Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex · Library of Congress. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Released in 2003, Walt Disney Pictures' Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl arrived as an unlikely gamble, a big-budget film based on a theme park ride, and became a genre-defining hit. Directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, it revived swashbuckling adventure for a new generation and launched one of the studio's most enduring franchises. Its success rested heavily on a single performance that turned a supporting role into the heart of the picture.
This 35mm cell preserves Captain Jack Sparrow, the character whose unpredictable wit and roguish charm reshaped audience expectations for a blockbuster hero. Played by Johnny Depp, the role earned him an Academy Award nomination and became inseparable from his name. For collectors, a cell simply identified by the character himself represents the foundational image of the franchise, the moment before mythology accumulated, when Jack Sparrow was introduced to the world as Captain Jack Sparrow, full stop.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; corners appear rounded and punching appears clean with no torn edges visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation zone on the same edge; a DTS timecode line also appears present as a fine dotted line along that edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base shows a light blue-cyan tint consistent with estar or acetate safety stock; dye image appears warm-amber with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light horizontal scratching lines are visible running the length of the strip, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot and the imagery is consistent with a release print of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).
Era check
The combination of variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, DTS timecode line, and warm-tinted dye image on a blue-base safety stock is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000063456
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
