Jack Routledge

Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl Opening Analysis

The film opens in wide shot at sea. Through the fog a galleon slowly appears. This sets the location and the time the film is set. The ship moves slowly and silently as if the ship itself fears what might be out at sea. The camera then zooms in on a young girl singing on top of the galleon overlooking the water. We then see a close-up shot of a hand appear on the girl’s shoulder which surprise’s her suggesting the hand is of a villain or someone with importance, the man explains that the girl should not sing about pirates suggesting that he fears them or despises them. The costumes the actors are wearing highlight that the film is set in the past and that they have been on the ship for a long period of time at they are relatively weather beaten. We then find out the man’s name is ‘Mr Gibbs’ as he is talked down too and dismissed by another crew member. The hierarchy of the two men is very clear, one is dressed very smartly and clean shaven whilst ‘Mr Gibbs’ looks scruffy and has facial hair. Make – up is used to make the actors look pale, maybe to show they haven’t seen the sun in a long time or too make the audience aware they are British along with their accents. Diegetic sounds of music can be heard whilst the characters are talking to create tension and to foreshadow an upcoming event which the audience can already guess will be pirates appearing. Non-diegetic sounds of the wind are present which could suggest there will be bad weather ahead which links to the grey sky above them. The gentlemen who dismissed ‘Mr Gibbs’ then talks to the young girl about his view on pirates, he is the focus in the shot meaning what he’s saying is important, he is also speaking very seriously which is unusual because adults don’t normally talk to children like that, consequently reinforcing the importance of what he is saying. The father of the young girl appears (wearing red instead of blue like the two other men, suggesting he is of more importance) and stops the man from saying anything else and explains how he is worried that his daughter has such an interest in pirates which again highlights the galleon and people on the galleons fear of them. The lighting is very dull so we can expect something alarming and dark to happen. Once the young girl’s father walks away we get a mid-close up shot of her looking back out at the water, we then see an umbrella float past which is out of the ordinary because we presume they are far out at sea. The diegetic sound of edgy music gets louder and creates suspense. We then see the young girl look round once the umbrella disappears and we get a high angle shot of a boy on a raft. The boy is led down flat which creates tension because we don’t know if he is alive or not. This is followed by fast cut transitions of the crew bringing the boy up on to the deck. To imply importance a close-up shot of the man speaking to the young girl previously is made as he tells us the boy is breathing. The music begins to become faster and louder following a long shot of the whole crew on the galleon looking at a ship that is on fire allowing us to know they are not alone at sea. ‘Mr Gibbs’ assumes that the ship they are looking at was set alight by pirates but the young girl’s father (who seems to be of great importance on the ship) is quick to shy away from the assumption and says “there is no proof of that” a mid-shot is used so we can see the facial expression of the man as he smiles. This again gives us an understanding that the crew fears pirates and don’t want to come across any. The props on the galleon such as the cannon suggests they are ready to fight if they encounter any which allows us to feel suspense and excitement. Some of the crew are shown rowing towards the ship on fire with a wide-shot so we can see exactly where they are heading too. The young girl is left alone with the boy and he becomes conscious just to say his name, which is “Will Turner” and then falls unconscious again. The girl reassures him that she is watching over him which suggests she is very kind and caring and might show this throughout the film. The girl discovers that the boy Is a pirate and mysterious diegetic sound becomes louder as she doesn’t tell anyone which is unusual and could foreshadow her becoming close to a pirate due to her interest in them. We know she’s hiding the fact he’s a pirate when asked about the boy because the girl put the necklace behind her back so no crew members could see it. A flag is shown through a pan of the front of the galleon to show

Jack Routledge

where they are from. The camera focuses on the piece of jewellery with a skull on that the boy was wearing and then zooms out to show a ship appearing ahead of the galleon. The weather is still condensed with fog to build on the suspension. Finally, we see a close-up shot of the ships flag which is a skull and two swords highlighting the fact they are pirates and showing they aren’t friendly as swords are used for fighting. A transition is then made back to the young girl with an extreme close-up of her shutting her eyes almost like she’s needing a double take which highlights hew interest in pirates as she can’t quite believe they’re real suggesting this is her first time encountering any. A close-up of a lady opening her eyes appear suggesting this was all a dream or a memory. However, we do not know for certain this is the same girl. The camera starts to zoom out of her face and her facial expressions allow us to realise she is quite dazed to show she has just woke up and to set the scene in a new time frame. Warmer colours appear in the scene which takes away the suspense.