Product Description

Charming rogue pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is back for a grand swashbuckling nonstop joyride filled with devilish pirate humor monstrous sea creatures and breathtaking black magic. Now Jack's got a blood debt to pay -- he owes his soul to the legendary Davy Jones ghostly Ruler of the Ocean Depths . . .but ever-crafty Jack isn't about to go down without a fight. Along the way dashing Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and the beautiful Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) get caught up in the thrilling whirlpool of misadventures stirred up in Jack's quest to avoid eternal damnation by seizing the fabled Dead Man's Chest!Features:Documentaries ("Charting The Return" -- Pre-production Documentary; "According To Plan: The Harrowing And True Story Of DEAD MAN'S CHEST; Mastering The Blade: Orlando Bloom Keira Knightley Jack Davenport; Creating The Kraken)Other (Pirates On Main Street: THE DEAD MAN'S CHEST Premiere; Captain Jack: From Head To Toe; Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy Of A Legend; Dead Men Tell New Tales: Re-Imagineering The Attraction; Fly On The Set: The Bone Cage)Photo gallery (Jerry Bruckheimer: A Producer's Photo Diary)Outtakes (Bloopers Of The Caribbean)Audio commentary (with Writers Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio)System Requirements:Run Time: 150 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG-13 UPC: 786936720983 Manufacturer No: 05311400

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1855 in DVD
• Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
• Released on: 2006-12-05
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Widescreen
• Original language: English, French, Spanish
• Subtitled in: French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .35 pounds
• Running time: 150 minutes

Amazon.com
Take the first Pirates of the Caribbean film, add a dash of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and a lot more rum. Shake well and you'll have something resembling Dead Man's Chest, a bombastic sequel that's enjoyable as long as you don't think too hard about it. The film opens with the interrupted wedding of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), both of whom are arrested for aiding in the escape of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) in the first film. Their freedom can only be obtained by getting Captain Jack's compass, which is linked to a key that's linked to a chest belonging to Davy Jones, an undead pirate with a tentacle face and in possession of a lot of people's souls. If you're already confused, don't worry--plot is definitely not the strong suit of the franchise, as the film excels during its stunt pieces, which are impressively extravagant (in particular a three-way swordfight atop a mill wheel). It may help to know that Dead Man's Chest was filmed simultaneously with some of Pirates 3, so don't expect a complete resolution (think more The Empire Strikes Back) or the movie will feel a lot longer than it really is.

Bloom shows a tad bit more brawn this time around, but he's still every bit as pretty as the tomboyish Knightley. (Seriously, sometimes you think they could swap roles.) Bill Nighy (Love, Actually) weighs in as Davy Jones and Stellan Skarsgård appears as Will's undead father. But the film still belongs wholly to Depp, who in a reprise of his Oscar-nominated role gets all the belly laughs with a single widened eyeliner-ed gaze. He still runs like a cartoon hen and slurs like Keith Richards--and he's still one of the most fascinating movie characters in recent history. --Ellen A. Kim

