Out clearly shows that there is almost no difference between the five parts of "Pirates".
1. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Some kind of age, tropical islands. In the city of the English lives a brave beauty Elizabeth Swann and a young handsome guy Will Turner (then they will have love). Captain Jack Sparrow sails, behaves ugly, he is almost executed. Then all three climb onto the ship and swim somewhere.
Along the way, Will learns that his father is a cursed, barnacle-covered pirate named Bootstrap (but he won't be until part 2). Jack tells Will about the chest with the cursed gold - it must be looked for on a distant island. If you take a gold coin from the chest, you become an immortal ghost.
Sparrow's ship "Black Pearl" appears. Its captain is the wise old pirate Barbossa, his entire crew are ghosts. They are also looking for the chest - they want to remove the curse and become human again. Everyone swims to each other for a long time: either Barbossa and Elizabeth to a distant island, then Sparrow and Will to Barbossa. At the end, everyone meets in a cave with a chest. The curse is lifted, Barbossa dies. Jack Sparrow is captured and nearly executed. Having survived, he climbs onto the ship and swims somewhere.
After the credits - a meaningless scene with a monkey.
2. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
Some kind of age, tropical islands. In the city of the English, Will and Elizabeth are arrested. The stupid Englishman Beckett sends Will to find Captain Sparrow. Meanwhile, Sparrow found an artifact: a rag on which a key is drawn, and this key supposedly can open something.
Will finds Sparrow. Heroes fall into tropical island with cannibals. They run away for a long time. Then they sail to the mysterious fortuneteller Tia Dalma - she explains that they need to get on the damned ship "Flying Dutchman". There, another artifact awaits them: the heart of the infernal captain of the "Dutchman" Davy Jones, which will give them power over all the seas.
Everyone swims to each other for a long time: now Will to the Flying Dutchman, then Jack to Elizabeth. Will is captured on the Dutchman, where all the pirates are cursed and overgrown with shells (including Bootstrap, his father). At the end, the heroes meet on the next island, where they fight for the heart of Davy Jones, as a result, it goes to Beckett. Jack is dying. Barbossa is resurrected.
After the credits - a meaningless scene with a dog.
3. "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
Some kind of century, the tropical island of Singapore. Elizabeth, Will and Barbossa obtain a rare card from a local Asian villain that explains how to resurrect Jack Sparrow. Then they succeed - and Jack returns from the other world.
The Asian villain dies, making Elizabeth his successor. Meanwhile, the stupid Englishman Beckett, with the assistance of the captain of the Flying Dutchman, Davy Jones, wants to kill all the pirates. The pirate barons meet together to discuss the situation. Outcome: Elizabeth is chosen as the head of the council, who tells everyone to fight Beckett.
Barbossa frees the goddess Calypso - she was locked in the body of the mysterious fortuneteller Tia Dalma. Calypso does not want to help the pirates and makes a giant whirlpool. The sailors are fighting. Davy Jones is dead. Will Turner becomes the captain of the Flying Dutchman - now he is also a cursed pirate, overgrown with shells. Elizabeth with the child will wait for him for another ten years (both of them take a break for one episode in the story). Sparrow swims away for a new incomprehensible artifact.
After the credits - a meaningless scene with Will, Elizabeth and their child.
4. "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"
Some kind of century, suddenly - not a tropical island, but London. Sparrow saves his assistant, who is nearly executed. Barbossa, who is now working for the English, suggests that Jack sail for a new artifact: a bowl that grants eternal youth. Jack refuses and escapes with the help of his father, played by Keith Richards.
Suddenly it turns out that there is a pirate posing as Jack - this is the brave beauty Angelica. All the heroes get on the ship to the infernal captain Blackbeard, Angelica's father, who owns voodoo magic. It turns out that the artifact, which consists of two cups, works like this: you need to take cup-1, which contains a mermaid's tear, drink from it, and then force another person to drink from cup-2, where the mermaid did not cry. The person who drinks from cup-2 dies.
Blackbeard captures the mermaid and obtains a tear. Everyone sails to a tropical island, runs for a long time for bowls, fights. As a result, Blackbeard drinks from Cup-2, thanks to Jack Sparrow's deceit (dies), and Angelica becomes immortal. Jack Sparrow finds his ship, but it is bewitched.
After the credits - a meaningless scene with Angelica, which was happily forgotten in the fifth part.
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Some kind of century, a tropical island. Will's son, young handsome guy Henry wants to rescue his father from the "Flying Dutchman". To do this, he needs the latest artifact - the trident of Poseidon with unclear functionality. Henry ends up in prison with the British, where he meets the brave beauty Karina (they will have love later), and finally meets Jack Sparrow, who had previously unsuccessfully robbed a bank.
Due to Jack's stupidity, a cursed ship with the infernal captain Salazar floats out into the sea. To stop him, you need to find a trident. Salazar forms an alliance with Barbossa, who has Jack Sparrow's compass. Two heroes are looking for and find Jack, but too late: Sparrow went ashore, where the pirates with damn ship it is forbidden.
Barbossa uses Blackbeard's sword to disenchant Jack Sparrow's ship. The British are trying to intervene in the case, who were told about the whereabouts of Jack by a fortune-teller, but Salazar drowns them. Henry, Karina, Jack and Barbossa sail to the island, where they leave a special ruby in a special place. The sea opens before them, in it is the trident of Poseidon. Salazar comes and fights Jack. Henry breaks the trident, all curses are cancelled. Salazar becomes normal and dies (before that he was a ghost). Barbossa also dies, again. Will sails home to Elizabeth. Jack Sparrow is sailing somewhere again.
After the credits, a meaningless scene with Will, Elizabeth and Davy Jones, who apparently did not die.
