Can anyone name me some pirate movies? The only one I know about is Cuthroat Island, and my friend said she knew of a movie called Pirates by Roman Polanski, but it sucked. I have a bunch of friends who love pirates (who doesn’t), and I’m planning a pirate movie night, but I’m stumped. Anyone out there able to lend a hand?
Well, if you’re going for silly, there’s the 1982 (warning, very, very silly) The Pirate Movie. Oh yes, there’s also the equally silly Ice Pirates (1984).
Would Captain Harlock count?
Yellowbeard!!!
Starring Graham Chapman, other Pythons, Madeline Kahn, Peter Cook, Cheech & Chong, to name but a few.
Might be hard to find, tho.
“Us Yellowbeards is never more dangerous than when we’re dead!”
Maybe you could also include “The Princess Bride” since the lead character is called The Dread Pirate Roberts? Doesn’t have any actual piracy in it really, but damn, if you haven’t seen this film you have missed out big time.
The Sea Hawk and Captain Blood ,both starring Errol Flynn. Sea Hawk would technically be a privateer movie,since he’s working for England and the Queen.
I’d also recommend Flynn’s The Adventures of Don Juan. Not a pirate movie, but plenty of swashbuckling action, and also very funny. It’s my favorite Flynn. 
I love Pirate movies too, but do not be confused with thinking **Cutthroat Island ** is a movie. It is utterly and completely crap.
Bounty - a young Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins in one of the better retellings of the Mutiny on the Bounty. Look for a very young Daniel Day-Lewis in the cast.
**The Crimson Pirate ** & **The Flame and The Arrow ** Burt Lancaster starred in several B movie pirate romps that show off his very athletic form. Before he made it big he was in the circus. Fun for kids and adults. The Crimson Pirate is a pirate yarn , the Flame and the Arrow is a tongue in cheek nod to Robin hood. If you should watch both in the same night, if you find them.
**A & E’s Horotio Hornblower ** not truly a pirate story, but the cimetography, acting, plots and everything else make this one outstanding sea faring yarn.
**Nate & Hayes ** Tommy Lee Jones and cast. Pirating,Missonaries, Krauts (ja, I said Krauts zey are everywhere) , cannibals, Virgin sacrifice, he loves her but she loves him plot. What more could you ask for. This is one of my top ten flicks and it is has lots of movie fun. Hard to find, but …Tommy Lee Jones is yummy yum yum.
**Mutiny on the Bounty ** Charles Laughton and Clark Gable. I haven’t seen it, but it is considered a classic.
**Captian Blood ** Errol Flynn. Considered one of the best pirate films of all time.
One of the most famous pirate movies is Catpain Blood.
In fact, so famous that Shirley beat me to it!
And doc_miller beat both of us.
I searched the IMDb of plots involving pirates and found the following on VHS/DVD:
The Black Pirate
The Black Swan
Blackbeard’s Ghost
Blackbeard, the Pirate
Captain Kidd
China Seas
Jamaica Inn
I find it amusing that the only “pirate” movie you know about is “Cuthroat Island”, which is universally acclaimed as one of the all-time worst movies ever made!
Round about the same time The Pirate Movie came out (starring Kristy McNichol, no less), a movie version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance also came out (starring Kevin Kline, Angela Lansbury, Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith). The former was a badly made and horribly dated G&S rip-off, whereas the proper G&S version is really quite funny. A must-see for pirate movie aficionados.
As for Ice Pirates, all I can say is this: “Space Herpes!”
I don’t believe that anyone has mentioned Against All Flags. It was the good pirate movie on which Cutthroat was loosely based. It starred (if I remember correctly) Errol Flynn, Maureen O’Hara and Anthony Quinn.
I think there was another remake with Doug McClure and Dean Stockwell in the late 60s or early 70s, but I’m not totally sure. I think it was called The King’s Pirate. I think Jill St. John played the Maureen O’Hara role.
Shiver me timbers! How can yer be a-talkin’ of pirate movies, and not name Treasure island with yer first breath? I oughter make yer walk the pank, yer scurvy knaves, ahr!
There have been several versions of this film (in fact, IMDB lists 48 titles), but the 1934 version, with Jackie Cooper is the best.
It just came to me that Yul Brynner did the remake of the Buccaneer back in the late 50s or early 60s. It was about Jean Lefitte. It wasn’t real swashbucklely but it was pretty good.
I think Frederic March did the original.
Speaking of buccaneers, I could be way off here, but I vaguely remember a film coming out with the title of (maybe) The Last of the Buccaneers. I think it came out not long after Captain Blood, and attempted to capitalize on the popularity of pirate movies at the time. It might have starred Paul Henried.
Dear God, no – not the pank! 
Upon my word, I can’t believe it took so long to bring up Treasure Island. The Jackie Cooper version is, indeed, the best (says I! Says you? Ay, says I!)
Mutiny on the Bounty with Charles Laughton and Clark Gable is good, but I also like the Hopkins/Gibson version. Marlon Brando first visited Tahiti during the making of his version and I believe he maintains a residence there still.
Billy Budd is terrific as well, with Terence Stamp as Billy Budd. “God Bless Cap’n Veer.”
Er, I mean “plank” of course.
And I liked the Polanski film. Very un-hollywoodish.
For a film which portrays pirates in a very grisly, unsentimental, and unsettling way, check out the Light at the Edge of the World, with Yul Brynner and Kirk Douglas. Warning! This is not an entertaining flick, but a more serious, introspective film, dealing with the nature of good and evil.
In defense of Cutthroat Island, which is one of my guilty pleasures: Frank Langella plays one of the best movie villains I’ve ever seen in CI, Dawg Brown. He plays the villain with major gusto, and he’s just so eeevil. Also, the ship-to-ship battle at the end, with cannons blazing and cutlasses swinging, is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen on film.
I was going to include these with my other pirate movie links until I noticed that they aren’t available on video. Not accoriding to the IMDb, anyway.
Muppet Treasure Island.
I think we could put Goonies in there.