Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) is an American fantasy supernatural swashbuckler film directed by Gore Verbinski. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, it’s based on the popular Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disney theme parks. In the 18th century, Governor Weatherby Swann and his daughter, Elizabeth, sail aboard HMS Dauntless. During their voyage, they come across a shipwrecked survivor named Will Turner. However, when Elizabeth takes a gold medallion from around Will’s neck, she unknowingly sets off a chain of events. Fast forward eight years to Port Royal in Jamaica where Norrington has been promoted to commodore and proposes to Elizabeth at Fort Charles. However, during their encounter, Elizabeth faints due to her tight corset causing her to fall into the water below and setting off the medallion once again. This time Captain Jack Sparrow appears, ‘commandeering’ a ship but ultimately rescuing Elizabeth before escaping Commodore Norrington who recognizes him as a pirate with his brand.

That evening, Port Royal falls under attack from the Black Pearl, which Elizabeth had previously spotted while searching for the medallion. Upon invoking parley, Elizabeth is brought before Captain Barbossa. Under the alias ‘Elizabeth Turner’, she conceals her true identity as the governor’s daughter, but Barbossa insists on taking her along. He reveals that the medallion is one of 882 Aztec gold coins that were used to bribe Cortés and stop his brutal actions. However, due to Cortés’s greed, the heathen gods placed a curse on the treasure. Barbossa and his crew managed to find it at Isla de Muerta, but after spending it, they became immortal undead skeletons that can no longer feel or taste anything except in the moonlight. In order to break the curse, each member of Barbossa’s crew must return their respective share of gold with their own blood.