June 20, 2003. Copyright, 2003, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Swashbuckling summer in store
By Mark Samms

LONDON: June 20, 2003, Graphic News: Movies are usually distinguished by the actors who appear in them or by directors whose style and influence is unmistakable. Few are judged by the name of the producer.

However, when filmgoers see the name of Jerry Bruckheimer (Armageddon, Pearl Harbour, Black Hawk Down) associated with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, they will know immediately what they are in for Ð and they will not be disappointed. 

This is a summer extravaganza of rollicking action and ground-breaking special effects. And for once it is no exaggeration to say that audiences will be in for a roller-coaster ride, because this is thought to be the first movie ever to be based on a theme park attraction.

Enjoying themselves among the roistering mayhem of skullduggery on the 17th-century Spanish Main are heroes Johnny Depp (Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissorhands) and Orlando Bloom, fresh from his success in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

They take on the dastardly Captain Barbossa, played by Geoffrey Rush (Shine, Shakespeare in Love), who is the leader of a sinister pirate gang whose members are forced to live in an evil netherworld between the living and the dead.

They kidnap the GovernorÕs daughter, played by Keira Knightley (Bend it Like Beckham) and Depp and Bloom set off in pursuit. The scene is then set for what Bruckheimer himself has described as Òa big, expansive and romantic movie, all the things I love to see when I go to a movie theatre.Ó

In fact, Disney executives are so confident of the movieÕs success that, sensing the possibility of sequels, they decided to add the sub-title ÒThe Curse of the Black PearlÓ at a late stage to distinguish this from subsequent productions.

Release dates:

Jul 9: Canada, United States
Jul 17: Argentina
Aug 2: Japan
Aug 8: Iceland, UK
Aug 9: Taiwan
Aug 13: Belgium, France
Aug 15: Brazil, Lithuania
Aug 21: Netherlands
Aug 28: Czech Republic
Aug 29: Finland, Sweden
Sep 4: Austria, Germany
Sep 5: Denmark
Sep 18: Australia, New Zealand
/ENDS