On the DVD
This two-disc collector's edition of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is packed with over five hours of special features that delve into everything from creating the mythology-inspired Davy Jones and Kraken figures, to working and planning without a completed script, the incredible CGI techniques used in the film, the intense sword training sessions and stunt work, and the unpredictability of filming on location in the Caribbean. The audio commentary by writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio is an interesting and insightful look into the finished film, but perhaps even more revealing is the 25-minute "Charting the Return" preproduction diary in which everyone from producer Jerry Bruckheimer to associate director Peter Kohn and writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio give a sense of the enormity of the project of concurrently writing and filming two sequels to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The overwhelming logistics of planning and casting without a finished script, scouting and preparing remote locations, constructing a new Black Pearl, and functional props like the rolling water wheel, and cutting costs to stay within budget are nothing less than mind-boggling. In the hourlong "According to Plan" feature, director Gore Verbinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and a host of others detail the enormity of the project, focusing on the stamina involved in a 200-day shooting schedule and the need for adaptability and flexibility in dealing with everything from behind schedule excavations to the logistics of shooting on moving water and even the natural fury of a full-blown hurricane. Shorter featurettes "Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy of a Legend" and "Creating the Kraken" focus on the mythological creatures in the film and the awesome visual effects and advances in CGI technology that made them possible. "Mastering the Blade" follows Orlando Bloom (Will Turner), Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swann), and Jack Davenport (Norrington) through some intense sword-fighting training sessions and "Fly on the Set: The Bone Cage" offers a frightening look at what it was like to shoot the bone cage scene of the movie. Other bonus features include bloopers, an interactive tour of Johnny Depp's special makeup effects and wardrobe details, a look at how the 1967 Disney Land Pirates of the Caribbean ride was recently "re-imagineered" to incorporate some of the characters and elements from the new movies, producer Jerry Bruckheimer's photo diary, and a glimpse of the glitzy June 24, 2006 red carpet premiere on Disney Land's main street. --Tami Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Over-hyped and overdone
*CONTAINTS SPOILERS!* While good action sequences and flawless special effects hit the mark, there's far too much fluff and predictability and qualify this as a great film. I'd dare call it a mess.

It suffers from all the pitfalls you fear going into a sequel...bloated budget, very little growth from the main characters, overly-complicated plot, countless unnecessary scenes of which very few carry any sort of punch, etc.

The biggest problem? The screenwriters clearly were writing to cram in every square inch of anything popular in the first film and force these elements to carry the whole picture....and carry it...and carry it...etc.

Some examples - Depp's initially amusing character comes off as very 2-dimentional and cartoon-ish, repeating literally one of 2-3 mannerisms throughout every scene. Honestly one of his less memorable performances, but it's really the fault of the script more than Depp.

Keira Knightley's character goes from convincing Sparrow to "be a good man", then when he does so, she does a complete 180 and makes out with him, ultimately to trick him so that she and the other crew members can escape free and clear of the Kraken. What? That's hardly the Elizabeth Swann we've come to know and understand. Also her death defying sword play compared to her flailing around helplessly like an 8-year old girl when "the boys" fight. This contrast is too stark to overlook.

The inclusion of Norrington is paper thin, and totally unnecessary....not even his completely unexplained connection to the "white-wigged bad guy" saves his role. And by the way, I refer to him as "the white-wigged bad guy" because I have no idea who he was, except obviously someone powerful and holds the key to Turner, Swann and Sparrow's pardon and freedom. Why he was even seeking the "treasure" is never made clear.

There was very little drama...no emotional punch whatsoever.

On the plus side, the action sequences were well-done, especially the Kraken scenes. The special effects for the Flying Dutchman crew and Davy Jones were excellent as well (Bill Nighy's performance is commendable and on par with Geoffrey Rush.)

If you have a deep love for the fabled stories of the sea (Davy Jones, the Flying Dutchman, the Kraken, etc.) then this is worth a watch. If you're into mindless Hollywood entertainment, this is worth a watch.

But if you're looking for a sequel that takes everything you loved from the first film and takes it all further, don't get your hopes up. It's all about the money behind re-hash values, not substance.

Dead Man's Chest is a sure winner!
Fast-paced adventure on the high seas, a cast of comic, swashbuckling pirates, and good ol' Captain Jack Sparrow- how much better could it get?! The sequel picks up where the first movie left off. This time, the action centers on a new set of villains: the corrupt Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company, determined to control the seas and wipe the last of the pirates from the planet, and the mutant Davy Jones, captain of the Flying Dutchman, who's tentacles threaten to strangle the life out of Jack for his failure to repay a debt owed to Jones. The inspiring soundtrack revives some of the favorite melodies from the first movie while introducing new themes for Davy Jones, Obeyah priestess Tia Dalma, and Jones' pet sea-monster, the Kraken. The film ends with a surprising cliff-hanger that will keep the viewer itching for more!

Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
The product was received quickly and in excellent condition as advertised.
The picture quality was also excellent. I'm a big fan of the "Pirates" movies series, so this addition was a must!