The best pirate movies aren’t all films filled with swashbucklers boasting tiny mustaches, tastefully ripped shirts and rapiers as sharp as their wits. Some, naturally, fit into the classical idea of what a “pirate movie” is. Others fit into what that idea became once Disney got its theme-park mitts on the genre. But more tend to play around with our ideas of piracy, and how the rough-and-tumble characters that can inhabit this lifestyle reflect rebellious — even anarchist — trends in the culture at large. They are settings for coming-of-age movies where heroes yearn for new horizons and simple freedom from their stifling jobs. They are places for men to prove their mettle (Errol Flynn’s pirate-led career exploded onto the Hollywood scene during the heart of the Depression) and places for narratives to undermine this notion, lodging a childish immaturity at the heart of this escape-seeking turn to crime. Now, pirate movies walk a thin and unforgiving postmodern plank, reveling in the symbolism of the subgenre while subverting the ideas that come along with it. Comedies do it best. Dramas modernize, finding political relevance in the shifting power dynamics of the high seas. But whichever pirate movie you turn to, you’ll find more than buried treasure awaiting you. The rascally, unwieldy moral questions that are always crewmates with pirates make the pillaging all the sweeter.
Here are the best pirate movies ever made:
21. Treasure Planet
Year: 2002
Director: Ron Clements, John Musker
Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brian Murray, David Hyde Pierce, Martin Short, Roscoe Lee Browne, Emma Thompson, Michael Wincott, Laurie Metcalf, Patrick McGoohan
Runtime: 95 minutes
Muppet Treasure Island proved that Treasure Island had plenty of room to go goofy, but it’s actually in Treasure Planet’s favor that it plays the pirate story mostly straight. Disney’s visually innovative take on the Robert Louis Stevenson classic finds its biggest strength in its unique spin on the adventure, full of creative designs that make the most of an inspired sci-fi premise stuffed with humans, aliens and steampunk technology. Solid voice acting, from Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s floppy-haired space-surfer Jim to Emma Thompson’s catlike captain, keep the familiar beats moving. The beautiful hand-drawn animation—expressed best in character designs that varies from excellent (Brian Murray’s wonderful take on a cyborg John Silver) to vaguely blobby and some stunning set design—is overlaid on wonky and experimental 3D, which never fails to look out of place. At least the bold move allows for some interesting and arresting “camera” movements that make the action all the more exciting and for Silver’s cybernetic arm, which actually looks pretty cool. And though an extremely annoying, constantly shouting robot (Martin Short) runs roughshod over a movie that’s already satisfied its need for cutesy comedic anarchy with its little shapeshifter sidekick, Treasure Planet’s eagerness for adventure and compelling world make it a worthy adaptation—and one that, surprisingly, is somehow even more wholesome than its Muppety companion.—Jacob Oller
20. The Sea Hawk
Year: 1940
Director: Michael Curtiz
Stars: Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains
Runtime: 127 minutes
Two years before directing Casablanca, Michael Curtiz made this lavish pirate adventure picture – one of three different Errol Flynn movies he put out in 1940, and followed by the similarly titled (but non-pirate-related) The Sea Wolf in 1941. Flynn plays Captain Thorpe, a nominal pirate who works with the tacit approval of Queen Elizabeth I to bedevil Spain’s attempts at world conquest; he’s essentially a modern off-books special-agent type transposed to 16th century Europe. More germane to its 1940 release, the movie was at least partially intended as British propaganda in the midst of World War II, with the English rising to defend the world from King Philip’s machinations. This all makes the movie a bit less pirate-y than you might hope; Thorpe’s interest in plundering seems secondary. But it’s a great-looking movie with some terrific large-scale action sequences, and plenty of ins and outs – including a sepia-toned sequence set in Panama, which today feels like the 1940s version of how so many contemporary directors whip out the yellow filters when setting scenes in Mexico. The only real drawback is its somewhat drawn-out runtime, which expands past the two-hour mark; maybe this influenced Disney’s oft-overlong pirate epics.–Jesse Hassenger
19. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Year: 2003
Director: Gore Verbinski
Stars: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightly
Runtime: 143 minutes
