The Good

Buena Vista has really given this Blu-ray disc the treatment.

The Bad

Why didn’t Gore Verbinski do a commentary track?

One might wonder how the creators of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl could even think about topping themselves, but they actually do with Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. In this tale. Will (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) are in the midst of getting married, when they’re plans are interrupted by another one of Jack Sparrow’s (Johnny Depp) schemes. Apparently, Sparrow owes a “blood debt” to the one and only Davy Jones (Bill Nighy). Sailing around in his boat, the Flying Dutchman, he pursues Jack at every turn. Trying to think of every way out of this dilemma, Jack realizes that if he doesn’t figure something out he will be put into the Davy Jones’ locker for eternity. Mix in some amazing sword fights, CGI effects, astounding stunts and one gets a sequel that seems to follow Empire Strikes Back in besting the original film from which it spawned.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

The most amazing part of Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is just how much Director Gore Verbinski pushed his actors. In every way this movie is bigger than the first one, but it never becomes comical to the point of being absurd.

Features

Disc 1

Screenwriters Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio talk about the movie on this track. They do a good job discussing their creation but for my tastes things get a little too cerebral at times. These guys discuss following up Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, what they tried to bring to the story, and how they tried to stay true to the first film while also staying true to the characters in the story. What amazes me is how these guys put all this stuff together. This film seems like a monolithic undertaking and to put this story on paper is just incredible to me. I wish they would cut in a track with the effects people because I would have really enjoyed hearing how Davey Jones was brought to life on screen in their own words.

Liar’s Dice Game

I don’t usually review games on these DVDs but they have put together such an elaborate one, I figured I would talk about it a little bit. Basically, you role the dice with some of the other Pirates on the ship but the best part is its like you’re in the movie. On top of that, the Pirates talk to you and they comment on your moves in funny ways. The images on the screen are so clear they look like they’re in 3D.

Disc 2

Charting the Return

A documentary charting the making of Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, this is a nice companion piece because it shows us the amount of work that went into putting this movie together. We get to virtually pick the brains of the actors, the Director and other key members of the production team. I think its great getting to look behind the scenes at how this film came together. I also like that we are shown some of the effects before they were actually turned into living breathing things on the big screen. If you like the movie this is a must watch.

According To Plan: The Harrowing and True Story of Dead Man’s Chest

Featurettes

Since a lot of the featurettes covered somewhat similar ground, I decided that I would group them all together here for the purposes of this review. The similar featurettes in this set are:

  • Captain Jack: From Head to Toe

  • Mastering the Blade: Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and Jack Davenport

  • Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy of a Legend

  • Creating the Kraken

  • Pirates on Location

  • Inside Dead Man’s Chest

The stand outs for me were the Captain Jack, Creating the Kraken and Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy of a Legend featurettes. It was cool getting to hear Johnny Depp talk about the character, and something tells me that he is going to be even more interesting in the third installment, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. As for Creating the Kraken, if this featurette doesn’t pique your interest, your filmic senses are deadened or you probably shouldn’t be watching this film anyway. We get the see how the beast was created, how it was conceptualized, and eventually how it went from being something separate in the computer, to merging with the final film. The same goes for Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy of a Legend. I don’t recall the last time I was this taken by a “monster” on the screen, but I could look at this character for hours. When you realize that 80% of that character is an effect, it really speaks volumes about what the CGI team was able to pull off.

Fly on the Set: The Bone Cage

Jerry Bruckheimer: A Producer’s Photo Diary and Stills from the Set

Okay, Jerry Bruckheimer may or may not have taken these pictures but for the sake of this DVD, I am going to say that he did. While I wasn’t blown away, and I don’t think he should quit his day job, you have to admit that he is going to get a certain amount of access that other people won’t. That said, you’re not going to get many revealing pictures but what he has given you is more than adequate.

Dead Men Tell No Tales: Re-Imagineering the Attraction

Pirates on Main Street: The Dead Man’s Chest Premiere

Nothing too special about the footage here but having reviewed so many old movies (where they show us these kinds of things in their black and white Movietone News Segments), I guess having this segment on here is karmically appropriate. This is a huge, Hollywood film so it makes sense that this premiere event would garner this kind of coverage. While the actors, producers and other creative types might not say anything that special, I think this featurette should satisfy those that can’t get enough of these celebrities.

Video

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 - 1080p HD Resolution. I thought this movie looked great when I saw it in the theater. In fact my friend and I walked out of the screening and we both agreed that we hadn’t seen CGI done in such an amazing way ever. Well, this Blu-ray disc is pretty damn awesome. The picture looks like they have gone through it frame by frame. There were times when I thought a few of the scenes outside were a little bit dark, but overall this movie seems to have gotten the treatment from Buena Vista. It makes sense too as Disney has a great jewel in their crown with this release, but I was blown away by how much this experience in my living room replicated what I saw in the theater.

One thing that got me awestruck was the fact that the menus were so interactive compared to the little I expereinced on DVD. It’s amazing where the technology is going with all this stuff, and I honestly can’t wait to see Blu-rays full potential on display down the line. Get ready to truly step right into a total user interactive experience that’ll make you feel like you’re really part of the movie.

Audio

English: Dolby Digital 5.1. English: PCM 5.1. They seem to have gone through the sound design note by note. This release sounds like they have bumped everything up to take the viewer through the journey with the main characters. When the music swells it is incredible how much it seemed to fill up the room. Even the scenes where the characters are just delivering dialogue, there is very little difference in the audio levels. When I was watching this movie in the theater, so much was going on that I didn’t really pay attention to the soundtrack. On Blu-ray disc, I couldn’t help but notice it.

Package

Looking almost identical to the front cover of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, we get Depp, Bloom, and Knightly in that order. Below them are shots of Davy Jones and ships at sea. The back features some shots from the film (showing off the CGI creations), a description of what Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is about, a Special Features listing, a cast list and system specs.

Final Word

I was very surprised with how much I enjoyed this film. I really got swept up in the characters but most of all, I haven’t been that amazed by effects in a movie since I was a kid. What Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and the rest of the cast bring to this movie is a willingness to completely surrender themselves to the story. They aren’t afraid to let themselves play second fiddle to the events unfolding on screen. Also, there is just enough mythology, mixed in with the regular aspects of the story that everything stayed easy to follow. My biggest problem with these summer blockbusters is that so many people put their hands on them, that by the time they come out all they seem to resemble is a bunch of ideas that people were trying to service. Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is special precisely because it doesn’t feel that way at all. More to the point, it feels like an epic movie that is doing its best to stay true to its genre.

Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is a must own for your Blu-ray collection.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was released July 6, 2006.