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For the video game, see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game).
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is a 2007 adventure film, the third film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. The plot follows Elizabeth Swann, Will Turner and the crew of the Black Pearl rescuing Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), from Davy Jones's Locker, and then preparing to fight the East India Trading Company, led by Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) and Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), who plan to extinguish piracy. Gore Verbinski directed the film, as he did with the previous two. It was shot in two shoots during 2005 and 2006, the former simultaneously with the preceding film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. The film was released in English-speaking countries on May 24, 2007 after Disney decided to move the release date to a day earlier than originally planned. Critical reviews were mixed, but At World's End was a box office hit, becoming the most successful film of 2007, grossing approximately $960 million worldwide, and making it the second most successful in the series, behind Dead Man's Chest. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Makeup and the Academy Award for Visual Effects. Despite the back of the movie's DVD and Blu-Ray covers (as well as the film's home video commercials) saying "it's the final chapter of the trilogy", the fourth installment, On Stranger Tides, is currently in development and is scheduled to be released in 2011. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End has the highest production budget in box office history at $300 million.
[edit] PlotTo control the world's oceans, Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) executes anyone associated with piracy. Beckett, who possesses Davy Jones' (Bill Nighy) heart, orders Jones to destroy all pirate ships. Condemned prisoners sing a song to compel the nine pirate lords comprising the (fourth) Brethren Court to convene at Shipwreck Cove. However, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), pirate lord of the Caribbean, never appointed a successor, and therefore must attend. Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) leads Will (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth (Keira Knightley), Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris), and the Black Pearl crew to rescue Jack. Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat), pirate lord of the South China Sea, possesses a map to the entrance to Davy Jones's Locker, where Jack is imprisoned. During an attack by the East India Trading Company's navy, Will bargains with Feng for the Pearl in exchange for Sparrow, so Will can rescue his father from The Flying Dutchman. The crew journeys into the Locker and retrieves Sparrow. As The Black Pearl seeks an escape route, dead souls float past the Pearl. Tia Dalma reveals that Davy Jones was appointed by Calypso, Goddess of the Sea and his lover, to ferry the dead to the next world. In return, Jones was allowed to step upon land for one day every ten years to be with his love; but when she failed to meet him, the scorned captain abandoned his duty and transformed into a monster. They find Governor Swann with the dead and he reveals that whoever stabs Jones's heart becomes the Dutchman's captain. After returning to the living world, The Black Pearl is ambushed by Sao Feng, who reveals his agreement with Will. However, he betrays Will, having made another deal with Beckett to hand over the crew and keep The Black Pearl. The Endeavor arrives, and takes Sparrow aboard, although he refuses to divulge where the Brethren Court will convene: instead, Jack makes a deal to lead Beckett to the Court and lure them out in exchange for Beckett protecting him from Jones. When Feng is double-crossed by Beckett, he bargains with Barbossa to release the Pearl in exchange for Elizabeth, who he believes is Calypso trapped in human form. Feng attacks the Endeavor, allowing Jack to escape. Feng tells Elizabeth that the first Brethren Court trapped Calypso in human form so men could rule the seas. When Davy Jones attacks Feng's ship, the mortally wounded Feng appoints Elizabeth as the captain and Pirate Lord of the South China Sea. She and the crew are imprisoned in The Flying Dutchman's brig. Admiral James Norrington (Jack Davenport) frees Elizabeth and her crew. They escape to their ship, but Norrington is killed by a crazed Bootstrap Bill Turner (Stellan Skarsgård). Will leaves a trail of corpses for Beckett's ship to follow. Jack catches Will and they discuss Davy Jones' heart. Jack suggests he stab the heart, to solve Will's conflicting obligations (freeing his father and Elizabeth), he then tosses Will overboard after giving him his magical compass so Beckett can find Shipwreck Cove. Will is rescued by Beckett's ship, and Davy Jones reveals that he masterminded Calypso's imprisonment by the first Brethren Court. At Shipwreck Cove, the pirate lords present the "nine pieces of eight", but disagree over freeing Calypso. Barbossa calls upon Captain Teague (Keith Richards) to confirm that only a Pirate King can declare war. Elizabeth is elected Pirate King after Sparrow's vote for her breaks a stalemate. She orders the pirates to war. During a parley with Beckett and Jones, Elizabeth and Barbossa swap Sparrow for Will after realizing Jack and Will's plan to have Jack stab the heart; swapping Jack would mean that he would then be placed on the Dutchman, where the heart was. Barbossa also steals Jack's "piece of eight". Barbossa uses the "pieces of eight" to free Calypso, who was bound as Tia Dalma. As she is released, Will