What was it about Johnny Depp stumbling around set slurring his words—in ways that he has claimed terrified Disney execs—that added up to Pirates of the Caribbean growing into a multi-billion-dollar franchise? It is the age of sail in the Caribbean, and the Royal Navy recovers a young shipwrecked survivor named Will Turner. He grows up to be Orlando Bloom, and gets an unsung and unappreciated job as apprentice to Port Royal’s blacksmith (he in fact actually makes all the swords while his boss sleeps off his liquor all day). The woman who saved him from the sea, Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) is the daughter of the governor (Jonathan Pryce), and when she pulled him from the ocean she snatched a gold medallion from him that she has kept secret—even from him—for years. She clearly has feelings for Will, but is expected to marry an important Navy guy in a powdered wig. Through a series of silly events, Elizabeth is saved from drowning by the off-kilter pirate Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp, whose performance is the only thing anybody took away from the movie). Before he can be executed, though, Port Royal is sacked by a crew of undead pirates led by Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush in B-movie mode which, for my money, is his best mode). They kidnap Elizabeth when they find her with the medallion. Will decides that the only way he can save her is with the help of the imprisoned Jack, so springs him and steals a ship to give chase. It’s a lot to keep track of for a swashbuckling movie where guys with swords fight pirates who talk like the original pirate (who is from another Disney movie! Its very first live-action production!). Most of the last reel is a series of clever reversals by Jack—who grabbed a coin and is now undead and therefore functionally invincible? Whose blood needs to be spilled to wrap the curse up? Through it all, the movie has some truly gnarly effects for 2003: One sequence has the undead pirates marching across the ocean floor to carry out their sneak attack. It was exciting, funny and… well, it was better than okay. This was enough to make it the 4th-highest-grossing film that year, and launch a franchise that—like Barbossa and his scurvy crew—just. Won’t. Die.–Kenneth Lowe
18. The Pirates of Blood River
Year: 1962
Director: John Gilling
Stars: Christopher Lee, Oliver Reed, Kerwin Matthews, Andrew Keir
Runtime: 97 minutes
John Gilling’s The Pirates of Blood River is a work without self-seriousness, able to successfully straddle the expectations of two sorts of genre films without meeting the defining characteristics of either. It’s neither a typical Hammer horror film, as noted in the Blu-ray’s liner notes by Julie Kirgo, nor a sophisticated Curtiz-esque swashbuckling grand adventure (the shoestring budget did not even allow for a ship). A product of British studio Hammer Film Productions, best known for the campy, richly-colored horror films it produced from the 1950s through the ’70s, The Pirates of Blood River retains several key players from studio cash cows The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula (or, Horror of Dracula)—namely Dracula himself, Christopher Lee. Here Lee is Captain LaRoche, a pirate of flamboyant taste and ever-shifting principles, who has his sights set on the gold of a remote Huguenot-settled island, the Isle of Devon. Devon’s once-favorite son, Jonathan (Kerwin Mathews), is sent by the corrupted religious order to a labor camp on a nearby island for the sin of adultery, where he escapes and falls in with LaRoche’s company. Unaware of the gold’s existence, he promises to lead LaRoche to Devon if he can help him restore just rule. Its Hammer chops are not to be entirely dismissed. The opening scene, in which Jonathan is spotted in his affair with a married woman, leads to a chase worthy of the studio’s horror-house label. Running from angry villagers, the two head through the woods to the bay’s shore; the woman plunges in to escape her captors and meets a demise via chirping, flesh-eating fish, while chalky red blood swirls around her. As for piracy, neither LaRoche nor Jonathan are of Fairbanks/Flynn stock—LaRoche thankfully more sinister, and Jonathan for the most part less acrobatic. The air of concealed aristocratic excellence from the likes of The Black Pirate (1926) and Captain Blood (1935) is absent here, though its heroes do not hesitate to over-explicate every symbol in sight. Such Flynn-like hubris, though reasonably tied to those swashbucklers’ sense of adventure, is not missed in this context. Instead, The Pirates of Blood River relies on an enjoyably silly sort of malevolence, a campy bluntness that plays itself out in patient scenes which frankly reveal more understanding of space and tension than those of many more-polished piratical classics—none better than one depicting pirate infighting over the rights to Jonathan’s unwilling sister. Feasting in the commandeered church, two pirates, one of whom is played by a young and brutish Oliver Reed, agree to a ritualistic battle to settle the score. Donning blindfolds, they are spun in circles and left to hack away at each other in blindness. As they slowly stalk around the room, feeling out for each other and savagely swinging at tables and beams, the interplay of space, sensory alteration and physical force produces an exhilarating effect.–Daniel Christian
17. One Piece Film: Gold
Year: 2016
Director: Hiroaki Miyamoto
Stars: Colleen Clinkenbeard, Christopher R. Sabat, Brina Palencia, Eric Vale, Ian Sinclair, Luci Christian, Patrick Seltz, Sonny Strait, Stephanie Young
Runtime: 120 minutes
Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece series stands as one of the great juggernauts of modern anime. Since first premiering in 1997, the madcap adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his band of pirates have gone on to become one of the best-selling series of all time with over 380 million volumes of the manga sold as of last year. Starting One Piece can be an intimidating challenge for newcomers, what with manga currently ongoing at 83 volumes and its television adaptation numbering at over 700 episodes to date, not to mention a dozen tie-in films thrown into the mix. Fortunately for moviegoers, One Piece Film: Gold is a pretty solid entry point for those looking to enjoy the series without having to devote hours to wading through reams of filler episodes and expository fluff. One Piece Film: Gold follows the Straw Hat crew as they encounter Gran Tesoro, a gigantic casino-themed ship made entirely of gold that serves as a luxury bastion for foolhardy criminals and billionaire aristocrats alike. Initially greeted as guests for their storied careers as successful pirates, Luffy and his compatriots are quickly ensnared in the machinations of Gild Tesoro, the ship’s flamboyant captain and chief entertainer. For being the thirteenth installment in a series of theatrical offshoots, One Piece Film: Gold surprisingly has a lot going for it, with tight action scenes and appropriately ostentatious scenery right out of the gate that only ratchets up in ridiculousness as it goes on. Yuuki Hayashi’s score, in particular, is a strength of the film, with big band jazz trombones, horn sections, and a subtle dash of surf rock guitar riffs thrown in for added effect. The CGI in One Piece Film: Gold is also commendable, given that its use is to exaggerate Gran Tesoro’s already robust ostentation. Running just over two hours, One Piece Film: Gold manages to make effective use of the space it’s given. From an adventure of discovery, to an elaborate heist plot worthy of Danny Ocean or Lupin the Third, to a climatic city-wide showdown of titanic proportions, One Piece Film: Gold is meaty enough to earn your attention from the start and keep it.–Toussaint Egan
16. The Pirates of Penzance
Year: 1983
Director: Wilford Leach
Stars: Kevin Kline, Angela Lansbury, Linda Ronstadt, George Rose, Rex Smith
Runtime: 112 minutes
Wilford Leach adapted his own Broadway take on Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera The Pirates of Penzance for the big screen, bringing back his cast (including an essential handsome clown performance from Kevin Kline as The Pirate King) and his keyed-in sense of humor. Linda Ronstadt, George Rose and Rex Smith bring the verve and big musical ability that made the stage show a hit, while Angela Lansbury (pinch-hitting here for Estelle Parsons) is a bug-eyed delight. The set is funky-flashy, with remnants of ’70s psych-pastels flooding in, while the music is completely classic: “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General” is still a rollicking, ridiculous rollercoaster of a showstopper. It’s not perfect, nor perfectly preserved. But, it’s a supporting player that keeps The Pirates of Penzance from ever fully feeling too musty, too sappy, too dated. Tony Azito, playing a spasmatic police sergeant, is a physical wonder. His dancing, excited movements make Tex Avery and Merry Melodies flesh. His body, honed and perfectly controlled, is able to replicate squash-and-stretch animation with virtuosic hilarity. Even within Graciela Daniele’s choreography, Azito is not to be contained. The Pirates of Penzance is a story about the joyful absurdity surrounding harmless, duty-bound pirates, and its world only makes sense with Azito leading his cowardly cops on the other side of the law.—Jacob Oller
15. The Pirates of Somalia
Year: 2017
Director: Bryan Buckley
Stars: Evan Peters, Al Pacino, Melanie Griffith, Barkhad Abdi
Runtime: 118 minutes
The based-on-a-true-story The Pirates of Somalia knows its main character is a dick who thinks he’s better than everyone and everything. That said, Evan Peters’ portrayal of real-life journalist Jay Bahadur is so charismatic he almost runs away with the movie despite its clear intentions towards taking his snotty personality down a notch. Bahadur is a loser. A market researcher obsessed with current events and his journalistic dreams, he’s submitted stories everywhere, only to be rejected. Then, by chance, he meets someone who’s made it. A mentor! Finally, every aspiring writer’s dream! Surprise, it’s the wild-haired Seymour Tolbin (Al Pacino, who sounds like he ate a bullfrog that had been raised on the chunkiest gravel the pet store could afford) whose advice is as acrid as it is hilarious. “You wanna make it as a big swingin’ dick journalist, you gotta go somewhere crazy,” he says. And Bahadur decides, hey, Somalia is pretty crazy. So crazy, in fact, that no Western journalists can convince their outlets to insure their travels there to cover its developing piracy situation. A Ukrainian vessel is taken, Tolbin’s advice is taken and then Bahadur is taken…to Somalia. It’s a ride so wild and rapid that it’s hard not to believe, a Hunter S. Thompson-wannabe bout of madness, but rather than a drug-addled freakout, it’s a whirlwind threatening to fling your heart out of your body when a series of exciting