Customer Reviews

National Geographic: Blackbeard - Terror at Sea

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The positive reviews cover some of the interesting aspects of this production, but care should be taken to check the facts against the way things are presented. Blackbeard is shown as tackling other ships singlehandedly, when, in many instances, he was working with other companion vessels (for example, when taking the Concorde or when blockading Charleston). The governor of Virginia is portrayed as bending the law to pursue Blackbeard, when in fact it was the actions of the governor of North Carolina that came closer to actually being under-the-table dealings with the pirate. The wounding of sailing master Hands is shown as an act of friendship, but some accounts recount that as Blackbeard being deliberately cruel to inspire fear in his crew. Some key facts are also simply omitted, such as the loss of his flagship (the Queen Anne's Revenge) prior to the battle at Okracoke in 1718. The film revels in Blackbeard as a sort of hero, when the story is much more complex than that. Perhaps as an introduction this film has its uses, but if used in a classroom, students should be encouraged to do further research on how the facts stack up against this somewhat romanticized depiction. And one more small but important quibble. After reading the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, I was really disappointed that this film sheds no light at all on sailing tactics used. In most of the scenes the ships are scarcely moving at all.

National Geographic's documentary on Blackbeard the Pirate is one of the best I've ever seen on the subject. It brings together all the bits and pieces of fact that are known about the dreaded Captain Edward Teach and uses them to build a wonderful dramatization of the life of one of the most famous and fearsome of all the pirates to sail the seas.

Most of what we know of Blackbeard comes from Charles Johnson's famous book "A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates", the classic history of piracy's golden age in the early 18th century. This serves as the basis for National Geographic's well-made film that chronicles Blackbeard's life and exploits from his early piratical conquests along the coast of the American colonies to his bloody death at the Battle of Ocracoke in 1718. The documentary portrays Teach as a somewhat human character who, despite his fearsome reputation as a bloodthirsty rogue , prefers to capture prizes without a fight and who spills blood only when needed to make a point. He forms a friendship with his first mate Israel Hands who serves as his trustworthy confidant throughout his career. Blackbeard tries and fails to settle down as a country gentleman after accepting the King's pardon, but quickly finds that gentlemanly ways and a proper wife do not suite him and he longs to return to his rightful place at sea. Virginia Governor Alexander Spottswood, obsessed with finding and killing Blackbeard, sends Lt. Robert Maynard of the Royal Navy to draw him out of 'retirement' and send him to the murky depths. The resulting battle is one of legend.

"Blackbeard- Terror at Sea" is an excellent documentary and serves to clear up many myths surrounding the legendary pirate. It is entertaining and educational and is highly recommended to anyone interested in the history of piracy and true adventure.

National Geographic has done a superb job in telling the story of Blackbeard. Told through the eyes of his first mate, Israel Hands, the legend comes to life. James Purefoy is wonderful in the title role. It doesn't glamorize the pirate life and does attempt to add historical notes along the way. It is a movie for the whole family though perhaps parents should screen it first if they have very young children.
The only minor quibble I have with it is the fact vs. folklore special feature, I had a difficult time getting it to play on my dvd player. It would have been nice if they had had Play All on it instead of having to backtrack and watch each section individually.
Also, they don't credit the other actors which is a shame since they are very good, especially the actor who played Israel Hands.

I was a little dismayed to learn that this production did not portray the facts as accurately as is possible. The film itself is very good and kept my attention, and after it was over it had interested me enough to want to know more about Blackbeard. So I did some research, and that's when I learned that what I had just seen was not necessarily how it happened...

For one, in this film Blackbeard is shown always operating on his own, on one ship, when in fact he often had a mini-flotilla of three or four vessels. Another surprise was that his famous flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge, was run aground in North Carolina (some say intentionally). Somehow the film failed to mention this seemingly important event.

The story is told through the eyes of Israel Hands, Blackbeard's 2nd-in-command. That much is true, for Hands was part of the crew, but the film does not mention that Hands actually captained another ship in Blackbeard's group; furthermore, the film shows Blackbeard deliberately wounding Hands to save him from a coming battle, while the historical account of the incident is that Blackbeard shot at another sailor, missed him, and the bullet found Hands by chance. Blackbeard's reason for shooting? "That if he did not now and then kill one of them, they would forget who he was." This is hardly the same reason for shooting as the film portrays.

Lastly, and rather disturbingly, the film shows Blackbeard bringing his new wife to his ship (after a brief attempt at retirement) and allowing his crew to gang-rape her; the voice-over in the film states "she was never heard from again." While I suppose that a corrupt individual like Blackbeard was certainly capable of such an act, I could find no historical reference or basis for it. In fact, if anything, it appears he was more of a "ladies' man" and, according to author Robert Lee "few pirates treated women or girls with greater respect than he..." Given that, it's puzzling why this film would portray Blackbeard authorizing such a heinous crime.

