Interesting!!!!!

Rating: 9/10 (23 March 2015)

When I first heard Disney was going to make a movie out of their Pirates of the Caribbean ride, I (like many others, no doubt) thought it was a horrible idea. I mean, how many movies based on video games worked, let alone movies based on an amusement park attraction. What was next? "Hall of Presidents: The Motion Picture"?
But to their credit, Disney not only turned out a good movie, but spawned a billion dollar franchise. Thanks to Johnny Depp's great (and Oscar nominated, no less) performance as Captain Jack Sparrow, great direction by Gore Verbinski, and a storyline that is both action-packed, yet whimsical and fun, Disney made an epic adventure that appealed to all ages.
Now Disney is finally releasing the first two films on Blu-ray disc, and they're a true delight for any owners of the high def format. The picture is stunningly sharp and colorful, and I could find nothing to complain about. Every scene...indeed, every frame...was gloriously sharp and beautiful in this 1080p transfer. The audio is equally remarkable, with both a 5.1 uncompressed track and a 5.1 Dolby Digital track sounding fantastic. Watching Pirates on Blu-ray reminded me of why I spent money on the format in the first place...nothing I've seen (including seeing the film in the theater itself) matches the experience of watching the film in this format...it's simply incredible.
Disney hasn't slouched on the rest of the package either, making this a 2-disc set, with the second disc containing nearly every single extra that was on the 3-Disc standard release (including all the bonuses from "The Lost Disc" in that set). All those features and bonuses are still shown in 480p, but Disney has included a brand-new interactive documentary on the movie disc, presenting it in 1080p as well. This new documentary, entitled "Scoundrels of the Seas" can be watched in its entirety or can be edited by the viewer so he or she can watch a custom-designed version. By selecting an option in the main menu, viewers can watch the film and then click on "coins" that pop up during the movie, indicating topics available in the documentary. If you want to find out more about that topic, click on your remote when the coin appears. If you don't want to know more, don't click. When the film is over, you'll get to see the documentary with only the topics you clicked on covered. Of course, viewers also have the option of watching the movie without the distraction of the coins, as well as designing their own custom documentary from one of the menus, or just watching the complete documentary straight through. The documentary and custom design makes use of Blu-ray's Java capabilities, so users with stand-alone players and/or PS3's will want to make sure their systems are properly updated.
Also on the movie disc is an interactive "Jolly Roger" character that will help guide you through the disc; three separate audio commentary tracks (the same three that appear on the 3-disc standard version); and a handful of 1080p trailers for your enjoyment.
Disc Two contains most of the 480p bonus features that were previously released on the 3-disc set, including just extras as a Making-Of documentary; a blooper reel; deleted and alternate scenes; an image gallery; and a few "Easter Eggs" for all you pirates out there to hunt down!
Just in time for the theatrical release of the third movie in the trilogy, The Curse of the Black Pearl is a reference-quality Blu-ray release that fans of the movie are just going to love. It's a must- have for Blu-ray owners, no doubt.