In 1720, on a voyage to Port Royal, Jamaica, Governor Weatherby Swann (Jonathan Price) and the crew of HMS Dauntless discover a shipwreck and a boy named Will Turner (Dylan Smith). Around his neck, they find a golden pirate medallion and Swann’s daughter Elizabeth (Lucinda Dryzek) finds a golden pirate’s medallion and hides it from the authorities. Eight years later, Captain James Norrington (Jack Davenport) is promoted to Commodore and proposes to Elizabeth (now Keira Knightley). When her corset makes her faint and fall into the sea, her medallion emits a pulse. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) rescues her. Norrington knows he is a pirate and tries to arrest him. Will, now a blacksmith (Orlando Bloom) captures him after a duel and Jack is imprisoned.
That night, the crew of the Black Pearl attacks Port Royal, looking for the medallion. The pirates capture Elizabeth and take her before Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). To hide her identity, Elizabeth says her name is Turner. The medallion turns out to be the last of 882 gold pieces from the lost treasure of Hernan Cortes hidden on Isla de Muerta, captured and cursed by the Aztecs from whom it was stolen. Barbossa and his crew became immortals whose skeletal forms appear in moonlight. To lift the curse, they must return the treasure stained with the blood of a crewmember or his descendant. They decide that Elizabeth is the daughter of Bootstrap Bill Turner and they will use her blood on the medallion.
Will, desperate to save Elizabeth, frees Jack Sparrow, the previous Captain of the Black Pearl. They commandeer HMS Interceptor and head for Tortuga. There, Jack asks his friend Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin R. McNally) to assemble a crew, and they pursue the Pearl. Barbossa cuts Elizabeth’s hand and stains the coin, but she is not really a Turner and the curse does not lift. Will rescues her but Jack is captured by Barbossa and locked in the brig. The Pearl attacks and destroys the Interceptor and takes the crew. Will Turner offers to replace Elizabeth. Barbossa agrees and maroons Jack and Elizabeth on an island. She makes a smoke signal and the Dauntless, captained by Norrington, rescues her and arrests Jack. Elizabeth offers to marry Norrington if he will rescue Will.
The Dauntless arrives at Isla de Muerta. Jack suggests he lure the pirates into an ambush but turns around and persuades Barbossa to attack the Dauntless. Elizabeth escapes and frees Jack’s crew from the Pearl. When they refuse to rescue Jack and Will, she sets out on her own. Jack switches sides again, frees Will and duels with Barbossa. Elizabeth and Will fight off the crew. When Barbossa stabs Jack, it becomes clear that Jack also took some cursed gold and cannot die. Jack shoots Barbossa and Will returns the bloody coins to the chest, lifting the curse. Barbossa can die now and succumbs to Jack’s gunshot. The crew are arrested.
At Port Royal, Jack is about to be hanged for piracy but Will attempts a rescue and Elizabeth declares her love for Will. Her father, Governor Swann, pardons Will and gives the marriage his blessing. Jack escapes and dives into the sea, takes control of the Black Pearl, and sails away. Norrington permits them one day’s head start before going after them.
The film was directed by Gore Verbinski, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Walt Disney Pictures. The script was written by Jay Wolpert and Stuart Beattie, then by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio. It was a huge box-office success and was generally praised by critics. Johnny Depp received the Screen Actor’s Guild Award and his future career was no longer in doubt. He was nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe. He had been hired instead of Hugh Jackman, who was largely unknown at the time. Disney was disturbed by his idiosyncratic acting choices. Depp thought the pirates were the rock-stars of their time and based his performance on Keith Richards, and he had his teeth capped with gold. Geoffrey Rush got his role as Barbossa when Robert de Niro decided the movie would be a flop.
Johnny Depp wore sunglass contacts so he wouldn’t have to squint in the sun. He wanted Jack Sparrow to have no nose but Disney said no. Keira Knightley was given breast makeup so there would be something to fall out of her period costume and she loved it. She was only seventeen and so sure she would be fired that she didn’t pack for a long shoot. The HMS Interceptor was the tall ship from Star Trek Generations. The film was such a success that Disney updated the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland and Disney World to more closely resemble the movie. The film’s popularity is no surprise. The swordfights and ship-battles are magnificent, the monsters pretty disgusting, and you can’t take your eyes off Johnny Depp, wondering what the hell he might do next.