life events all tumble by one after another. Director Bryan Buckley, known for his Super Bowl commercials and Oscar-nominated short film Asad, has plenty of stylistic swagger and a seemingly genuine touch with each of his actors. The leads (which include Barkhad Abdi’s translator) are perfectly metered, side characters full of depth and one-off extras as deadpan as one could hope. The politics of piracy are complex and well-explored here, always with a gun in the foreground to unsettle whatever rationality is happening behind it. For a movie primarily centered around conversations, meetings and interviews, each scene has a thumping momentum coxswained by the powerful chemistry between its leads. Peters is great out of necessity—anyone else would be swallowed up by Abdi’s sleepy-eyed shine. As the language barrier increases, so does the tension. Everyone’s sweaty, messy, grimy and raw, a realism nicely countered by drug- and desperation-fueled daydreams that crop up every now and again with some sharp animation. The film asks us what we value in our culture: Would we even be watching this movie—hell, would you even be reading this far into its review—if the movie was about Somalia’s fledgling democracy? Do our news stations care about that kind of thing? Our government? The film’s cocky self-assuredness is punctured, deflating in an ultimately satisfying way, like watching a teacher shut down an uppity student.—Jacob Oller
14. The Black Pirate
Year: 1926
Director: Albert Parker
Stars: Douglas Fairbanks, Billie Dove, Tempe Pigott, Donald Crisp
Runtime: 94 minutes
Giving established buckler of swashes Douglas Fairbanks an actual pirate movie, The Black Pirate was a major showcase of his charisma, the artistic abilities of director Albert Parker and art director Carl Oscar Borg, and the imaginative, boat-bound action sequences one could dream up — not to mention actually pull off — for motion pictures. The silent thriller also boasted an early use of Technicolor, with a two-tone process (one that’s aged more garishly than crisp black-and-white, and less evocatively than films like Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), which used Technicolor’s next iteration) that limited some of its shooting flexibility. As the noble-disguised-as-a-pirate (Fairbanks) attempts to pull off his ruse, he battles ruffians in hand-to-hand combat, sabotages victim ships by sliding down their sails using a blade — a sequence that has become so emblematic of pirate media that it’s less common to find examples that don’t include such a scene — and walks the plank. But the best shot in the film is one where Fairbanks’ charming smooth-talker is lifted, hand over hand, from belowdecks by his crew. We watch in one continuous shot as he rises to the surface of the ship, the camaraderie and fantasy of piracy contained in a single slick ploy by cinematographer Henry Sharp. The Black Pirate is a simple tale, one that leans on Fairbanks’ square jaw and easy posture, but an effective one, and one that shaped how the high seas appeared in Hollywood for decades to come.—Jacob Oller
13. The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Year: 2012
Director: Peter Lord
Stars: Hugh Grant, David Tennant, Imelda Staunton, Martin Freeman, Jeremy Piven
Runtime: 88 minutes
Aardman Animations follow the Muppet Treasure Island school of thought with The Pirates! Band of Misfits (released with the funnier title The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! in its native U.K.). The Oscar-nominated silliness from filmmaker Peter Lord (Chicken Run) is a caper to its core, but one that relies on the inherent ridiculousness of its voice cast (including Hugh Grant, David Tennant, Brian Blessed and Imelda Staunton going absolutely bananas) to pepper its piracy with energy. With a similar harmless, eccentric streak to Our Flag Means Death, Gideon Defoe’s adaptation of his own novel follows a group of brigands as their captain competes to be Pirate of the Year…by trying to team up with Charles Darwin to first win the Scientist of the Year honors. Deeply British slapstick shenanigans and physical tomfoolery quickly follow, as we are so immersed in London that the monarchy is quite literally a major character of its own. As Aardman integrates their claymation with CG, The Pirates! becomes their most expansive feature yet, stuffed to the gills with gags yet never losing sight of its globetrotting scope and established aesthetic. That all this clever seafaring nonsense comes to a head with a classic science-fair project climax is just icing on the stop-motion cake.—Jacob Oller
12. The Crimson Pirate
Year: 1952
Director: Robert Siodmak
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Eve Bartok, Nick Cravat, Leslie Bradley
Runtime: 105 minutes
