Product Details

• Actors: Billie Dove, Tempe Pigott, Donald Crisp, Sam De Grasse, Anders Randolf
• Directors: Albert Parker
• Format: Black & White, Color, DVD, Silent, Special Edition, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: May 18, 1999
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000INTH
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #311,148 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Black Pirate" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

The silent era's greatest swashbuckler, Douglas Fairbanks, took to the sea with cutlass in hand and gypsy earrings dangling for the first great pirate movie and a gorgeous example of early Technicolor. In a story that's become almost cliché in the intervening years, Fairbanks is the sole survivor of a pirate attack who infiltrates the high-seas criminals by posing as a master pirate. Defeating their leader in an acrobatic duel, Fairbanks proceeds to capture their next ship single-handedly in a sequence that has him swinging from mast to mast and, in the film's most memorable stunt, slicing the ship's sails with his knife as he slides down the sheet. Along with booty, however, the pirates discover a beautiful noblewoman (Billie Dove) and the Black Pirate must devise a plan to save the prisoners and himself in the face of a bloodthirsty band of brigands. Packed with every classic pirate device in the book, from saber duels to walking the plank, The Black Pirate shows off Fairbanks at his best, a jaunty, resourceful hero performing the most amazing acrobatic feats. The restoration shows the two-strip Technicolor classic at its best as well: a beautiful, delicately hued marvel, painstakingly restored and color-balanced from the original negative by film preservationist David Shepard. This edition also includes 19 minutes of rare black-and-white outtakes. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Romance! Adventure! Swordfights!, April 9, 2003

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Pirate (DVD)

Wahooo! Now this is a fun movie! I was totally taken by surprise. The swashbuckler of swashbucklers! "The Black Pirate" is the great grand-pappy of all pirate movies to come, and every possible genre convention is on display, be it sliding down the sail by splitting it with a dagger, or fencing several men at once, catching all of their blades with one parry. A lot of great films, such as "The Princess Bride," find their roots here in "The Black Pirate." This is like Disney's "Pirates of the Caribean" ride come to life, with the addition of dashing Douglas Fairbanks.

Fairbanks is extrodinarily athletic, and it is incredible to watch his body in motion. They don't make 'em like that any more. He has the smile, the mustache and the skill with a blade. I imagine he would give a jaunty laugh in the midst of danger.

Although it is a silent film, "The Black Pirate" is not black and white, but colored in a two-color Technicolor process. The color gives an excellent, sureal effect. The underwater scenes are amazing.

Ahoy! Hoist the main sail and prepare to Broadside!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great talent in a wonderfully inventive movie, March 29, 2002

By 

George Grellas (Cupertino, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Black Pirate (DVD)

Douglas Fairbanks was at the top of his form in this film, and that is saying a lot. Every era has its screen giants, and Fairbanks held that status throughout the 1920s through his cheerful heroics in such titles as The Three Musketeers, Robin Hood, The Thief of Bagdad, and The Black Pirate. Crowds loved his film persona because it was memorable: it was larger-than-life; it was splendidly imaginative; and it consistently showed good overcoming evil. Fairbanks perfectly depicted -- in 50-foot form on a big screen full of splendid sets -- acrobatics, stunts, and deeds of derring-do that no one of us could ever hope to do. Call it escapism, if you will, but it enraptured countless moviegoers historically drawn into this world of Mr. Fairbanks's fantasy epics. Here, as well, there is the added joy of seeing a film genre -- that of the pirate adventure -- at a time when fresh minds brought creative ideas and great craft to bear upon the films of their devising. What the viewer gets, then, is an original product that is vivid and memorable -- and not a tired recycling by lesser talents of uninventive themes and ideas. A viewer of this film, even on DVD, is wondrously drawn into an exotic and fascinating (indeed, even an early Technicolor) world and is held there firmly in place by the skilled and entertaining work of able craftsmen for the duration of the 85-minute running time. And, while so drawn in, one is also uplifted, if nothing else than by the very cheeriness of the star's persona. Unless one despises entertainment value as a legitimate goal of movie-making, there is nothing more that one could ask from a good film of this type. Nor should the age of the film, or its being a silent picture, deter any but those who are prejudiced. There is a reason why Douglas Fairbanks was made so wealthy by moviegoers that he was able to become a founder of United Artists. Whatever else there is, there is sort of magic at work in his best films. It is well worth the modern moviegoer's time, then, to see why this film created such excitement back in 1926. The DVD format makes all this vividly accessible. Highly recommended.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PURE ENTERTAINMENT!, January 15, 2000

By 

Sherm Cohen (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Pirate (DVD)

This movie is just so darned fun, you'll have a huge smile on your face the whole time. The story blazes along, the performances are exhuberant, and the two-strip Technicolor process gives it all a beautifully surreal look. The new musical score and extra features on the disc are all top-notch. Have fun!