lionhead

Question: Why did the design of the coin change throughout the movie? In the beginning, when Elizabeth holds up the coin, there is a different design on the back than when Barbossa drops it into the chest with her blood, at the end. Please explain?

Answer: The most likely answer is, it is because the coins are movie props that probably had slight variations in the designs. There may have been multiple prop makers producing the coins for the movie, resulting in a different-looking product. It would be unrealistic that the same exact coin would always be used as the one belonging to Will Turner. This should be submitted as a movie inconsistency.

raywest

Actually that would just be a continuity.

lionhead

Question: Why did Jack cut himself before throwing the coin to Will? I thought the curse only needed Will's blood?

Answer: The curse needs the blood of everybody who took a coin from the chest. All the other pirates have already contributed so, as the movie opens, the only blood needed is Will's, substituting for his father. During the finale of the movie, Jack takes a coin from the chest, adding himself to the curse, so his blood is now required as well as Will's.

Tailkinker

But I didn't see any blood on the coins, and none of the pirates cut themselves, even before Will became part of the mix.

Yes, the other pirates did cut themselves before Will came into it, off-screen. The lack of blood on the coins can simply be explained as most of it dripping to the bottom of the chest, it being washed away by storms blown into the cave, or by the fact that they didn't drop that much blood on it in the first place.

When they had Elizabeth they believed she was Bill Turner's daughter, but they all thought the curse had failed, none of them had cut themselves so it makes zero sense.

They had been collecting back the coins for years. During that time they repaid their own blood. All they needed was the last coin and the blood of Bill Turner to break the spell.

lionhead

Answer: Elizabeth lied because she knows that being the governor's daughter makes her a valuable hostage who would either be ransomed or used for leverage. A commoner girl is far less useful.

raywest

What would the pirates ransom Elizabeth for? Gold silver and jewels?

Possibly for gold but she was more valuable for obtaining her father's cooperation to give them whatever they wanted (i.e. a safe escape, finding the coin, etc.) in exchange for not harming her.

raywest

"Safe escape" they can't die. "Finding the coin" the coin was already on board their ship.

She doesn't know that.

lionhead

Answer: Because of her father. She knows 'Turner' is a pirate's surname. If she gave the name Swann they would associate her with her father and put the family at risk.

Ssiscool

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

Question: After Elizabeth is brought to the Pearl, she threatens to drop the medallion overboard. Barbossa feigns disinterest but when Elizabeth pretends to drop it, the pirates gasp in panic. Why? So she drops it, big deal. They can't drown, the gold "calls to them" so what does it matter if she were to drop it?

Jacordx

Chosen answer: Because they'd have to find it. The gold may "call to them", but it obviously doesn't function as a millimetre perfect homing beacon or they'd never have missed the medallion years earlier when they attacked the ship carrying the young Will. Elizabeth drops it into the sea and they're going to have to spend what could be months trying to locate it - currents could take it well away from the dropping point. They've found the final missing piece; they're potentially just hours away from finally being cured. The last thing they want is to see it thrown into the sea.

Tailkinker

Well, if the crew was anxious to get the medallion then why did they act like they weren't interested in it before Elizabeth pretended to drop it?

Reverse psychology.

Ssiscool

What do you mean by reverse psychology?

By showing they are not interested in the medallion they are hoping Elizabeth will just drop it on the floor or chuck it to them as it's of no real value. However when she releases a bit of chain and the medallion drops, and the pirates lurch forward revealing that they really want the medallion and as such Elizabeth now has the upper hand in negotiations.

Ssiscool

I'm guessing Elizabeth wasn't fooled when the pirates showed disinterest in the medallion.

That's not called reverse psychology, which is used to encourage someone to change his or her mind. Doesn't work with a threat. They are feigning indifference to hide the importance of the object.

lionhead

Plot hole: In the shot where two of the pirates find Jack Sparrow in the prison, you see the moon shine out over Port Royal and the pirate's hand around Jack's neck is skeletal. While this is happening we know that Elizabeth is being led onto the Black Pearl by two pirates. If the pirate in the prison turns skeletal, why don't the pirates with Elizabeth turn skeletal? It's clear that they don't as Elizabeth only discovers the curse later on aboard the Black Pearl.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: This can be explained that on the route from Elizabeth's house to the ship there is a lot of fog, smoke from fires and gunpowder explosions, so the moon doesn't get through. The moon only get through once they are underway again and the fog is cleared. The prison is much further and higher than the town and so the moon does get through (only sometimes) there.

lionhead

You're very much mistaken. In later scene pirates turn skeletal when marching underwater, at the bottom of the ocean. Moon is easily able to get through water and this smoke isn't thick enough to block the moon.

How does water compare to fog? Of course the moonlight comes through the water, its transparent. Fog isn't transparent. You can go technical and question how much the moonlight is reflected away before the effect wears off, but obviously the effect wears off when there is no direct moonlight hitting them, as is the case with fog and smoke.

lionhead

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