Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 American film directed by Gore Verbinski. The film premiered at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California on June 28, 2003, and was theatrically released on July 9.
The film is based on the Disney attraction Pirates of the Caribbean and is the first instalment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
== Plot ==
In 1720, Governor Weatherby Swann and his daughter, Elizabeth, sail aboard HMS Dauntless. Lieutenant Norrington's crew recovers a shipwrecked survivor, Will Turner. Elizabeth takes a gold medallion from around Will's neck before seeing a ship with black sails. Eight years later in Port Royal, Jamaica, Norrington is promoted to commodore and proposes to Elizabeth at Fort Charles. Elizabeth's corset makes her faint and fall into the water below, causing the medallion to emit a pulse. Captain Jack Sparrow, who initially arrived to "commandeer" a ship, rescues Elizabeth before escaping Commodore Norrington, who identifies Jack with his pirate brand. Will, now a blacksmith, meets Jack and fights long enough for Sparrow to be imprisoned.
That night, Port Royal is attacked by the Black Pearl, the ship Elizabeth Swann saw years earlier, searching for the medallion. Invoking parley, Elizabeth is taken aboard to meet Captain Barbossa. Although she gave her name as "Elizabeth Turner" to conceal her identity as the governor's daughter, Barbossa takes Elizabeth with them. Barbossa explains that the medallion is one of 882 Aztec gold pieces in a stone chest used to bribe Cortés to stop his slaughter, but because of Cortés' greed, the heathen gods placed a curse on the gold. Barbossa's crew found the treasure at Isla de Muerta, but after spending it, they feel and taste nothing, and turn into immortal undead skeletons in the moonlight. To lift the curse, Barbossa's crew must return all the gold with their blood. Having discovered that "Bootstrap Bill" Turner sent a piece to his child, Barbossa sent Bootstrap to the bottom of the ocean. Assuming Elizabeth is Bootstrap's child, Barbossa intends to use her blood instead.
To save Elizabeth, Will frees Jack, who learns that Turner is the son of Bootstrap Bill. They distract Norrington with a staged attempt to steal the Dauntless, allowing them to commandeer the HMS Interceptor, then head to Tortuga to find Joshamee Gibbs and recruit a crew. Will learns from Gibbs that Sparrow was captain of the Black Pearl before Barbossa organised a mutiny and marooned him on an island. Arriving at Isla de Muerta, Jack and Will sneak into the treasure grotto, where Barbossa fails to lift the curse with Elizabeth's blood. Will and Elizabeth escape with the medallion on the Interceptor, while Sparrow is captured by Barbossa and locked in the brig aboard the Pearl. A battle ensues between the Pearl and the Interceptor, with the crew captured and the ship destroyed. Having realised it is his blood Barbossa needs, Will surrenders himself to ensure Elizabeth's freedom. Barbossa agrees but maroons Jack and Elizabeth. The next morning, Elizabeth makes a smoke signal, then Jack and Elizabeth are rescued aboard the Dauntless. Elizabeth accepts Norrington's marriage proposal on the condition to rescue Will from Barbossa.
That night, Jack and Norrington make a plan to ambush the pirates at Isla de Muerta, but Norrington plans to ambush the pirates himself and Sparrow convinces Barbossa to not lift the curse until after they've killed Norrington's men. Having anticipated the battle to come, Jack secretly palms a coin for himself to become immortal, then frees Will and duels Barbossa in the cave. As Norrington's crew battle skeletons aboard the Dauntless, Elizabeth sneaks off to free Jack's crew, who flee on the Pearl, leaving Swann to save Will and Jack by herself. After Elizabeth helps defeat some of Barbossa's crewmen, Sparrow shoots Barbossa just as Will returns both remaining coins with their blood into the chest, lifting the curse. Now mortal, Barbossa dies from Sparrow's gunshot, and the rest of Barbossa's crew are killed or surrendered.
At Port Royal, Will declares his love for Elizabeth, before rescuing Jack, who was about to be hanged. After a scuffle, Jack and Will are surrounded. Elizabeth stands by their side, choosing Turner over Norrington, who stands down. Sparrow falls into the water, then is rescued by the Black Pearl and her new crew. Norrington decides to give Sparrow "one day's head start" before pursuit. Governor Swann gives his blessings to Will and Elizabeth, while Jack Sparrow is made captain of the Pearl and sails off to the horizon.
== Cast and Characters ==
* Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow
* Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa
* Orlando Bloom as Will Turner
* Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann
* Jack Davenport as Norrington
* Kevin R. McNally as Joshamee Gibbs
* Zoe Saldana as Anamaria
* Jonathan Pryce as Governor Weatherby Swann
* Treva Etienne as Koehler
* David Bailie as Cotton
* Lee Arenberg as Pintel
* Mackenzie Crook as Ragetti
* Trevor Goddard as Grapple
* Isaac C. Singleton Jr. as Bo'sun
* Brye Cooper as Mallott
* Michael Berry Jr. as Twigg
* Martin Klebba as Marty
* Damian O'Hare as Lt. Gillette
* Greg Ellis as Officer
* Giles New and Angus Barnett as Murtogg and Mullroy
== Music ==
* Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Soundtrack)
== Sequels ==
* Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
* Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
* Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
* Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Category:Pirates of the Caribbean
Category:Films
Category:Live-action Films
Category:2003 Films
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