Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Question: I know this might be a stupid question but why do they want to lift the curse? They can't die and can't feel pain.

Answer: As Barbossa explains, their needs and desires are no longer sated - no matter how much they drink they are still thirsty, food turns to ash in their mouth leaving them perpetually hungry, their lust is no longer satisfied no matter what they do, their flesh disappears in the moonlight, etc. And they are cursed to endure this for all eternity unless the treasure is returned. Sure, they can't die and feel no pain... but the trade-off is that they aren't able to truly live or experience any true satisfaction of any kind. The cost of their immortality is simply too great, and they don't want to endure it anymore.

TedStixon

Question: The curse can be lifted by using the blood of only the individual who removed a gold coin. Shouldn't Will have been exempt from this rule? He never took a gold coin from the chest. His dad did so only Bootstrap's blood should have worked. Also, since only the individual's blood can remove the curse, why did the rule suddenly change to needing Will's blood if he never removed a coin from the chest?

Answer: The movie explains, very explicitly, that the blood of a direct descendant of one of the pirates will do as well as the blood of the pirate himself, so Will's blood, being "the blood of his father", works. The "rule" did not suddenly change, it was the same from beginning to end.

Question: Why didn't Elizabeth appear as a skeleton? She had a stolen piece of the treasure around her neck.

Answer: She wasn't the one who stole it from the chest. That's also why Will didn't know that it was cursed gold, even though he had worn it before: he got it as a gift from his father.

Friso94

Answer: The curse only affected those who removed a gold coin from the chest itself. Since she never took it, she wasn't cursed.

Chosen answer: These dates are estimates. The intro of 'PotC: The Curse of the Black Pearl' takes place mid-1720s (roughly 1725), when Will and Elizabeth are around 11/12 yrs old. Then eight years later the duo are about 19-20 yrs old during the main part of 'The Curse of the Black Pearl', then around a year later are set to marry in 'PotC: Dead Man's Chest' followed by the consecutive 'At World's End', which take place around 1733 / 1734. The next movies 'PotC: On Stranger Tides' and 'Dead Men Tell No Tales' (after the intro) take place in the 1750s.

Super Grover

Question: Why does Elizabeth take the medallion with her after her blood fails to lift the curse? She knows that it "calls to them", so it would only act as a homing beacon, but she doesn't know that they're after Will specifically, in fact, at that point, only Jack knows that. So why would she risk the pirates coming after them?

Friso94

Chosen answer: She does realise they are after Will, she called herself Turner and Barbossa reveals they need a Turner, meaning Will. She takes the medallion with her because it belongs to Will.

lionhead

Question: When Jack saves Elizabeth from drowning, why is the Governor's first reaction to have Jack shot before he even discovers he's a pirate? He didn't know Jack was a pirate because he's shocked a moment later when Norrington reveals Jack is a pirate.

Answer: Jack's just stripped Elizabeth down to her underdress and, while Swann may not know that he's a pirate, it's pretty easy to tell that Jack's not exactly the sort of person who should be stripping governor's daughters. Swann's over-protectiveness and sense of social outrage might be a bit extreme, but given that he's just seen his daughter fall from a high cliff, nearly drown, then be dragged from the sea by a ruffian, a degree of over-reaction isn't entirely unreasonable.

Tailkinker

Question: I'm curious to know: Jack was the captain of the Pearl when they found the island with the Aztecs gold. In another post it was stated that Jack, as the Captain, would recieve 2/3 of the loot. So why didn't Jack take a piece of the gold along with the other pirates?

Answer: Because they threw a mutiny and marooned Jack on an island so he was not there to take a piece of gold.

bessytheevilcow

Question: I am wondering if anyone could tell me about the wigs always worn in these sort of movies? Like the big curly one the governor wears and the military men. Does anyone know how this came about? In courtrooms today they are still worn. Also the governor's wig is brown to begin with, then after the 8 years has passed, he now wears a grey wig, is there any reason for this?

Craig Bryant

Chosen answer: In the 18th and early 19th century, it became fashionable for men to wear wigs. This was for the practical purpose of hiding their own poor hair (due to poor diet and lifestyle) but it also became a symbol of status. Namely, the better quality of wig you wore, the higher your social standing. The brown to grey change is because wigs changed colour to match the natural greying of the real hair.

Sarah Strachan

Question: Jack Sparrow comes to Port Royal to commandeer a ship, but gets stopped by two marines, who tell him the dock is off limits to civilians. Why is the dock off limits to civilians?

Answer: Because it's a navy dock, not a public one and there are naval ships moored there.

raywest

In much the same way as modern naval docks are off limits to civilians.

Ssiscool

Jack would have been able to get one the of ships if he had permission.

