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Post by Lonewolf on Aug 30, 2023 10:34:01 GMT -5
Right behind "Sword & Sorcery", my second favorite entertainment genre is "Pirates" (the fictionalized/"Hollywood" type). I thought I would start a thread to discuss Pirate Movies, Books, T.V., Comics, Games, etc.
I'll start with the film that is arguably the "archetype" of the Pirate film genre: Captain Blood -1935, fast paced, beautifully filmed, and stars the ultimate "Hollywood Swashbuckler" Errol Flynn.
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Post by Von K on Aug 30, 2023 13:24:04 GMT -5
Great idea for a thread Lonewolf!
Can't go wrong with Captain Blood - the book or the movie.
I will add what I think is one of the best contemporary treatments of the genre in TV series form - Black Sails:
Black Sails First Trailer
It's a combination of history, elements from Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and characters and events cut from fresh cloth for the series. Changes some of the historical elements a bit but not too much and is probably nevertheless one of the most historically accurate treatments of pirates ever filmed. They were advised by historical maritime combat expert Benerson Little. Lot's of great characters and awesome scenes and set pieces superbly portrayed by well cast actors.
Zach McGowan as Captain Charles Vane is probably the most Conanic (my favourite character by a small margin). Toby Stevens plays an excellent conflicted role with Captain Flint (his acting talent was wasted in Lost in Space imho). Clara Paget plays a superb Anne Bonny, up there with REH's pirate lasses.
And the late Ray Stevenson cut some awesome swash as Blackbeard (they portray him with three flintlocks whereas he's supposed to have three brace of pistols, but I'm not complaining):
Some great commentary on this series by Jim Cornelius over on his Frontier Partisans website:
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Post by garbanzo on Aug 30, 2023 17:11:24 GMT -5
I love Howard's Conan stories that feature pirates, and always wondered if there's more pirate-themed sword & sorcery out there. Any suggestions?
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Post by almuric on Aug 31, 2023 11:33:38 GMT -5
I heartily recommend 1945's overlooked swashbuckler The Spanish Main. Paul Henreid plays a Dutch captain who runs afoul of Spanish perfidy and turns to a life of piracy in retaliation.
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Post by Lonewolf on Sept 5, 2023 11:54:14 GMT -5
I heartily recommend 1945's overlooked swashbuckler The Spanish Main. Paul Henreid plays a Dutch captain who runs afoul of Spanish perfidy and turns to a life of piracy in retaliation. I just watched this movie last Friday and I think "The Spanish Main" absolutely had the potential to be a "classic", if not for main actor Paul Henreid. I have not seen Henreid in any other films so I can't comment on his ability as an actor, but IMO he was completely miscast for this role/movie. He's not charming or "dashing" or even intimidating, he's just "there"..... and although he was 36/37 when filming this movie, Henreid looks like he's in his mid 50's, so the 20 something Maureen O'Hara "swooning" over him just seems forced/creepy. The main villain (Walter Slezak) steals every scene he's in, and some of the secondary characters/actors are great as well. I think if they dropped the romance subplot (there is zero chemistry between the leads), and focused more on the revenge aspect the movie might have worked a little better. |
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Post by johnnypt on Sept 5, 2023 13:39:53 GMT -5
I heartily recommend 1945's overlooked swashbuckler The Spanish Main. Paul Henreid plays a Dutch captain who runs afoul of Spanish perfidy and turns to a life of piracy in retaliation. I just watched this movie last Friday and I think "The Spanish Main" absolutely had the potential to be a "classic", if not for main actor Paul Henreid. I have not seen Henreid in any other films so I can't comment on his ability as an actor, but IMO he was completely miscast for this role/movie. He's not charming or "dashing" or even intimidating, he's just "there"..... and although he was 36/37 when filming this movie, Henreid looks like he's in his mid 50's, so the 20 something Maureen O'Hara "swooning" over him just seems forced/creepy. The main villain (Walter Slezak) steals every scene he's in, and some of the secondary characters/actors are great as well. I think if they dropped the romance subplot (there is zero chemistry between the leads), and focused more on the revenge aspect the movie might have worked a little better. Paul Henreid is best known as the other guy in Casablanca and for being able to light two cigarettes in his mouth to give one to Bette Davis. An action hero he is not. The supporting cast isn’t unknown to pirate flicks. Maureen O’Hara did a number in her day and Walter Slezak, known as a scene stealer, wasn’t able to do it against the lead in the Princess and the Pirate…Bob Hope. |
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Post by darthgall on Sept 5, 2023 14:16:38 GMT -5
I love Howard's Conan stories that feature pirates, and always wondered if there's more pirate-themed sword & sorcery out there. Any suggestions? On a bit of a pirate kick myself recently. This summer I really liked: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty Not strict S&S, but definitely adjacent. Adventure w/ the villain wielding some dark, bloody magic; set in and around the Indian Ocean in a pre-gunpowder age. Right now I'm into: Pathfinder Tales: Pirate's Honor by Chris A. Jackson It's a Pathfinder book, which is basically D&D on a branded setting, so there's too much magic for it to be S&S, but it has pirates and ships and backstabs and undead, so it's working pretty well so far... -Mick. |
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Post by Erik on Sept 5, 2023 16:33:47 GMT -5
Pathfinder Tales: Pirate's Honor by Chris A. Jackson It's a Pathfinder book, which is basically D&D on a branded setting, so there's too much magic for it to be S&S, but it has pirates and ships and backstabs and undead, so it's working pretty well so far... -Mick. Have you heard of the Pathfinder Adventure Path series called Skull & Shackles? My friends and I are currently running through that campaign, and we're on the fourth book (of six). |
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Post by thedarkman on Sept 8, 2023 8:19:42 GMT -5
I love Howard's Conan stories that feature pirates, and always wondered if there's more pirate-themed sword & sorcery out there. Any suggestions? I highly recommend Waters of Darkness by David C Smith and Joe Bonadonna. Fantastic Pirate/S&S adventure! |
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Post by bilgames on Sept 15, 2023 0:05:26 GMT -5
How about Emilio Salgari's literary creations, Sandokan and the Black Corsair? Many of the stories, written in Italian starting in the 1880s, are now available in English through ROH Press:
Both Sandokan and the Black Corsair were portrayed on-screen in the 1970s by the charismatic Indian actor Kabir Bedi, who became an international sensation as a result.
