Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 American adventure fantasy film based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney theme parks. It was directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The story follows blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) as they rescue the kidnapped Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) from the cursed crew of the Black Pearl, captained by Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush).
Jay Wolpert developed a script based on the theme park ride in 2001, and Stuart Beattie rewrote it in early 2002. Around that time, producer Jerry Bruckheimer became involved in the project; he had Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio work on the script, adding the supernatural curse to the storyline. Filming took place from October 2002 to March 2003 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and on sets constructed around Los Angeles, California.
The world premiere was held at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, on June 28, 2003. The Curse of the Black Pearl was an unexpected success, with positive reviews and grossing over $654 million worldwide. The film became the first in a series, with two back-to-back sequels, Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, released in 2006 and 2007. The latest in the series, On Stranger Tides, was released in 2011. The original film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Depp.
Plot
As Governor Weatherby Swann, his 12-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, and Lieutenant James Norrington sail to Port Royal, Jamaica, their vessel encounters a burning shipwreck with an unconscious survivor, the young Will Turner. Elizabeth hides a gold medallion that Will is wearing, fearing it will identify him as a pirate. The crew then glimpses a ghostly pirate ship, the notorious Black Pearl, sailing away from the wreckage.
Eight years later, Norrington proposes to Elizabeth after being promoted to Commodore. However, her over-tightened corset causes her to faint before she can answer, and she falls from the fort into the bay. The pirate medallion, which she wears as a necklace, emits a pulse in the water which signals the Black Pearl.
Simultaneously, pirate Captain Jack Sparrow arrives in Port Royal to steal a ship. He sees Elizabeth fall and saves her, but Norrington recognizes Jack as a pirate and orders his arrest. Jack escapes, hiding in a blacksmith's shop, where Will Turner now works as an apprentice. After a sword duel between the two, Jack is knocked unconscious and jailed, to be hanged the next day. That night, Port Royal is besieged by the Pearl, answering the medallion's pulse. Elizabeth is captured and invokes parley. She negotiates for the pirates to stop attacking Port Royal in exchange for the medallion and claims to Captain Barbossa that her surname is Turner, as she believes her real name will reveal her importance as a hostage. Barbossa stops the bombardment, but exploits a loophole in the agreement, keeping Elizabeth prisoner. He believes she is the key to breaking a curse the pirate crew is under.
Will, who loves Elizabeth, suggests making a deal with Jack Sparrow to lead the navy to the Black Pearl, but Norrington refuses. Will persuades Jack to help him rescue her in exchange for Jack's freedom. Jack agrees after learning Will's surname is Turner, believing he can use Will to reclaim the Pearl, which once belonged to Sparrow. Will and Jack commandeer the HMS Interceptor and recruit a crew in Tortuga with help from Jack's old friend, Joshamee Gibbs. They set sail for the remote Isla de Muerta, where Jack knows the pirates make port.
Will learns Jack was once captain of the Pearl, questing for Aztec gold, when Barbossa, Jack's first mate at the time, mutinied and marooned him on an island. Following the Pirate Code, Barbossa gave Jack a pistol with a single shot, intended for suicide. Jack escaped three days later and kept the pistol for ten years, saving the bullet to kill Barbossa. The pirates spent the treasure but learned it was cursed, turning them into immortal skeletal beings whose true forms are revealed in moonlight. The curse can be lifted if the coins and each pirate's blood is returned to the chest. William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner, Jack's only supporter, sent a coin to his son, Will, believing the crew should remain cursed. Barbossa had Bootstrap tied to a cannon and thrown overboard, only later to learn his blood was needed to break the curse.
At Isla de Muerta, Barbossa, believing Elizabeth is Bootstrap's child, anoints the last coin with her blood and drops it into the chest, but the curse remains unbroken. After reaching the island, Will suspects Jack may betray him and knocks him out. He rescues Elizabeth and they escape to the Interceptor, leaving Jack behind. Jack barters with Barbossa, offering Will in exchange for the Pearl, but Barbossa rejects his offer and pursues the Interceptor. Barbossa's crew sinks the Interceptor and imprisons the crew. Will reveals he is Bootstrap Bill's son and demands that Elizabeth and the crew be freed, or he will shoot himself and fall overboard, foiling Barbossa's plan to break the curse. Barbossa agrees but applies another loophole, marooning Elizabeth and Jack on the same island Jack had been left on ten years earlier. Will is taken to Isla de Muerta, to be killed to break the curse. Elizabeth discovers how Jack escaped before: the island was used as a cache by rum runners and Jack bartered passage.
Elizabeth burns the cache of rum to create a fire that Norrington's ship spots. She convinces Norrington to rescue Will by accepting his marriage proposal. However, he does not completely trust her, and locks her in his cabin. Returning to Isla de Muerta, Norrington sets an ambush while Jack persuades Barbossa to form an alliance. He tells him to delay breaking the curse until they have taken Norrington's ship, the HMS Dauntless. Jack's plan goes awry when Barbossa orders his undead crew to infiltrate the Dauntless from underwater. Meanwhile, Elizabeth escapes her confinement and sneaks aboard the Pearl to free Jack's crew. They leave with the Pearl while Elizabeth heads to the island alone to save Will. Jack duels with Barbossa, and is seemingly killed. However, Barbossa discovers that Jack is immortal just like the other pirates; he had stolen one of the medallions for himself in case such an encounter ever arose.
Norrington spots his ship under attack and orders his men to return. They reach the ship and attack the cursed pirates. When Barbossa attempts to kill Elizabeth, Jack shoots Barbossa as Will drops the last two medallions, stained with his and Jack's blood, into the chest. No longer immortal, Barbossa collapses and dies. The now-mortal pirates aboard the Dauntless surrender. Despite the victory, Jack is arrested and condemned to death.
At Port Royal, Will attempts to rescue Jack at a public hanging. Both are captured. Jack manages to escape, jumping into the ocean and swims to the newly-repaired Black Pearl, which is sailing nearby. Will is pardoned by Governor Swann and allowed to marry Elizabeth. The Pearl's crew pulls Jack from the water, appointing him captain. The film ends with Jack looking at his compass while singing "A Pirate's Life for Me".
In a post credits scene, Jack, Barbossa's pet monkey, steals a gold coin from the chest, thus cursing itself once again.