German director Robert Siodmak is probably best-known for the 1940s noir pictures and thrillers he made in America, including classics like The Killers, unsung gems like Phantom Lady, and relative obscurities like The Spiral Staircase. By the time of The Crimson Pirate in 1952, he was ready to move on to other genres, and he returned to Europe to pursue that goal not long after the film’s release – despite its success, and despite the fact that (especially compared to his concise, often hard-boiled thrillers) the film was already a major departure from his pigeon-holing. This pirate adventure also, in retrospect, feels fairly influential in its deployment of slapstick action that’s not a total goof – the stunts look real, and often very cool! – but also lends its stunts gag-like timing. Burt Lancaster, who made his film debut in Siodmak’s The Killers, plays Captain Vallo, a pirate hired to track down and capture a rebel leader; naturally, he falls in love with the man’s feisty daughter. The impressive production value with a jaunty tone brings to mind the sillier James Bond movies, Jackie Chan and, yes, the more inventive action sequences from Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean series. Turns out, Siodmak could make light entertainment with the best of them.–Jesse Hassenger
11. Pirates of the Caribbean II: Dead Man’s Chest
Year: 2006
Director: Gore Verbinski
Stars: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Stellan Skarsgård, Bill Nighy, Jack Davenport, Kevin R. McNally, Jonathan Pryce
Runtime: 150 minutes
Most of the arguments made for The Matrix Reloaded also apply here. Dead Man’s Chest was an ambitious expansion of the premise of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, opening up the scope of the world and introducing some threatening new maritime powers. Chief among them is Davy Jones, a fabulous character played with aplomb by the wonderful Bill Nighy. The first Pirates has a lot of goodwill in our memories that is largely unearned, and if you go back and watch it today you’ll likely find it more “kiddie” than you remember, particularly in its heavily pun-based humor. Dead Man’s Chest, on the other hand, bumped up the maturity factor and gothic beauty. Unfortunately, as with the Matrix series, our memories of the second installment have been poisoned by a horrific third movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, which was a bloated disaster. It doesn’t diminish my enjoyment of Dead Man’s Chest, however. In fact, to me this is The Empire Strikes Back of the series, a film that raises the stakes and sets the stage perfectly for an epic conclusion. Unfortunately, that conclusion never happened.—Jim Vorel
10. A Hijacking
Year: 2012
Director: Tobias Lindholm
Stars: Søren Malling, Pilou Asbæk, Dar Salim, Roland Møller
Runtime: 99 minutes
A Hijacking delivers all the thrills the title suggests, but in none of the places you’d expect them. Even the hijacking—the most obvious candidate for a set piece—happens off camera. The movie depicts a volatile situation that could go wrong at any moment. A single misstep could cost people their lives. This creates a psychological strain not only on the prisoners, but on the people trying to free them. Danish writer/director Tobias Lindholm has crafted the movie in a straight-forward manner that lays out the scenario and lets the emotions come forth on their own. Shot with handheld cameras, the movie cross-cuts between two perspectives. On the ship, Somali pirates hold hostage the crew of a freight ship bound for India. Back in Denmark, the corporate office attempts to get everyone home safely. There would have been several easy, predictable ways to make a film about A Hijacking’s subject matter. Lindholm pressed toward unexpected territory and found the real drama.—Jeremy Mathews
9. Captain Phillips
Year: 2013
Director: Paul Greengrass
Stars: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Catherine Keener, Faysal Ahmed
Runtime: 134 minutes
Captain Phillips proves that, while his imitators may do more harm than good, Paul Greengrass himself remains the kind filmmaker cinephiles are lucky to have around. Based on a 2009 incident in which a U.S. cargo ship and its captain were taken hostage by Somali pirates, the film marks Greengrass’ best work since 2006’s 9/11 drama United 93. What’s more, it’s the kind of film that will have you nervously biting your nails and holding your breath out of a sheer sense of suspense—and that’s even if you know how the true story unfolded. Captain Phillips finds its titular character, Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks), and his crew going about their daily, somewhat monotonous routine. Unbeknownst to them, a gang of Somali pirates led by Muse (Barkhad Abdi, in a breakthrough performance) watches from mere miles away, plotting a strike. Phillips first becomes alarmed when he receives an email warning him of piracy in the area. Not long after, he spots Muse’s crew making their way to his ship. A defensive strategy fails, and the pirates find their way onto the ship. From here, the film divides itself into two distinct parts. The first sees Phillips attempting to stall the pirates as his crew, who have barricaded themselves in the ship’s lower depths, make plans for regaining control via traps and covert maneuvering that would make Home Alone’s Kevin McCallister proud. Once the plot truly gets moving, Hanks gamely disappears into the role, giving perhaps his most powerful performance since 1998’s Saving Private Ryan. Using his inherent movie star prowess, Hanks is able to embody both Phillips’ authoritative nature as well as successfully sell his cool-headed approach to the situation. Much of the film’s latter half, meanwhile, is predicated on his reactions and interactions with the pirates as well as his growing desperation. Watching the slow, quiet erosion of Phillips’ composure proves only slightly more harrowing than the film’s suspenseful set pieces. The character’s emotional arc eventually builds to a scene that, without spoiling anything, is so potent and raw that you almost can’t stand to watch because Hanks endows the moment with such an aching sense of reality. —Mark Rozeman