discloses that Davy Jones betrayed her to the Brethren Court. Her fury unleashes a maelstrom, in which the Dutchman and the Pearl battle. Sparrow escapes The Flying Dutchman's brig and steals the Dead Man's Chest. Will proposes to Elizabeth, and Captain Barbossa marries them in the midst of battle. Will boards the Dutchman to retrieve the chest, but is mortally wounded by Jones. Sparrow places his sword in Will's hand and helps him stab Jones's heart, killing him. Jack and Elizabeth escape The Flying Dutchman as the crew place Will's heart in the Dead Man's Chest; the ship disappears into the whirlpool. Beckett, never intending to honor his agreement with Jack, moves to attack The Black Pearl. The Flying Dutchman resurfaces with Will as the captain and the crew now human. The Flying Dutchman and The Black Pearl destroy The Endeavor, killing Beckett. The surviving armada retreats. Will is bound to sail the sea as The Flying Dutchman's captain. Will and Elizabeth have one day together and consummate their marriage. He departs at sunset after giving Elizabeth the Dead Man's Chest. Barbossa commandeers the Pearl, stranding Jack and Gibbs in Tortuga. Anticipating Barbossa's deception, Sparrow removed the map's middle that shows the path to the Fountain of Youth. Jack departs alone in a dinghy on the open sea. Ten years later, Elizabeth and her son[2] stand atop a seacliff; The Flying Dutchman appears on the horizon with Will Turner aboard. [edit] Cast
[edit] Production
Following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl's success in 2003, the cast and crew signed on for two sequels to be shot back-to-back.[10] For the third film, director Gore Verbinski wanted to return the tone to that of a character piece after using the second film to keep the plot moving.[4] Inspired by the real-life confederation of pirates, Elliott and Rossio looked at historical figures and created fictional characters from them to expand the scope beyond the main cast.[11] Finally embellishing their mythology, Calypso was introduced, going full circle to Barbossa's mention of "heathen gods" that created the curse in the first film.[12] Parts of the third film were shot during location filming of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, a long shoot which finished on March 1, 2006.[13] During August 2005, the Singapore sequence was shot. The set was built on Stage 12 of the Universal backlot, and comprised 40 structures within an 80 by 130-foot (24 by 40-m) tank that was 3½ feet (1 m) deep. As 18th century Singapore is not a well-documented era, the filmmakers chose to use an Expressionist style based on Chinese and Malaysian cities of the same period. The design of the city was also intended by Verbinski to parody spa culture, with fungi growing throughout the set. Continuing this natural feel, the floorboards of Sao Feng's bathhouse had to be cut by hand, and real humidity was created by the combination of gallons of water and the lighting equipment on the set.[14] Filming resumed on August 3, 2006 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah[15] and continued until early 2007 for 70 days off the California coast, as all the shooting required in the Caribbean had been conducted in 2005.[16] Davy Jones' Locker was shot at Utah, and it was shot in a monochromatic way to represent its different feeling from the usual colorful environment of a pirate.[17] The climactic battle was shot in a former air hangar at Palmdale, California,[18] where the cast had to wear wetsuits underneath their costumes on angle-tipped ships. The water-drenched set was kept in freezing temperatures, to make sure bacteria did not come inside and infect the crew.[19] A second unit shot at Niagara Falls.[20] Industrial Light & Magic did 750 effects shots, while Digital Domain also took on 300. They spent just five months finishing the special effects. The film posed numerous challenges in creating water-based effects.[21] Filming finished on December 12, 2006 in Molokai,[22] and the first assembly cut was three hours.[23] Twenty minutes were removed, not including end credits, though producer Jerry Bruckheimer maintained that the long running time was needed to make the final battle work in terms of build-up.[24] Hans Zimmer composed the score as he did for the previous film, composing eight new motifs including a new love theme for the At World's End soundtrack.[22] He scored scenes as the editors began work, so as to influence their choice of cutting to the music. Gore Verbinski helped on the score. He played the guitar in the parley scene between Barbossa, Sparrow, Elizabeth and Will, Davy Jones, and Cutler Beckett.[25] He also co-wrote the song "Hoist the Colours" with Zimmer.[26] [edit] Release The world premiere of At World's End was held on May 19, 2007, at Disneyland, home of the ride that inspired the film and where the first two films in the trilogy debuted. Disneyland offered the general public a chance to attend the premiere through the sale of tickets, priced at $1,500 each, with proceeds going to the Make-a-Wish Foundation charity.[27] Just a few weeks before the film's release, Walt Disney Pictures decided to move the United States opening of At World's End from screenings Friday, May 25, 2007 to Thursday at 8 PM, May 24, 2007.[28] The film opened in 4,362 theaters domestically, beating Spider-Man 3's theater opening record by 110 (this record was surpassed by The Dark Knight the following year).[29][30] [edit] MarketingAfter a muted publicity campaign, the trailer finally debuted at ShoWest 2007.[31] It was shown on March 18, 2007 at a special screening of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl named "Pirates Ultimate Fan Event", and was then shown on March 19 during Dancing with the Stars, before it debuted online.