Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Question: When Norrington and his crew successfully win back their ship from the pirates when the curse is lifted, the soldiers begin to chant something. What are they chanting and what does it mean?

Answer: They're shouting "huzzah", which was a traditional sailor's cheer. The modern-day cheers "hurrah" and "hooray" derived from this word.

Tailkinker

Question: In the beginning of the movie when Elizabeth falls in the water with the medallion, it radiates some sort of enery...hence, this is how the pirates know the medallion is there. Right before the pirates Pintel and Ragetti find Elizabeth in the closet they say that "the gold calls to them". So my question is, how come they didn't find it 8 years ago when Will had it on his neck on the boat in the beginning of the movie...if the gold "calls" them? Wouldn't they know that the gold was now on the other boat? And why did the energy come out only when it hit the water?

Answer: They probably weren't looking for it until after it was safely locked in a secret drawer and inactive. Once in the water, the power of the gold was reactivated. It was about 10 years between the time Elizabeth found Will and the pirates refer to being cursed for 10 years and it taking them a while to figure out that being cursed wasn't all that great.

Nikki

Question: I don't understand the term "Davey Jones' Locker", who exactly was Davey Jones?

Answer: The phrase "Davy Jones' Locker" refers to the bottom of the sea, the resting place of drowned seamen. Origins of the phrase are deeply buried and there are many possible sources, ranging from "Jones" being a corruption of the Biblical name Jonah, who was swallowed by a whale, to a reference to a 16th-century pub owner named David Jones who had an unsavory practice of drugging unwary sailors and storing them in a locker till they could be pressganged aboard a ship. Still another reference suggests that David Jones was a fearsome pirate who frequently forced his enemies to walk the plank, thus having them end up at the bottom of the sea. The first clear usage of the phrase comes from Tobias Smollett, who wrote in "The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle" in 1751 that "...this same Davy Jones, according to the mythology of sailors, is the fiend that presides over all the evil spirits of the deep...". In any case, the real Davy Jones (if there was one) is unknown. Most of these tales are believed to be folklore but the phrase has still passed into the pirate lexicon.

Phil C.

Question: In the scene where Jack and Elizabeth are marooned on the island, Jack is walking to a higher part of the island. He then imitates Elizabeth by saying something like "'It must have been terrible for you, Jack. Must have been terrible.' Well, it bloody is now." He then sees Norrington's ship approach the island and says, "There'll be no living with her after this." What does he mean when he says that?

Answer: That she was absolutely correct when she presumed that lighting a 1,000-foot signal fire with the remaining rum would bring the ship to them. And, as such, the knowledge that she was right would go to her head.

Rooster of Doom

Question: What exactly goes on in Singapore?

Answer: Singapore is a port city, with all the mysteries of the orient, and the not so mysterious things also ascoiated with port cities...brothels, pubs, street walkers, you name it, they have it. (Or at least in the era this film was set).

MAC

Question: From the end subplot, it seems that while the primary motivation for Jack Sparrow was the capture of Black Pearl, he did have a favourable view of Will (his father has tacitly supported Jack) and Elizabeth. Also, it seems that his aim was also to take revenge from Barbossa. In light of the above fact, I don't understand what was his plan when he first went to Barbossa and the pirates, with Will (when he was made unconscious by Will). And when he tries bargaining with Barbossa about leaving him on an island, while taking the Black Pearl with him. Did he really plan to turn Will in, at those points? If not, and if he is a good guy in support of Will, then what was his plan all along?

manubhatt3@gmail.com

Chosen answer: His initial plan was to use Will as a bargaining chip in exchange for the Pearl since Will could lift the curse of the pirates. He needed that curse lifted as he wanted to kill Barbossa. That failed when Will found out and knocked him unconscious and he was captured. Having lost his bargaining chip he is just out to stay alive again and try a different way of getting the pearl and his revenge. Yes he really did plan to turn Will in, Jack is not a good person.

lionhead

Question: The scene where Will and Elizabeth are sitting together tending to Elizabeth's cut (after the scene where Will has rescued Elizabeth from Barbossa and the pirates in relation to the Aztec Gold). I don't really understand what's going on with the scene where they are alone below deck, they seem to have a moment where they're about to kiss and they randomly stop and she pulls his hand to the medallion on her necklace. I know that scene's quite cute but I just don't understand it properly. Can anyone explain?

Answer: Elizabeth is a high-born lady while Will is a lowly commoner. Elizabeth is conflicted over her feelings for Will while she is technically engaged to Commodore Norrington, who is considered a far more suitable match than Will. In this time, people were expected to marry within their own social class.

raywest

Question: What music is played in the scene of Norrington's promotion ceremony, where he receives the sword from governor Swann?

