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Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
R1 - America - Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (12th December 2006). |
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The Film
 After the phenomenal success of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" (2003) it was a no brainer that Disney would move forward with sequels. The film became one of the top grossing Disney movies and would reignite interest in Pirates, a genre of movie that hadn't fared to well over the last 20 years with flops such as "Cutthorat Island" (1995) among the Pirate themed films that simply didn't connect with audiences. But "Pirates of the Caribbean" has many things that none of the previous Pirate films had, Johnny Depp a big reason why these films are so damn enjoyable, they also harbor a sense of adventure and delivers action in ways that only a Jerry Bruckheimer film could, fast, over the top and exciting. And the result was met with huge box office, in fact the film made over $1 billion worldwide and currently hold 22 separate box office records, despite the mixed critical attention the film received during it's theatrical run. "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" proved the popularity of Pirate movies, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" solidified that. Leading up to it's release, director Gore Verbinski would have a monumental task ahead of himself, to shoot two sequels back-to-back in 200 days (The third instalment "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" will be released in May 2007). Faced with incomplete scripts, remote locations, weather problems (a category 5 tropical storm ravaged their set, plus numerous shooting days were cut short or cancelled due to bad weather), construction problems (their large control tank in the Bahamas was delayed) compounded with the pressure of a big-budget movie and having to shoot it all in 200 days one would expect the production to collapse. But Verbinski fought on and the result is still a mixed bag. This second film in the trilogy sees Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) hunted by Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) whom he owes a debt to, instead of paying that debt, which means a lifetime of servitude on Jones' vessel 'The Flying Dutchman' he sends Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) to pay that debt, unknown to him of course...in a drastic turn of events Will is in fact in need to Jack's compass so he can free Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) who has been imprisoned for aiding a pirate by the evil Lord Beckett (Tom Hollander), along the way we learn than the Jack's compass can lead to Davy Jones' heart which has been buried in a chest and is the prize that everyone seems to be after. Several plot contrivances later and the filmmakers have basically found a way to cram just about everyone from the previous film into this one and as a result the film is longer and considerably bloated. Personally I didn't think too much of the plot, in fact all that is wrong with the film is related to its plot, but it does just about everything else so freaking right that it's hard to completely discount the film as just another blow-hard summer movie cash-in. Story aside the film has some incredibly fun moments that remind us why summer movies should be enjoyable, the action is stepped up a notch here with some exciting sword play primarily atop of a giant spinning water wheel, a humorous sequence involving the crew escaping a cannibal island, plus the seafaring action is just as good if not better than its predecessor. The high point being Davy Jones and his crew of cursed half men half sea creatures. The character of Jones is a marvel to look at, one would think that the incredibly realistic creature was brought to life using make-up effects (which I originally thought upon seeing the film theatrically) when in fact it's entirely computer generated. ILM have done an amazing job with this character managing to capture subtle nuances in Nighy's performance, they are sure to snatch an Oscar come awards season for this beautiful work. How can one talk about this film without bringing Depp into the picture, just as before he is the center piece of this action extravaganza. Bringing his flair and talent into one of the most flamboyant and truly remarkable characters of all time. Captain Jack Sparrow returns with his usual brand of piracy peppering each scene with droplets of gold, the element of fun and freedom is captured perfectly by Depp, the other actors are merely window dressing compared to Depp. Many aspects of this film remain the same for consistency, the photography is appropriately lush and painted with a broad canvas and Hans Zimmer's score is much the same as before. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" may have a contrived plot and is considered big-budget bloated action that does run a little too long for some (150+ minutes) but it's the most fun I've had watching a movie in some time, it managed to satisfy almost all of my requirements for a blockbuster film: It had interesting and involving characters, it had amazing action, it was fun and adventurous and it had great special effects. If you loved the first film then I'm sure you've already seen this one and have already made up your mind, if you haven't given either the first film or this one, then it should make for a pleasurable time in front of the tube.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.35:1, this anamorphic widescreen image is a solid effort that trumps the previous film in terms of overall quality. Although the previous film was a fine transfer in its own right it did have some minor problems such as edge-enhancement (R1 release), there's none of that here, the image is nice and sharp with fine detail exhibited in the frame, colors are beautifully rendered and appear natural especially skin tones. The black levels are strikingly bold and deep with shadow detail remaining consistently good throughout the transfer. I could not spot any dirt or damage or any compression related flaws, this is a stunning image to look at from start to finish as far as standard DVD goes. If it looks this good on standard DVD I can't wait to see how it looks on Blu-ray.