[32] Action figures by NECA were released in late April.[33] Board games such as a Collector’s Edition Chess Set, a Monopoly Game, and a Pirates Dice Game (Liar's dice) were also released. Master Replicas have made sculptures of characters and replicas of jewellery and the Dead Man's Chest.[34] A video game with the same title as the film was released on May 22, 2007 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PSP, PlayStation 2, PC, and Nintendo DS formats.[35] The soundtrack and its remix were also released on May 22. [edit] CensorshipAt least one nation's official censors have ordered scenes cut from the film. According to Xinhua, the state news agency of the People's Republic of China, ten minutes of footage containing Chow Yun-Fat's portrayal of Singaporean pirate Sao Feng have been trimmed from versions of the film which may be shown in China. Chow is onscreen for twenty minutes in the uncensored theatrical release of the film. No official reason for the censorship was given, but unofficial sources within China have indicated that the character gave a negative and stereotypical portrayal of the Chinese people.[36] [edit] ReceptionAs with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, At World's End received mixed reviews. The most common criticism of the film from reviewers was that the plot was too convoluted for them to follow. In review aggregate websites, At World's End has a "rotten" rating of 45% on Rotten Tomatoes[37] and 50% at Metacritic.[38] Favorable reviewer Alex Billington noted, "This is just how the film industry works nowadays; critics give bad opinions, the public usually has a differing opinion, and all is well in the world of Hollywood since the studios made their millions anyway."[39] The film was voted "Best Movie" and "Best Threequel" at the People's Choice Awards. Depp and Knightley also won awards for their performances.[40] Drew McWeeny was an exception, praising its complexity as giving it repeat-viewing value, and its conclusion as "perhaps the most canny move it makes."[41] Todd Gilchrist found the story too similar to other cinematic trilogies such as Star Wars but praised the production values.[42] Brian Lowry felt that "unlike last year's bloated sequel, it at least possesses some semblance of a destination, making it slightly more coherent - if no less numbing during the protracted finale."[43] Total Film praised the performances but complained that the twists and exposition made it hard to care for the characters.[44] Edward Douglas liked the film but had issues with its pacing,[45] while Blake Wright criticized the Davy Jones' Locker and Calypso segments.[46] James Berardinelli found it the weakest of the trilogy as "the last hour offers adventure as rousing as anything provided in either of the previous installments... which doesn't account for the other 108 minutes of this gorged, self-indulgent, and uneven production."[47] Peter Travers praised Richards and Rush but felt "there can indeed be too much of a good thing," regarding Depp's character.[48] Travers later declared the movie to be one of the worst films of the year.[49] Some confusion among fans was regarding the final scene, since there has been a major contradiction in the storyline when Will returns to Elizabeth ten years later: in the DVD commentary, the screenwriters state that because Elizabeth remained faithful to Will for the interim 10 years, and he fulfilled his duty to ferry souls to the next world, he is freed from the Flying Dutchman,[50] but the "Pirates Secrets Revealed" leaflet insert in the DVD release and dialogue in the film make it specifically clear that Will (or any captain of the Flying Dutchman for that matter) is bound forever to his duties and may only step on land once every ten years. However the validity of this leaflet is debatable, and cut scenes removed dialogue that would have explained Will's return in more detail. The film had two nominations for the 80th Academy Awards in the Visual Effects and Makeup categories.[51] It lost to The Golden Compass and La Vie en Rose, respectively. [edit] Box officeOn May 24, 2007, the film earned US$58 million worldwide,[52] and earned the fifth-biggest three-day opening, breaking the Memorial Day weekend record of X-Men: The Last Stand, with a domestic gross of $142 million. The addition of the Thursday screenings brought the opening total to $156 million. Elsewhere, it grossed $205 million, bringing the worldwide opening gross to $332 million.[53] By June 13, 2007, the film had grossed $500 million overseas in 20 days, breaking Spider-Man 3's record for reaching that amount the fastest.[54] The film has grossed an estimated $961 million worldwide[55], making it the highest grossing film of 2007, and the sixth-highest grossing film worldwide.[56][57][58] [edit] Home mediaThe one-disc and two-disc versions of the Region 2 DVD were released in the UK on November 19, 2007, on both standard DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats.[59] The film was released on DVD in Australia on November 21, 2007, and released on December 4, 2007 in the United States and Canada. The 2-Disc Limited Edition DVD was in continuous circulation until it stopped on September 30, 2008. In contrast, the Blu-ray Disc release, containing all of the features from the 2-Disc DVD version (including some exclusive Blu-ray features) is still widely available. The initial Blu-ray Disc release was misprinted on the back of the box as 1080i, although Disney confirmed it to be 1080p. Disney has decided not to recall the misprinted units, but will fix the error on subsequent printings.[60] DVD sales brought in about $295,686,812 in revenue.[61] [edit] References
[edit] External links
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