Product Details

• Actors: Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley
• Directors: Gore Verbinski
• Format: Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Walt Disney Video
• DVD Release Date: December 5, 2006
• Run Time: 151 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (801 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JP0F
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,674 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #6 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Series & Sequels > Pirates of the Caribbean
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• This is item 2 in The Pirates of the Caribbean Series.

Editorial Reviews

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

Product Description
ONCE AGAIN THROWN NTO THE WORLD OF THE SUPERNATURAL, CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW FINDS OUT THAT HE OWES A BLOODY DEBT TO THE LEGENDARY DAVEY JONES, CAPTAIN OF THE GHOSTLY FLYING DUTCHMAN'. WITH TIME RUNNING OUT, JACK MUST FIND A WAY OUT OF DEBT OR ELSE BE DOOMED TO ETERNAL DAMNATION & SERVITUDE IN THE AFTERLIFE.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Fool's gold, April 28, 2007

By	RES (Boston, MA, USA) - See all my reviews

Following the enormous commercial and critical success of the 2003 PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: Curse of the Black Pearl, corporate greed made a sequel inevitable. Good or bad, it didn't matter; and the sequel "Dead Man's Chest" duly appeared in 2006, made back-to-back with another 2.5 hours of footage that will be released as a third installment in May 2007: "At World's End." Sequels can be fine: some, like SPIDER-MAN 2, even surpass their predecessors. When gold is the *only* prize however, as Disney's corporate pirates should have heeded, there is often a price. In the case of "Dead Man's Chest," that price is quality. The first film was conceived as a closed system, with a beginning, middle, and end. It was buoyant, humorous, exciting, wise at times, crisply executed, and carefully researched historically--right down to the English period violins and bows used, generally brilliant. Topping it off was a lead performance as iconoclast as one is ever going to see: Johnny Depp as the witty, sardonic, and wonderfully fey pirate, Jack Sparrow. Sparrow's position in the plot, his world-view, and his ambiguous sexuality telegraphed him immediately as an outsider, with all the insight that can bring. The film also had a surprising horror theme of undead pirates, adding a note of the surreal to the impeccable 18th-century action and settings.

"Dead Man's Chest" couldn't be more different except for its rough basic premise and its excessive length: apparently the director hates editing; even his fine first PIRATES entry was a tad long at 143 minutes. "Chest" is historically sloppy, genuine period details actually dismissed in favor of showier ones. It began with NO script: in the DVD extras, the writers freely admitted that they were not prepared for a sequel and couldn't come up with anything. So when shooting time came, the director simply filmed a lot of action sequences and the script was made up along the way. As for themes, much is an untalented retread of the first film; even the same fine musical score is reused--its best feature. The result is an utter mess, without any real humor, continuity, pacing, or appeal. It's 2.5 hours of confusion, tedium, some uncomfortable sadism, and an unhealthy dose of racial stereotyping.

We do not identify with any of the principal characters, whose natures have changed radically since the first film--except perhaps Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), now a doormat for his fiancee Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and for Jack Sparrow. Jack comes off here as a treacherous, cowardly opportunist more than anything else. Apparently, the "gay reading"--which Depp intended and discussed with Rolling Stone, citing his study of the scholarly "Sodomy and the Pirate Tradition"--must have been too scary for Disney, though not for audiences, given the first film's returns. For "Chest," the writers and/or editors have assured that Sparrow is no longer a clever, witty, or interesting outsider; he is simply a selfish, manipulative alcoholic. Moreover, the writers and/or editors lessened or eliminated any sexual ambiguity by bolstering Sparrow's male persona, hinting at gratuitous past histories with women; they even included a preposterous pseudo-romantic link between him and an equally treacherous Elizabeth--who is mysteriously transformed into a pirate and expert duelist. Depp does the best he can with the material, and it is astonishing what he manages to salvage from the wreckage of the "script." The special effects are well-done but overwhelming while going nowhere, and there is a 25-minute racist interlude on an island occupied by cannibals that is so repugnant as to be worthy of a vulgar 1930s comedy. That an actor of Depp's sophistication and political views could have permitted, much less participated in, such sequences after reading them in the script fragments, apparently unaware of their obvious pernicious resonances, is beyond comprehension. Again, referring to the DVD extras, the attitude of the actors, especially Depp, is not one of glowing achievement as with the first film: muted comments appear tinged with mild regret. Depp received $20 million for this film, apparently enough for him to rationalize compromising his artistic ethics. This is a film to borrow from the library as a curiosity, but the Disney pirates have raked in quite enough already and don't need anyone else's hard-earned cash for something that started out with a brilliant offbeat film and ended as a leaden franchise. The anamorphic widescreen DVD transfer is quite good; with a film of this caliber, the plethora of extras is ludicrous.

