Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy [Blu-ray]

5 Comments

1. S. Fry

   September 29, 2010 at 4:53 pm

   Review by S. Fry for Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy [Blu-ray]
   Rating:
   I owned the trilogy on DVD previous to buying the blu-ray set, and it was well worth it. The sound is amazing and the picture quality is awesome even on my flat screen which only goes up to 1080i. I highly recommend this set for anyone who is a Pirates fan.

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2. bbsk8er

   September 29, 2010 at 4:52 pm

   Review by bbsk8er for Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy [Blu-ray]
   Rating:
   have the movies on DVD but saw the blu-ray versions playing in the store and had to have them. best blu-ray purchase i’ve made; picture quality is excellent

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3. J. A. Torrontegui

   September 29, 2010 at 4:27 pm

   Review by J. A. Torrontegui for Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy [Blu-ray]
   Rating:
   This trilogy edition includes the corrected version of the “Curse of the black pearl” blu-ray, with no miss-framed shots. Great.
   

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4. Coach

   September 29, 2010 at 3:49 pm

   Review by Coach for Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy [Blu-ray]
   Rating:
   This is a must have because all three movies are worth seeing multiple times. The blend of action and humor is outstanding and it is a pleasure to take it all in over and over again.

   My minor complaint is that the second and third disc seem to not have the same high quality as the first and it always takes some adjustment on the HDTV to keep the quality consistent. The Samsung reports 1080i on disc two and three while one is registered as the 1080p; don’t know why. This should not hold you back, because the quality of the trilogy is among the best we’ve seen.

   If you have to own just one Blu-Ray it should be from this series.

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5. Dave

   September 29, 2010 at 3:25 pm

   Review by Dave for Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy [Blu-ray]
   Rating:
   As the other reviewer stated, this is a repackaging of the previously released Pirates of the Caribbean blu-ray discs, with all the extras that were on those discs, but no new additional material. To rehash what you get:

   “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” Review:
   
   This is the strongest of the 3 films. Although each film definitely has somewhat of a “fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants” type story style (as if there were no strong script, but rather ideas that popped up on set), this one actually works and makes for a very fun viewing experience. Pirate Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp, who created this legendary film character) teams up with blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) to help rescue the Governor’s daughter Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) from pirate Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). Of course there is treasure involved as well as a curse. Depp walks away with the picture. The love interest (Bloom & Knightley) do their best to compete, but without Depp, this picture would have tanked. Amazing special effects and plenty of swashbuckling action!

   Extras :
   
   * 3 Audio commentary tracks: #1 is director Gore Verbinski & Johnny Depp; #2 is producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Keira Knightley, and Jack Davenport; #3 is co-screenwriters Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie, and Jay Wolpert
   
   * Lots of trailers, including one for POTC 3 in HD 1080p
   
   * “An Epic at Sea: The Making of Pirates of the Caribbean” which is a 9-part 38 minute documentary.
   
   * “Fly on the Set” documentary which describes in greater depth 5 different sequences in the film (“The Town Attack,” “Tortuga,” “The Blacksmith Shop,” “The Cave” and “Jack’s Hanging”)
   
   * “Moonlight Serenade Progression” which shows from pre-production to the final scene of how the spectral pirates came to be
   
   * 3 on-set “diaries”: Producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s “Photo Diary” (4 min.), “Diary of a Pirate” (9 min.), featuring actor Lee Arenberg (Pintel), and “Diary of a Ship” (8 min.) by the crew of the real Lady Washington, which was used as the H.M.S. Interceptor in the film
   
   * 19 deleted scenes
   
   * Blooper reel
   
   * Vintage “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color” (Jan. 1968) excerpt describing how the Disneyland attraction came to be, and includes a “ride-through” of the attraction itself.
   
   * Photo/image gallery
   
   * “Scoundrels at Sea”: customize your viewing experience with this exclusive-to-Blu-ray feature, allowing you to access trivia, clips, etc. on your own. A lot of work, but can add a little fun to repeated viewings.
   
   * And plenty of Easter Eggs!
   
   * Specs: English PCM 5.1 surround track, 2.40:1 widescreen

   “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” Review:
   
   Although it has its moments and plenty of wonderful special effects, I felt that this one was somewhat of a disappointment. The Jack Sparrow character is not quite as quirky as he is in the first film, but rather a little overdone. This film has a feeling of being made up as it was being filmed. Too much explanation of plot twists and too many intricate ribbons to tie together things that were not originally intended to be tied together…this franchise officially begins to bloat with this 2nd installment. This time, Jack Sparrow must lift the curse of eternal damnation by recovering the heart of the slimy Davy Jones, which is inside the Dead Man’s Chest. Stabbing the heart would not only destroy Jones, but also set free Will Turner’s father, Bootstrap Bill.