Answer: It's an instrumental version of the song Rule Britannia.

Tailkinker

Question: Why was the original composer Alan Silvestri fired?

Answer: On 1/21/05 in "Battling Monsters with Alan Silvestri" an interview by Ron Goldwasser, Mr. Silvestri explains that he was hired by Gore Verbinski for the Jerry Bruckheimer film and in the end, "I think Jerry was much more comfortable working in a way that he had worked historically, with people he had worked with historically, and it seemed the best idea for us to part our ways." He further stated it was just not the right chemistry but the parting was not acrimonious. Full interview can be found at: http://www.soundtrack.net/features/article/?id=137.

OneHappyHusky

Question: Does anyone know what the music is called that is used in the blooper reel on the second disc of the DVD?

Answer: The makers did not give it a name.

Question: In the cave when Barbossa is about to kill Will and Jack stops it, Will says: "You've been planning this from the beginning" Has he? Or is this all an elaborate ruse to double cross the pirates? Are they working together both in the scheme or not?

Answer: It seems reasonably clear from the look that Jack gives Will as he says "Wait to lift the curse... until the opportune moment" that he's planning the double-cross at that point, with the aim of getting the majority of the pirates out of the cave and into a place where they'll be left at a massive disadvantage once the curse lifts. Will's not really in on the plan, but he seems to get what Jack's up to and plays along, hence the "you've been planning this from the beginning" stuff.

Tailkinker

Question: What is the music in the trailer for the film called?

Answer: It was taken from various sources, most notably the films Backdraft and Drop Zone (music by Hans Zimmer) and Danny Elfman's score for Planet of the Apes. There's also a piece of music used called "Voices of War" by X-Ray Dog.

Tailkinker

Answer: Because Jack is a pirate and Norrington hates pirates.

shortdanzr

Question: If Barbossa is Jack's first mate before he and the rest of the pirates marooned Jack, then who is Barbossa's first mate after they commit a mutiny against Jack?

Answer: It's never mentioned.

Xofer

Question: Does anybody know where I can get a script/transcript of the film?

Answer: There are several places that it's available. It's here - sfy.iv.ru/pdf/pirates_of_the_caribbean(2003).pdf - as an Acrobat file, which is the full script, containing directions and so forth. A transcript can be found here - http://www.hostultra.com/~vampfiles/piratesscript2.html - all the dialogue but much less detail on actions and so forth.

Tailkinker

Question: Does anyone have even a ballpark clue on what year this movie took place? I'm thinking mid to late 1700s.

Answer: They didn't deliberately aim at any particular year, but, according to Jerry Bruckheimer, they aimed at the time period between 1720 and 1750 (although he also says that they didn't worry too much about precise historical accuracy due to it being a fantasy). If you want to narrow it a bit further - at Norrington's promotion ceremony they're playing "Rule Britannia", which was composed in 1740. Bearing these two points in mind, you could fairly say that the film occurs at some point in the 1740's.

Tailkinker

Question: Is there a PotC sequel in the works? I assume the scene after the credits wasn't there for nothing...

Answer: The working title at present is: Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Treasures of the Lost Abyss, due out in 2005. So far the cast signed includes Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. Gore Verbinski will direct and Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio are the writers again.

Super Grover

Question: Why exactly do the pirates need Bootstrap Bill's blood to lift the curse? What is so special about his lifeblood that renders it capable of lifting a mythical curse that quite obviously predates him?

Answer: He took one coin from the treasure, thus he got cursed along with the other pirates who did. For the curse to be lifted, *all* of those who took a coin need 1) to give back their coin and 2) to give some of their own blood. Since Bootstrap's somewhere in the ocean's depths, tied to a cannon, the only way for the pirates to lift the curse is to find his coin and put it back, then find his son (which they know about and who is of the same blood as he) to make the blood sacrifice.

Sereenie

Question: How did Jack escape from the marooned island the first time? His explanation was something about rum and trade routes but I didn't understand it.

iceverything776

Chosen answer: Traders had been storing their goods on the island, hidden in the bunker. When he was first on the island he simply got a lift with them on their ship when they came to collect their goods. Now however the bunker is empty and he knows that the traders won't be back.

Tallicame

Chosen answer: Obviously not, as after the credits we see Jack (the monkey) swim up to the chest, grab a gold piece and turn back into an undead monkey.

Grumpy Scot

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

More mistakes in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Barbossa: You best start believing in ghost stories, Miss Turner. You're in one!

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

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