Audio
Three audio tracks are included on this release all of which are in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, we get one in English, one in French and one in Spanish. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its English soundtrack, and this Dolby Digital track is something special indeed. Although I am deeply disappointed that this film didn't get a DTS track (The first installment did), however once I gave this film a spin I quickly forgot about that minor annoyance as this Dolby Digital track is among the best of 2006. The dialogue is as clear as the Caribbean water, the surround effects by way of ambient noise and environmental surrounds are natural and display excellent separation throughout the 5.1 channels, rain and wind are among the prominent featured sounds that swill around the space adding a depth that far exceeds many Dolby Digital tracks you'll hear. The action scenes are were this track truly shines, from the clanging of the swords to the explosion of canons and the destruction of ships, every aspects of these scenes are mixed, rendered and presented aggressively creating an immersivness unmatched by most. Simply put this track is pure audio candy. Optional subtitles are also inlcuded in English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish
Extras
Buena Vista Home Entertainment has released this film with no less than 5 hours of goodies for fans, this 2-disc spread includes an audio commentary, some bloopers, two documentaries, several featurettes and a collection of bonus trailers, below is a closer look at these supplements broken down per disc. DISC ONE: The first extra on this disc is a feature-length audio commentary by screenwriters Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot. I must admit that I was rather surprised that for this installment there were no director or cast commentaries, that would have been nice, but the writers takes us through the film with expert precision commenting on the writing process, the pressures and also giving us some clues as to what we can expect in the third and final installment of this mega-sized franchise. Although they provide a lot of information they are also self-gratifying, which can be tiresome to listen to, thankfully they don't do that for the entire track. While not what I was expecting I was happy to sit through 150 minutes of these guys chatter along about the film as it certainly wasn't boring at any stage, it's worth a listen to but only if you're a complete die hard fan of the film and if you can muster sitting through the 150 minutes again. Next up are a series of "Bloopers Of The Caribbean" a reel that runs for 3 minutes 50 seconds and includes the usual stuff, actors flubbing lines, missing cues and breaking out into laughter on set as well as some improv that doesn't quite work, there's some funny stuff here but it gets boring after a while, luckily for us it doesn't over stay its welcome. Rounding out the extras on the first disc are a collection of bonus trailers which include: - "Disney Movie Awards" which runs for 43 seconds. - "Pater Pan: 2 Disc Platinum Edition" which runs for 48 seconds. - "The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe: 4 Disc Extended Edition" which runs for 32 seconds. - "Meet The Robinsons" which runs fro 55 seconds. - "Ratatouille" which runs for 1 minute 48 seconds. - "Disney Blu-Ray Disc" which runs for 52 seconds. - "Invincible" which runs for 2 minutes 32 seconds. - "The Guardian" which runs for 2 minutes 29 seconds. - "Disney Parks" which runs for 32 seconds. The first six previews listed above are start-up trailers and can be skipped. DISC TWO: The first thing you'll find on this disc is "Charting The Return" documentary which runs for 24 minutes 40 seconds and takes a look at the journey from the end of the first film to getting the sequel underway and the short amount of time that Disney gave the filmmakers in order to do it. This charts the period from October 2004 to February 2005 when filming began, in between there were constant script issues with getting finished, location scouting, set building and storyboarding key sequences, dealing with budget issues (in fact the film came close to shutting down because of the budget), it's a definitive look at the preparation leading up to the first day of shooting and a fine way to kick off the supplements on the second disc. Next up is a documentary entitled "According To Plan" which runs for 62 minutes 59 seconds, this is a wonderful inside look at the making of the film and the challenges faced by such a