   Extras :
   
   * 1 Audio commentary track with co-screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio
   
   * Lots of trailers, including one for POTC 3 in HD 1080p
   
   * “Charting the Course” is a 26 minute pre-production documentary
   
   * “According to Plan: The Harrowing and True Story of Dead Man’s Chest” is a 63 minute look at the actual filming, which was plagued with many a problem (and shows in the final product)
   
   * “Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy of a Legend” (13 min.) shows how actor Bill Nighy was transformed into the octopus-like character Davy Jones
   
   * “Fly on the Set: The Bone Cage” (4 min.)
   
   * “Mastering the Blade” (16 min.) shows how the stars learned to swashbuckle with swords
   
   * “Captain Jack: From Head to Toe” (22 min.) shows how Jack Sparrow was costumed…very cool to see the attention to detail.
   
   * “Dead Men Tell New Tales: Re-Imagineering the Attraction” (13 min.) shows how the Disneyland attraction was changed to include characters from the film (interesting to see Depp come face to face with his Audio Animatronic counterpart)
   
   * “Pirates on Main Street” (4 minutes) shows the premiere at Disneyland
   
   * “Jerry Bruckheimer: A Producer’s Photo Diary” (5 min.) shows stills from the production
   
   * “Liar’s Dice” a blu-ray exclusive game with dice
   
   * And plenty of Easter Eggs!
   
   * Specs: Uncompressed PCM 5.1 surround track, 2.35:1 widescreen

   “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” Review:
   
   This is one of those movies that requires multiple viewings to appreciate it and catch all of the nuances. I was not bowled over by it the first time I saw it, and still think that it could have been tightened up quite a bit in the editing room, however, it is a nice end to the trio of POTC movies. It seemed like the pressure to make this installment better than the others is felt throughout; the first movie was nothing but a joyful and spontaneous romp with Jack Sparrrow and his supporting characters. By installment 3, you sense an almost over-manufactured quality, as if the franchise is on steroids. The comments by the crew in the extras almost bear this out; especially in the Tale of Many Jacks featurette. “How do we keep it unexpected?” the crew asks, responding, “Maike it weird.” However, the weird becomes “tedious” (the word they use to describe the filming of the scene), and especially when watching the multiple Jack sequence, I kept asking myself “Why is this scene necessary?” Although it is technically brilliant, it really does nothing to further the plot along, and just adds to the yawn factor. One thing Walt Disney really understood was good storytelling; even though a sequence maybe astounding, if it doesn’t integrate into the whole, it should be removed. There are 2 deleted scenes on the disk; “I Like Riddles” and “Two Captains, One Ship.” The 2 Captains scene is extremely fun to watch as you see the competition between Barbossa and Sparrow. It has the light playful feeling that was part of the original, but somewhat gone in part 3. And as most probably know, you must watch the movie even AFTER the credits…there is a short scene at the end that wraps the bow up even more neatly to complete the trilogy. Without giving away a plot spoiler, I have to say that the final sequence before the credits gave me hope that if there is another installment, that the producers realized they need to focus on Sparrow and cut the weight of all the extra storylines: the love story of Will and Elizabeth, the Chinese Pirates, the Brethren Court, Tia Dalma, etc…it is just too much.

   Extras :
   
   * Bloopers
   
   * Lots of trailers
   
   * Deleted scenes
   
   * “Anatomy of a Scene: The Maelstrom” (20 min.) An in depth look at this amazing scene.
   
   * “Masters of Design” (25 min.) 5 featurettes which describe the Costuming (Keith Richards amazing wardrobe by Penny Rose), Sao Feng’s Map, The Code Book, Crash McCreary: The Cursed Crew, and Rick Heinrichs: Singapore.
   
   * “The Tale Of The Many Jack” (5 min.) shows how this bizarre (and superfluous) scene created multiple Jack Sparrows.
   
   * “The World of Chow Yun Fat” (5 min.) is a little odd in that he speaks Mandarin with subtitles, but still interesting, as it enlightens us as to what a presence he is and how he pretty much brought his own methods of filming/working to the project and was allowed to do so because he is such an international star.
   
   * “Keith & the Captain: On Set With Johnny And The Rock Legend” (5 min.) is lots of fun; almost like a train wreck as the poor man speaks unintelligibly, but he is still magic when he picks up a guitar and starts to strum.
   
   * “The Pirate Maestro: The Music of Hans Zimmer” (10 min.) is another case of being pressured; you hear how he also wants to outdo the previous films. Interesting to watch one of the musicians play a saw and then see Verbinski jamming on an electric guitar.
   
   * “Hoist the Colors” (5 minutes) Composer Zimmer tells how the opening song came to be.
   
   * 2 Deleted Scenes
   
   * “Inside the Maelstrom” blu-ray exclusive is an approximately 40 minute interactive look into the creation of this amazing special effects sequence.
   
   * “Movie Showcase” blu-ray exclusive features Disney’s patented Movie Showcase chapter access function.
   
   * And plenty of Easter Eggs!
   
   * Specs: Uncompressed PCM 5.1 surround track, 2.35:1 widescreen

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