Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6362 in VHS
• Released on: 1996-07-16
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 119 minutes

Customer Reviews

Jean Lafitte, Prince of Pirates
A swashbuckler with pirates, smugglers and patriots, this is marvelous entertainment, with two actors who are riveting to watch, and some history, which though embellished in some places and condensed in others, is in essence correct.
Jean Lafitte was flamboyant and a favorite of the ladies, and with his horde of sea robbers had his headquarters on an island in Barataria Bay, and controlled the waterways known as the bayou. As Lord Byron wrote of Lafitte,
"He left a Corsair's name to other times-
Linked with one virtue and a thousand crimes".

Yul Brynner is terrific as Lafitte, with swagger and strut, and even singing a beautiful Creole ballad, which Lafitte was known to do. The Costume Design in this film received an Oscar nomination, and should have won for the way they managed to fit Brynner's numerous outfits.
In the smaller but pivotal part of Andrew Jackson, Charlton Heston is downright magnificent and looks fabulous. With thick white hair, his resemblance to General Jackson is a marvel. Both Brynner and Heston, who two years earlier had starred in C.B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments", have command and presence that fills the screen and is a joy to watch.

Others in the cast are Charles Boyer, charming and humorous as Brynner's friend and fellow pirate, Inger Stevens as Brynner's love interest and the daughter of Governor Clairborne (E.G. Marshall), and Claire Bloom as tough girl Bonnie Brown. The score by Elmer Bernstein is wonderful, and cinematography by Loyal Griggs very good, especially the scene of the British advancing, with bagpipes and drums, in the Battle of New Orleans, which took place in the Winter of 1814-15. The Red Coats falling to Jackson's troops was accurate, as the British lost an astounding 2,600 to the loss of only 13 of Jackson's men.
A remake of Cecil B. DeMIlle's 1938 film, this was supervised by him, and directed by actor Anthony Quinn. DeMille also gives us a small history lesson at the start of the film, with maps to demonstrate where the action takes place.
Total running time is 121 minutes.

Please let ' The Buccaneer' set sail on DVD
This movie is one of my favorite pirate movies. Based on true and fictional accounts of Jean Laffite the pirate, this movie brings to life one of the key battles of the War of 1812...the Battle of New Orleans. Yul Brynner is terrific in the role of Jean Laffite, and Charton Heston is wonderful in the role of Andrew Jackson. If you like pirate movies give The Buccaneer a try, I recemend it. Please bring this timeless classic to DVD with the movie trailer.

The Buccaneer should have won Oscars
The Buccaneer is one of my all-time-favorite pirate flims. This movie should have won a few Oscars. It was, however, nominated for Best Costume Design and it should have won that award, because the costumes were exactly accurate to the time era of 1812. It should have been nominated for Best Cinemaography, Best Art Direction, Best Musical Score by Elmer Bernstien, Best Interior Design, and for Best Set Decarations. Even though this movie didn't get any awards, it's still a great flim. If you love pirate movies and if you want a piece of American history, give The Buccaneer a try.