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The Pirate Movie by Ken Annakin
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DVD detailsActor: Bill Kerr, Christopher Atkins, Kristy McNichol, Maggie Kirkpatrick, Ted Hamilton Director: Ken Annakin Producer: Ted Hamilton Cinematographer: Robin Copping Editor: Ken Zemke Producer: David Anderson Producer: David Joseph Writer: Trevor Farrant Writer: William S. Gilbert DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language) Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen Picture Format: 1.85:1 Running Time: 98 minutes DVD Release Date: 2005-03-22 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
DVD Reviews of The Pirate MovieDVD Review: Light-hearted, humorous Pirates of Penzance send up rife with sexual innuendo! Summary: 3 Stars
If you're looking for a serious Pirates of Penzance film when you view The Pirate Movie, then you're going to be sorely disappointed. If you are looking for some silly fun in a brilliant send up of the very serious Pirates of Penzance then this is it!
As well as a poke in the eye to those in Hollywood who would have us believe that sex needs to be brought out front and center, this film is rife with sexual innuendo! You get a light-hearted pleasurable feeling watching this movie. The actors all appear to be having such fun and it becomes terribly contagious.
Supposedly the studio that released the film was more than a bit surprised that the film did as well as it did. The critics hated it but the public went - if not in droves.
The stars - by all rights - were never truly film stars: Kristy McNichol was a very hot property on television, but not on film. Christopher Atkins was the current boy pin up of the week who was wildly popular for his pretty-boy looks and his seeming indifference to wearing clothing on film (The Blue Lagoon, A Night in Heaven), but he has never been known for his ability as an actor. His very casting ( and maybe unbeknownst to him) seems to be a wink at his barely clothed reputation, but also to cash in on his pin up status.
Musicals are not terribly popular with boys, but girls love 'em. Casting Atkins guaranteed a steady stream of nubile young girls attending the film, while McNichols' rather unthreatening appeal kept the female filmgoers from feeling jealous. Atkins strikes quite the romantic leading man's presence in and partially out of the fantastic costumes even if he can't act; and McNichol looks more soft and feminine than she's ever been seen before. I don't know if the two got along, but if they didn't, you couldn't swear it by me, because these two seem to be having the time of their life.
There are several songs in the film that are takenly directly (or rathter spoofed) from the Pirates of Penzance. "I am the very model of a modern major general" is absolutely wonderful. "Taren Tara" is beautifully performed. "Pirate King" is fun and silly. "Pumping and Blowing" is a duet with McNichol and Atkins that when heard and viewed cements the reality that this is innuendo. McNichol is actually quite good as a singer. Atkins' singing ability is painful at best - but certainly not cringe-worthy (Heck, even Gene Kelly kept being given roles where he sang and danced - and he couldn't sing - he was a trained dancer!).
Today, more than ever, with so many PG rated films being far more "adult" than need be, this playful, romatic, cheerful, and frankly wholesome for the whole family romp is a breath of fresh air on the DVD circuit.
You'll be tapping your toes to the songs, laughing at the dialogue (as was intended), and viewing this more than once.
Yes, this is a heaping helping of cheese! But for pete's sake if you can't get a kick out of some cheesy filmmaking on the light side, then you're taking yourself far too seriously.
More The Pirate Movie reviews: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Description of The Pirate Movie "Buckle your swash and jolly your roger for the ultimate musical comedy pirate adventure! Kristy McNichol (LITTLE DARLINGS) and Christopher Atkins (THE BLUE LAGOON) star as dreamy young lovers in this uproarious update of Gilbert & Sullivan?s THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, filled with virtuous maidens and shirtless cutthroats, savage swordplay and buried treasure, a dashing Pirate King (Ted Hamilton) and a modern Major General (Bill Kerr), plus plenty of pillaging, plundering, plank-walking fun! For years, fans have been clamoring for this infamous ?80s musical from the Oscar®-nominated director of THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES (1966). The wait is over: THE PIRATE MOVIE is now presented with a brand-new Widescreen Transfer, featuring a fascinating new Director?s Commentary and mixed in timber-shivering Dolby 5.1 Surround! "
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