The sad part is, I really enjoyed the film and thought it was well done. It was only after I did some research that I learned the film does not do the best job in presenting history as it happened. I give it 3 stars for entertainment value, but it loses two for playing "fast and loose" with some of the facts.

*Possible Spoilers Included, and Quite Lengthy. Read at Your Own Risk*

I first rented this from one of the major online rental companies (not sure if I can post their name here or not) and watched it. Having an interest in Pirates and more specifically Blackbeard, I liked what I saw. However when you dig into the history of the man and his exploits you find that some of the information covered is not entirely accurate.

Before I delve into that let's first comment on the film production quality, and what they actually made.

The film itself is as long as one would imagine for any documentary. The acting for the most part is rather solid as are some of the fighting scenes. Having also an interest in swordfighting, I found a few of the fights to appear silly and very "for the camera". I don't think they captured the chaos of the battle in most of the scenes.

You then have this being a made for tv production. So, of course you have your commercial breaks. Unfortunately when making a DVD (I later purchased this from this website) you end up with a lot of recapping. The same scenes end up being played over and over (I think I saw the same sailor fly through the air five or six times).

The actor that plays Blackbeard (James Purefoy) did a fantastic job and I think easily the best on screen depiction of the man. Unfortunately there really is only so much (and it's limited) info on Blackbeard that I would imagine it was hard to accurately portray him. But the way he walks, talks, and acts is how I saw Blackbeard and I think that speaks volumes for the film. In case you don't know who the actor is, he is the same man that plays Julius Caesar in the ROME series on HBO.

So, fantastic production... now let's get into the issues. The first problem I had with this film was that it was lacking a fleet. We know that at some point Blackbeard had as many as four or five ships sailing together. At the time many of the attacks in this film are portrayed, he had at least two. Never however, do we see those two ships. We get the impression that Blackbeard was a solo Pirate with a dozen men under his command when research suggests he had at LEAST 300. I think that discredits the true nature of the Pirate and how he functioned.

We also miss a lot of the important points in the film. We don't get to see the relationship with Hornigold, or Stede Bonnet (Pirate Captains that Blackbeard once served with, or commanded over). We do however get to see some elements (which I venture to wonder how accurate they really are) such as his marriage near the end of the film.

But they did do a decent job with including some of the lore and legends associated with the Pirate (such as his 13 or 14 marriages... and the story about his body swimming around the ship).

All in all I think it was a decent representation of the man. I don't think it's a completely accurate portrayal but for the sake of entertainment I can honestly say it's a fairly good film. I would recommend to anyone that is interested in Blackbeard, to do your research before concluding this film as fact. This film should be a supporting element, not the main focus for any real investigation. For that you might try the book Blackbeard: America's Most Notorious Pirate, by Angus Kostam. That can also be found here on this website (which is where I purchased it).

Blackbeard is a action filled historical picture of pirates on the high seas. It strikes a good balance of fact and action that entertained myself as well as my main audience: My 7th grade students. It is always a bonus when my students are entertained while they learn, and Blackbeard does just that. The movie gives a nice depiction of how difficult sea life was, as well as the irony of how these hated "sea monsters" were products of the government that despised them. Light, fun, and educational "Blackbeard - Terror at Sea" is great for the classroom or just watching on a Friday night.

James Purfoy's ( Ironclad ) portrayal of Edward Teach is exceptional. For those person's interested in Blackbeard - neither Angus MacFadyen ( Blackbeard ) nor Ian McShane ( On Stranger Tides ) were able to convince with such integrity. The documentary is narrated similar to a feature film, and the locations, ships, weapons, costumes are as impressive as anyone should expect from National Geographic. For those interested in Blackbeard, and wish that there were more film depictions of his exploits - then this documentary should thoroughly impress you enough to watch repeatedly.

This was a gift for my sister who is a teacher and being from NC the study of pirates is important especially Blackbeard!!

Some reviewers have mentioned this movie is not 100% accurate.

That may be true but this is one of the best movies I have ever seen. If this had been in the Theater I would have gladly paid to see it.

When I first saw this on National Geographic I was amazed it was merely a "Made for TV" movie. The acting and Direction were absolutely first class all the way.

If you haven't seen it- you should.

It would be a bargain at twice the price and is one of those movies you will watch again and again.

I bought this because I am presently obsessed with pirates. I expected the usual workmanlike documentary on Blackbeard, the most notorious pirate. What a surprise! It's almost a real movie! Most of the film is a drama, very movie-like, surprisingly well cast and wonderfully produced with high quality sets, costumes. It was so much better than I expected. While many docu-dramas splice in some dialogue, this runs for many minutes of dramatic scenes that are as good as or better than many made to the purpose dramatic movies. Blackbeard is very beleivable, has real menacing but human presence and the use of the Mate's character as the narrator works very well indeed. The acting is not the wooden line speaking so often found in these sorts of things but beleivable dialogue. This could have actually been expanded to be a feature length historical drama! Blackbeard's portrayal rang true for me and the treatment of his last wife is decidedly adult-cable TV! I want more!