Here's an Italian promo for the original Sandokan (1976) mini-series:
A "music video" for the feature film Il Corsaro Nero (1976):
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Post by Lonewolf on Nov 6, 2023 16:40:03 GMT -5
How about Emilio Salgari's literary creations, Sandokan and the Black Corsair? Many of the stories, written in Italian starting in the 1880s, are now available in English through ROH Press:
Both Sandokan and the Black Corsair were portrayed on-screen in the 1970s by the charismatic Indian actor Kabir Bedi, who became an international sensation as a result.
Here's an Italian promo for the original Sandokan (1976) mini-series:
A "music video" for the feature film Il Corsaro Nero (1976):
The Black Corsair isn't a great movie but Kabir Bedi has so much "presence" that it makes up for it. IMO, the coolest visual depiction of a movie Pirate. I watched The Black Corsair on Youtube, I can't seem to find a legitimate release of the movie? |
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Post by bilgames on Nov 10, 2023 0:54:20 GMT -5
There's a German Blu-ray of The Black Corsair, which remastered the original Italian print into glorious high definition:
But unfortunately, there are no English subtitles on this disc...
My own personal favorite pirate movie is the silent film The Black Pirate (1926), starring Douglas Fairbanks. Actually, it was one of the first "color" movies ever, and many scenes, concepts, and stunts are still copied to this day.
The entire film is available on YouTube, restored in high definition:
I wouldn't be surprised if Robert E. Howard caught a glimpse or two of the athletic Douglas Fairbanks, who may even have influenced his literary creations...
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Post by johnnypt on Nov 10, 2023 7:47:21 GMT -5
There's a German Blu-ray of The Black Corsair, which remastered the original Italian print into glorious high definition:
But unfortunately, there are no English subtitles on this disc...
My own personal favorite pirate movie is the silent film The Black Pirate (1926), starring Douglas Fairbanks. Actually, it was one of the first "color" movies ever, and many scenes, concepts, and stunts are still copied to this day.
The entire film is available on YouTube, restored in high definition:
I wouldn't be surprised if Robert E. Howard caught a glimpse or two of the athletic Douglas Fairbanks, who may even have influenced his literary creations...
Didn’t he say he saw Mark of Zorro at the very least? I remember when AMC was TCM before there was TCM, they’d run Fairbanks movies every Saturday morning at 6am for a few months. I remember making sure the video recorded was running when this was on. |
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Post by Lonewolf on Dec 18, 2023 13:10:13 GMT -5
I love Howard's Conan stories that feature pirates, and always wondered if there's more pirate-themed sword & sorcery out there. Any suggestions? I highly recommend Waters of Darkness by David C Smith and Joe Bonadonna. Fantastic Pirate/S&S adventure! x2 for "Waters of Darkness" And.....I just finished reading "On Stranger Tides" by Tim Powers. Brief description from Amazon: "On Stranger Tides features Blackbeard, ghosts, voodoo, zombies, the fabled Fountain of Youth…and more swashbuckling action than you could shake a cutlass at, as reluctant buccaneer John Shandy braves all manner of peril, natural and supernatural, to rescue his ensorcelled love."
Overall a fun easy read, some of the ideas/concepts were incorporated into the 4th Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but the book has a completely different plot/story. Unless I'm looking in the wrong places?, there doesn't seem to be many books that fit that Pirate/Sword & Sorcery "vibe"? After reading about 50 book synopsis on Amazon, there is a ton of "Pirate/Fantasy".... but it's geared towards young adult females and/or a platform for the author to push their politics. I want (adult themed) books that feature stereotypical "Pirates tropes", but mixed with some supernatural/magic and creatures/monsters. Something between Black Sails and Pirates of the Caribbean. |
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Post by bonesaw on Dec 29, 2023 13:00:08 GMT -5
Watched it recently and still enjoyed it as much as I did when I was a kid, but Long John Silver with Robert Newton was a repeat watch for me back then.
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