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Grand Swashbuckling Movie That Has The Spirit Of The Original & Brings New Stuff To The Table, Action Filmmaking At Its Finest, July 8, 2006

By	Kaya Savas (Bethesda, MD USA) - See all my reviews

MOVIE: Here we go, probably the most anticipated blockbuster of the year. When the first Pirates Of The Caribbean came out it became an overnight success, and of course immediately greenlit two sequels. Dead Man's Chest is a little different than the first film, which is definately a good thing. I would absolutely have hated to watch the same movie again, and thankfully this film brings a different approach to the story and the characters. The first movie was more epic in my opinion. It was very grand with open-sea ship battles, pirates swinging from ropes tied to the masts, firing cannons, and one on one sword fighting. This movie continues in that tradition a bit, but also brings fresh action and humor to the table. Instead of Barbossa and his cursed crew we have Davy Jones and his sea crew. Jack Sparrow is in debt to Davy Jones and in order to keep his freedom he must in turn find 100 men to be on Davy Jones' crew on the Flying Dutchman. In a seperate conflict we have Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann who had their wedding ambushed because a corrupt politician wants to find the dead man's chest so that he can control the assests of the East India Trading Company. Jack Sparrow on the other hand wants the chest so that he can have control over Davy Jones and keep a creature known as the Kraken away. The film basically follows our main characters from one island to another in search of this mysterious chest and the contents it contains. The film is the perfect blend of action and humor that keeps it exciting and entertaining. This is really one of the best action movies ever made. The set design, costumes, makeup, and visual effects were just breathtaking. Davy Jones and his crew are the most creative and amazing CGI characters I have ever seen on film. This usually never happens to me, but I am still in question whether Davy Jones' face was all CGI or a blend of prosthetics and CGI. The area around his eyes, nose, and mouth seemed so real and perfect that I am actually in question if it's CGI or prosthetics. It is simply amazing how much detail has been put into this film. Hans Zimmer steps up as composer after replacing his good friend Klaus Badelt from the first film. Zimmer's score really made the movie for me, it borrowed the themes we love so much from the first score and blends it in with darker and heavier music that truly makes this movie a swashbuckling movie. This movie was so much fun, it was so entertaining, so exciting, and funny. You will have a hard time finding a better time at the movies than with Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. It is an amazing continuation of the first film and a great lead-in to the final installment in the trilogy, which will be released next summer.

ACTING: Johnny Depp got an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow in the first movie. Depp is one of the most versitile and talented actors that we have ever seen on the screen. He truly has a presence that cannot be matched and he has crafted an iconic character with Jack Sparrow. Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly provide great acting in their supporting roles even though they have less to do with the main plot this time around. The real highlight here is the character of Davy Jones who is played brilliantly by Bill Nighy. Nighy is a British actor relatively unkown to American audiences. He was recently seen in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and The Constant Gardener, and he adds perfection to the character of Davy Jones. The cast makes the movie and they are all perfect in it.

BOTTOM LINE: What more can you ask for? The movie has everything you would want in a summer adventure fare. The first movie was one of the top grossing films of the year when it came out, and I have no doubt that this will do the same. Gore Verbinski was able to handle all that story and make it flow seamlessly, it was always entertaining and never felt long dispite it's long running time. The film was perfect in my opinion, I really would not change anything about it. Also, there is a little bonus for those who stay after the credits. So, go and enjoy the summer's best movie.

158 of 211 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Arrrgh...'tis GOOD!, July 7, 2006

By	Kevin J. Loria (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"UNDEAD MONKEY! Top that!"....Well, Pirates of the Caribbean 2 has a solid go at topping the top-grossing film of 2003.

Johnny Depp, Oscar-nominated for the role of Capt. Jack Sparrow, possible the best-worst pirate ever owing a life debt to Davey Jones, Captain of the Flying Dutchman, another cursed ship. Also returning, Orlando Bloom as Wil Turner, the decent colonialist, who in the spirit of Flynn's CAPTAIN BLOOD, is drawn into the pirate's life along with Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann.Wil and Elizabeth are arrested instead of wed and slated to be executed for their part in Sparrow's escape. Wil cuts a deal to bring Jack;s quirky compass in return for a pardon for he and Elizabeth. The three become involved in Sparrow's struggle to free himself of eternal servitude onboard the Flying Dutchman, along with "Bootstrap" Bill Turner aka Wil's Dad. Captain Jack and Wil Turner's unlikely friendship continues in one misadventure after another, with more returning character's from the original than you can swash a buckle with, like Elizabeth's father Governor Wetherby Swann (Jonathan Pryce), the lovable buffoons Pintel and Ragetti (Lee Arenberg and MacKenzie Crook), first mate Gibbs (Kevin McNally) and the fallen Commodore James Norrington (Jack Davenport).

Director of the original, Gore Verbinski again throws the pirates into one amusing action sequence after another, from island cannibals, to an inevitable bar fight, some Treasure Island homages, battles with barnacled minions of Davey Jones and a runaway mill-wheel-three-way duel between Jack/Wil/Norrington that is worth the price of admission and beverages.

Depp's swaggering-staggering Sparrow makes any scene fascinating with his rock star take on pirates. But be WARNED: Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 were produced back-to-back to allow for quicker release of two, meaning Dead Man's Chest is "a link film." And for those of us who endured the ending wait between The Empire Strikes Back and Jedi, you know what I mean. Pirates 2, ends with a bit of a cliffhanger which is always risky. The ending leaves almost nothing resolved and no villain thwarted.

The locales as breath-taking and effects are as stunning as the original, in particular the ship swallowing Kracken. Sadly the brilliant Bill Nighy as Davey Jones is wasted as the overly CGI and effect laden character, who could have been anyone and was less striking than the previous films nemesis. In fact, I would rather see Nighy play Sparrow's dad (who was supposed to be briefly in the 3 movie due out in 2007)