8. Peter Pan
Year: 1953
Director: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
Stars: Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried, Paul Collins, Heather Angel, Bill Thompson
Runtime: 77 minutes
There’s so much magic in Peter Pan—the spritely pirate-filled adventure through the wonders and foibles of childhood (including selfishness, jealousy, ignorance, violence)—that the off-putting, extensive racism and subpar songs that hold it back from being in the upper echelon of Disney classics are stumbling blocks still worth working through. It’s got some top-tier slapstick and endearing animation, not to mention the personality bursting out of Peter, Wendy, Tinker, Hook and Smee—heck, even the silent crocodile’s tick-tock walk worms its way into our hearts. A step forward for Disney’s evocative facial animations and entertaining baddies, Peter Pan is a film of high highs and rock-bottom lows. The songs peak early with “The Second Star to the Right,” but “What Made the Red Man Red?” (not to mention the long, terrible scene that contains it, which may be the single most racist thing Disney’s ever done) threatens to sink the whole film. But when the Darling children take flight, or their parents recall the flawed excitement and imaginative possibility of youth…well, it’s easy to see why people rush to forget the movie’s most troubling elements. Assessed with a modern eye, it’s easy to pick apart J. M. Barrie’s early 1900s racism that Disney perpetuated into the middle of the century. It’s also easy to use its presence in the film as a teaching moment that goes hand-in-hand with the rest of the foolish and damaging things that its immature characters must abandon.—Jacob Oller
7. Noroît (une vengeance)
Year: 1976
Director: Jacques Rivette
Stars: Geraldine Chaplin, Bernadette Lafont
Runtime: 135 minutes
Jacques Rivette’s Duelle, groundbreaking as it is, was not made in isolation. Rivette and producer Stéphane Tchalgadjieff conceived it as part of a tetralogy that also included Noroît (une vengeance), the most challenging work in the collection. Released in English as Nor’wester, this drama is the most avant-garde pirate epic ever filmed: part The Tempest, part Frankenstein homage and part existentialist Antonioni riff. Perhaps because it is a hodge-podge of disparate influences, Noroît never coheres as an adaptation of Thomas Middleton’s 1606 play The Revenger’s Tragedy. In Rivette’s version (which he co-wrote with his wife, Marilù Parolini, and Eduardo de Gregorio), Morag (Geraldine Chaplin, aggressively brilliant) schemes to murder pirate queen Giulia (Bernadette Lafont, in bubble-gum pink jumpsuits), who killed Morag’s brother. Aside from its Shakespearean five-act structure, however, the picture is mostly composed of brutal dialogue-free tete-a-tetes between Morag and Giulia’s band of louche vagabonds. Unmoored from narrative storytelling conventions, Rivette guides the film toward an expressive spontaneity and beauty of which few theatrical adaptations can boast. Between the two leads and Giulia’s lieutenant Erika (Kika Markham), he concocts a psychosexual triangle of mistrust, intimidation and attraction, the actors’ balletic body language alluding to classic scenes in Cocteau’s The Blood of a Poet and Maya Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon. These days, the pastel-inflected fantasy world created by William Lubtchansky’s lush cinematography and Eric Simon’s expressionist production design will most strongly resonate with anyone familiar with Wes Anderson’s colorful The Grand Budapest Hotel miniatures. Only Rivette, though, could have made a cinema-play so stunning that Hollywood would later imitate it with a pirate revenge franchise.— Sean L. Malin
6. Muppet Treasure Island
Year: 1996
Director: Brian Henson
Stars: Tim Curry, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Kevin Clash, Bill Barretta, Frank Oz
Runtime: 100 minutes
A personal favorite from the “put the Muppets in a story” (but who doesn’t love The Muppet Christmas Carol?), Muppet Treasure Island is a musical comedy with more Muppet trappings than pirate trappings — and that’s for the best, because the Muppets are great. But though Rizzo the Rat and The Great Gonzo accompany Jim Hawkins (Kevin Bishop) as our point-of-view characters, Muppet Treasure Island sails under Tim Curry’s command. Gobbling up a role that’s been a magnet for big performers since its first days on the Long John Silver screen, Curry’s secret pirate is fatherly, as quick with a barking laugh as with a betrayal. You can’t help but love his big grin and fake-hangdog humbleness, especially when it gives way to full-blown captain swagger. Perhaps his most relatable quality is his romantic entanglement with Miss Piggy. Seeing just where all