National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was released by Walt Disney Pictures in the summer of 2003, directed by Gore Verbinski. Adapted from the Disneyland attraction, it arrived as a genuine surprise — a swashbuckling adventure that revived the pirate genre and launched one of the studio's most enduring franchises. Johnny Depp's performance earned an Academy Award nomination, and the film remains a defining blockbuster of its decade.

This three-frame cell, titled Captain Hector Barbossa and Captain Jack Sparrow, captures a dramatic confrontation between Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp, and Hector Barbossa, played by Geoffrey Rush. The deep blue atmospheric lighting and the circular lens flare visible in the third frame point to the film's iconic cave sequences, where candlelight and moonlight were used to striking effect throughout.