massive production that has to move to so many locations. We get a look behind-the-scenes as well as at how the production managed to shoot two Pirate sequels back-to-back in 200 days, from the cast coming back together to shooting on remote location and the logistical issues facing them, battling with the weather and many other surprises that face the crew. Following that is "Captain Jack: From Head To Toe" a series of featurettes that in total run for 27 minutes 34 seconds, from a menu featuring an image of Captain Jack you can highlight various aspects of his costume to learn more about those aspects of the character, you can select these sections individually or choose to view with a 'play all' function. Throughout these short clips we learn about the various aspects of Jack's wardrobe from what fabrics they are made of to where they were found and procured for the film as well as provide some history surrounding them, it covers his hat, pirate coat, shirt, boots, sword, scarf and wig, eye make-up, his dingles (the trinkets in his hair), the teeth, the beard, the trophy lace, the rings, rum bottles, sash, keys, pistol, belt, compass, the cannibal make-up, the toe necklace and the cannibal septer. Also featured on the disc are 3 featurettes under the title "Mastering The Blade", and they cover the training each actor had to undergo for the film's sword fights, these clips included are for: - Orlando Bloom which runs for 5 minutes 37 seconds, which takes a look at the training and choreography of the fight scenes. - Keira Knightley which runs for 5 minutes 7 seconds, which takes a look at the bar fight and the beach fight she has with Pintel and Ragetti. - Jack Daveport which runs for 5 minutes 17 seconds, which takes a look at the preparation he undertook for the three way fight with him, Jack Sparrow and Will Turner. Next up is "Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy Of A Legend" a featurette which runs for 12 minutes 33 seconds, this clip shows us the complexity and challenges in bringing the character of Davy Jones to life, from what the character actor Bill Nighy brought to the role and how the ILM crew designed and created the CGI character based around the performance given by Nighy on set. "Creating The Kraken" is a featurette which runs for 9 minutes 58 seconds, this clip takes a closer look at the filming of these various sequences plus a look at how the creature was created by the artisans at ILM. "Dead Man Tell New Tales: Re-Imagineering The Attraction" is a featurette that runs for 13 minutes 1 second and features a look at how the Disney Imagineers updated the classic ride at Disneyland incorporating the new characters as seen in the films. We also get a look at the making of the animatronic characters among other things in this glorified commercial for the theme park attraction. One of the most interesting feature is "Fly On The Set: The Bone Cage" a featurette which sadly runs for a brief 3 minutes 48 seconds. We get to see the crew at work shooting a scene were the cast are suspended in a bone cage and flung across a blue screen out door stage. I love seeing film crew at work all co-ordinating to get a shot in the can, it's a shame that this clip is so short. It would have been nice to have included a few more fly on the set style videos for other scenes. Next up is the "Jerry Bruckheimer: A Producer's Photo Gallery" featurette 4 minutes 42 seconds and features the producer talking about his love of photography and how he shoots pictures on every set he's on. We get to see some of his photos as he talks about how great the cast and crew all are. Finally the disc also includes "Pirates On Main Street: The Dead Man's Chest Premiere" featurette which runs for 3 minutes 59 seconds and takes us behind the barriers with the cast and crew as they walk the red carpet at Disneyland.
Packaging
This DVD is packaged in an amaray case that is housed in a cardboard slip-case.
Overall
Although I was impressed with the collection of supplements it just makes it shy of getting an A+, mainly because some of the featurettes were verging on being commercials, I was also disappointed that no deleted scenes were included and the lack of audio commentaries (The first film's DVD release had 3) add the omission of a DTS track also knocks the overall rating back a few notches. Now taking all that into account, it's still a very good release and worth its price tag, even though for a film that made over $1 Billion worldwide I expected a lavish 3-disc affair...
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