the Muppets end up in this classic tale is all part of the fun (Fozzie Bear as airheaded fop Squire Trelawney is inspired). Aside from the enjoyably zany creativity it takes to split the chaotic Muppet crew into straight-laced sailors and scurvy sea dogs, Muppet Treasure Island‘s energy emanates from director Brian Henson’s adept blending of puppetry and exciting, larger-than-life sets. It all feels like an illustrated children’s book, lush and a little bigger than you expected — perfect for a kid to lose themselves in. And let’s not forget the original songs! Supplementing a swashbuckling score from Hans Zimmer nearly a decade before he’d give us Pirates of the Caribbean‘s earwormy melodies, tunes like “Cabin Fever” keep things moving at a quick, hilarious clip. Pour one out for Dead Tom and fire up one of the best (and kid-friendliest) pirate movies ever made.—Jacob Oller
5. Castle in the Sky
Year: 1986
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Stars: Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui, Minori Terada
Runtime: 124 minutes
Coming off the critical and commercial success of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Hayao Miyazaki would go on to found Studio Ghibli alongside his mentor and collaborator Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki before immediately setting to work on the studio’s first major production. Castle in the Sky, alternatively titled as Laputa: Castle in the Sky, opens with a young girl named Sheeta who, after narrowly escaping the clutches of a band of air pirates who seek to exploit her for unknown ends, is miraculously saved as she falls from a flying airship by a mysterious amulet that levitates her safely to the ground. She lands in the careful arms of Pazu, a young boy from a local mining village who dreams of one day discovering the fabled floating city of Laputa and vindicating his father’s memory. What follows is a two-hour high-action adventure between the pair being doggedly chased by pirates, the military and an unscrupulous government agent—all on a quest to find the legendary castle and manipulate its untold treasures and secrets to their own nefarious ends. Castle in the Sky is a tremendous film powered by pure propulsive momentum, each setting filled with back-to-back hilarious and harrowing moments that would give Indiana Jones a run for its money in terms of action and spectacle. Inspired by the likes of Gulliver’s Travels and Judeo-Christian folklore, the floating city of Laputa is just one of the countless iconic locations that Miyazaki has conjured into the collective imagination throughout his career. Though perhaps not as well-known as Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky is nonetheless an essential entry in Studio Ghibli’s filmography of classics.—Toussaint Egan
4. Captain Blood
Year: 1935
Director: Michael Curtiz
Stars: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Ross Alexander
Runtime: 119 minutes
You want a quintessential, hit-all-the-high-points pirate-to-the-core pirate movie? Sail under Captain Blood‘s flag and the world shall be yours. Moviegoers didn’t know how good they had it with Captain Blood: Casablanca director Michael Curtiz before he had fully established himself in America; Errol Flynn in his first starring role; Olivia de Havilland before she was a screen legend. The vitality and heat between the leads is palpable, egged on by performers looking to break out and a majestic, Oscar-nominated score from Erich Wolfgang Korngold. As Flynn’s rascally and good-hearted Peter Blood goes from rebel-sympathizing Irish doctor to West Indies slave to Caribbean buccaneer, the future face of swashbuckling smirks and quips and stands up for the downtrodden — all while imposing his lithe, charismatic physicality onto his scene partners. And de Havilland is no slouch either! Playing the niece of a colonial military man, her flirtations can be just as searing. She literally buys Blood at auction, then holds it over him for the rest of the movie. Curtiz moves the two-hour drama along at a quick clip, watching years, loyalties and political upheaval soar along at 12 knots. Some of its battle footage was taken from the long, silent pirate epic The Sea Hawk (1924) — easily the best stuff to be found in that Rafael Sabatini adaptation (which shares a slave-to-pirate-king storyline) — but the highlights are the human moments: The unfair punishment of Blood’s soon-to-be-mateys on the plantation; the ambush of unsuspecting Spaniards below deck; the blackmailing of ineffectual colony doctors; the joy that spreads across an Irishman’s face when he learns that King James II has been deposed. Captain Blood has its swordfights, its ship raids, its swinging from ropes, and its peg-legged ne’er-do-wells. But it also has the makings of two of Hollywood’s brightest stars, beaming in a drama filled with cheer and humor without ever leaving danger behind. Curtiz’s mastery of this tonal balance, along with his staggering cast, keeps Captain Blood proudly flying the Jolly Roger.—Jacob Oller
3. The Princess Bride
Year: 1987
Director: Rob Reiner
Stars: Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn
Runtime: 98 minutes