Ok. But my question is are naval docks off limits to keep civilians from stealing or sabotaging their ships?

It will be off limits for many reasons. Including, but not limited to, preventing sabotage, preventing stealing, security of naval secrets and general security.

Ssiscool

One of those civilians could be a pirate you know.

lionhead

Answer: Actually, Jack had hoped the Black Pearl and his crew would be waiting for him outside the cave. When he saw it was gone, there really was no way off the Isla de Muerta except to go with Will and Elizabeth back to the Dauntless.

Chosen answer: At that point he already had hope that his crew and others would rescue him and he would be able to escape from custody. Which he did.

lionhead

Question: Why does Elizabeth take the medallion with her after Will rescues her? Surely she must have known the pirates would come after her if she took it.

Answer: They're going to come after her anyway - she's really the only lead they have to finding Bootstrap Bill's real child (at least until Jack appears on the scene, but she doesn't know that). If she has the medallion, then she has leverage - the pirates need it, so it could potentially be used as a bargaining chip. If she leaves it behind, she loses that potential advantage.

Tailkinker

Question: Am I just imagining or does Jack exclaim 'Ouch' when he and Elizabeth are singing and dancing around the fire while they are marooned on the island?

Answer: Yes, he does. He probably stepped on some sea-shells.

Nelleke Rietvink

Question: How long has Jack Sparrow been under the curse? That's the one thing I don't understand.

Answer: For about two minutes. In the last showdown in the cave he sneaks a coin out of the chest when nobody is looking, because he knows he will have to fight Barbossa, and the only way he can stand a chance is to be as invulnerable as him. It is therefore necessary for Jack to be cursed and an undead while the fight is going on.

Twotall

Question: I have read all the trivia for this movie and everyone is talking about "that's from the Disney ride" can someone please explain this to me? I don't understand at all.

Answer: There is a Disney ride in FL, and I believe CA as well, that is called Pirates of the Caribbean. There are some scenes from the movie that are modelled after parts of the ride.

bessytheevilcow

Question: Where in the film does Jack give the blood sacrifice that the cursed pirates have to give?

Answer: Immediately after we see Will running for the chest, Jack slashes his sword across the palm of the hand that's holding the 'coin', then throws the blood-smeared 'coin' up to Will.

Tailkinker

Answer: Jack the monkey is a Cabochon monkey, and is played by a female named Tara and a male named Levy.

Super Grover

Question: What's with the East Indian Trading Company? Norrington and Elizabeth mention it. I'm also figuring that the scars and the "P" brand Jack showed Elizabeth have something to do with it?

Answer: Basically, they were "THE" trading company in the 17th century. Most of the shipping of the world was either through them or one of their other holdings. For more information about the East Indian Trading Company, try this link: http://india_resource.tripod.com/eastindia.html. The story behind the "P" scar is that if a pirate was caught by a the EITC, they would put a "P" brand on their forehead, to let everyone know that they person was a pirate.

Bruce Minnick

Question: What was so bad about the bearing's to the Isla De Morta that there was a mutiny back when Jack was captain of the Black Pearl?

Answer: The island was almost impossible to get to and had a large treasure. Jack, as captain would have taken a greater share of the profits, so once the rest of the pirates knew the co-ordinates, they didn't need Jack anymore and got rid of him to increase their share. They were being greedy but hey - PIRATES!

roboc

Question: Jack mentions twice that eunochs have wonderful singing voices. Why would a eunoch have a wonderful singing voice? And is calling someone a eunoch a really bad insult of something? And how can all the French be eunochs?

Answer: Primarily in the Middle Ages, but both before and after as well, preadolescent boys had their testicles cut off to preserve their voices by preventing the sexual changes of puberty. They then maintained the high voices of their youth through adulthood, though they never physically matured. So to call someone a eunoch is to say they are a person with no balls, and all the connotation thereof. Hence the insult to the French.

Phoenix

Question: Can someone please tell me the significance of all the apples? They appear all through the movie and I don't get what they are supposed to mean. Please help answer this because it's driving me nuts.

Answer: Barbarossa loves apples, but can't taste them because of the curse. He carries an apple around most of the time to remind him of humanity and takes one to the cave so that, as soon as he is released form the curse, he can eat it.

Shay

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl mistake picture Video

Visible crew/equipment: Just as Jack says, "On deck, you scabrous dogs," to the very left edge of the screen over Jack's shoulder is a grip crew member with a tan cowboy hat, white short sleeve tee shirt and sunglasses, just standing there looking out to sea. (02:12:35)

Super Grover

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Trivia: Johnny Depp uses the phrase "Interesting..." as his trademark in many of the movies he stars in, including Sleepy Hollow. He uses it in PotC when Koehler's skeletal hand tries to grab him in prison.

More trivia for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

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