Quite possibly the most perfectly executed transformation of a beloved book to a beloved film in the history of the sport. A family-friendly “kissing movie” with pitch-perfect performances by the entire cast—from main character to bit player—The Princess Bride is the most relentlessly quotable film anywhere this side of Monty Python and their Holy Grail. Though regarded warmly enough by critics, its status as comedic fable ensures it is criminally underrated on most lists. Inconceivable? Alas, no. But unfair, nonetheless. —Michael Burgin
2. Porco Rosso
Year: 1992
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Stars: Shūichirō Moriyama, Tokiko Kato, Akemi Okamura, Akio Ōtsuka
Runtime: 94 minutes
Ghibli films are chock full of dragons, swordsmen, witches, and enough plucky young girls to fill up a whole YA section at your local library, but I submit that Porco Rosso is far and away the baddest hero the studio has yet drawn to life. This swanky movie drops us into the Adriatic Sea during the rise of Fascism, rewriting history to make it a wretched hive of scum and villainy and air piracy that provides a blanket excuse for thrilling dogfights (yet never the horror of bodies being shredded by anti-aircraft guns). The film also comes with a fuselage fairly stuffed with lines that would sound at home in Casablanca. The surly pilot envied by all the rough types in the Adriatic is Porco Rosso, the Crimson Pig—an Italian pilot cursed with the visage of a pig for his desertion of his post. This transformation is never depicted, nor explained, and you won’t care. Porco has a swagger unseen since Bogart. He’s unflappable, unkillable, and as unswervingly good and true as he is disdainful of the pomp, preening and pretense that his enemies display. Porco Rosso is about grappling with guilt, inadequacy and the crippling feeling that you’re a bad person who is unworthy of love. God knows I’ve felt that way before. I immediately recognized Porco’s reflexive self-deprecation in nearly every scene: Hey, what do you want from me, I’m just a pig. The people who love him know better.–Kenneth Lowe
1. Treasure Island
Year: 1950
Director: Byron Haskin
Stars: Bobby Driscoll, Robert Newton, Basil Sydney, Finlay Currie
Runtime: 96 minutes
Every now and then, Disney is the cause behind a generations-long effect! Consider 1950’s Treasure Island, Disney’s first live-action feature film, which is the reason that, in the 73 years since it came out, pirates talk that way. Yes, that way, matey. Disney’s production is faithful to the book in the ways that matter, adapting Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel and hitting pretty much all of the major points. Young Jim Hawkins (Bobby Driscoll) mans the counter at the Admiral Benbow where resident drunk Billy Bones is menaced by pirates and then dies, passing on the map to a massive pile of treasure to Jim. The un-self-aware Squire Trelawney (Walter Fitzgerald) and cautious Dr. Livesey (Denis O’Dea) both make the discovery alongside Jim and mount a voyage to go recover the lost treasure of Captain Flint, but Trelawney’s loose lips mean their crew can’t entirely be trusted. Most of them were brought aboard by the ship’s cook and the story’s true main character: Long John Silver (Robert Newton). Newton was, make no mistake, one of the most famous British actors of his time. His name is up there with Errol Flynn when it comes to swashbuckling adventure flicks aimed at the secondary school set back in ‘40s. He shared the stage with Laurence Olivier and Alec Guinness, was directed by Hitchcock, and starred in films with titles like Vessel of Wrath and Hell’s Cargo. It is nonetheless not even a question what he’s most famous for: Newton invented what we now know as “talking like a pirate” in this role, in this film. Newton was a hard-drinking, hard-living veteran of the Royal Navy who died at age 50 just six years after Treasure Island. You’d need to be full of a transatlantic voyage’s supply of piss and vinegar to give the kind of performances he gave in his time, and Treasure Island’s Silver would require another one. Newton played up his West London accent’s foibles and made his face a leering mask of a mean mug. His delivery is never less than fully committed, and if you’re going to sell a character as charismatic as Silver, whose allegiances shift from scene to scene, something this over-the-top is probably the only way to do it. The last reel is full of gunfire, swordplay, child endangerment and double-crosses as the two sides race to find the buried treasure and Jim sneaks around to try to thwart Silver’s mutineers. But there’s also its outsize impact. Disney’s own Pirates of the Caribbean leans into this a half-century later with Geoffrey Rush’s Captain Barbossa. International Talk Like A Pirate Day (observed every September 19) has been running for more than 20 years now, founded by a pair of fellows in the U.K. Disney has bought Lucasfilm Games, which may no longer have any formal connection to its roots, but which was responsible for the game Monkey Island, a point-and-click adventure game series which just released a new installment last year and which leans all the way into a parody of Old Hollywood swashbucklers—meaning that many characters speak exactly the way Newton does in Treasure Island.–Kenneth Lowe