The Black Pearl

The Black Pearl is a pirate sailing ship in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. In the screenplay, the (fictional) Black Pearl is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and tattered sails, representing dark deeds and evil.

Captained by Captain Jack Sparrow, she is said to be "nigh uncatchable". Indeed, in the first three films she either overtakes or flees all other ships, including the Interceptor (regarded as the fastest ship in the Caribbean) and the Flying Dutchman (which is actually faster against the wind).

The Pearl's speed is partly derived from the large amount of sails she carries, and partly supernatural. She is noted in At World's End as being "the only ship that can outrun the Dutchman."

The Black Pearl is moderately armed and carries 32 twelve-pound cannons: 18 on the gun deck and 14 on the upper deck. Its full broadside contains 16 cannonballs that weigh 192 lb (192 pounds (87 kg)).

Extremely unusual for a pirate ship, the Pearl has no chase guns (cannons used while being chased or chasing, as a regular broadside volley cannot be used in this situation) in her bow or stern, giving her a grave tactical disadvantage during a chase as the Pearl cannot shoot a ship it is chasing or return fire at a pursuer; her high speed only partially negates this handicap.

In Dead Man's Chest another advantage the Black Pearl has over her enemies is her ability to hide in the sea at night, since if all the ship's lamps are blown out the ship is no longer visible thanks to her black hull and sails. This is also seen in Curse of the Black Pearl where she is able to sneak unhindered into Port Royal under the cover of darkness. See also, Master and Commander, where cloaking ruse is used to escape a French warship.

FILMING PROPS

In the first movie, the Black Pearl was a steel barge with wooden structures built on top to resemble a real ship. In addition, a soundstage set was used to achieve better control over fog machines.

For the second and third movies, a floating sailing ship was actually built in the shipyards at Bayou La Batre in Alabama on the hull of the cargo ship Sunset to serve as the set, though it is not an authentic tall ship.

Another version, mounted on a gimbal, was built for filming the Maelstrom battle. In 2010, the Sunset, which played the Black Pearl in most of the films, was reconstructed to portray the Queen Anne's Revenge in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 

The key players of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series are Johhny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow,  Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Geoffrey Rush as Captain Hector Barbossa, with Orlando Bloom as Will Turner.

The Pirates of the Caribbean stories follow the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) on a quest for treasure, the fountain of youth with Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally), and restitution from various curses relating to gold and silver coins, all the while evading the British Royal Navy, and Commodore James Norrington (Jack Davenport), featuring Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and Angelica (Penélope Cruz), ending with Carina Smyth (daughter of Hector Barbossa, Kaya Scodelario) and Henry Turner (son of Will and Elizabeth, Brenton Thwaites) taking a shine to each other against (Javier Bardem) Armando Salazar, who is seeking revenge.

Pirates of the Caribbean was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer with directors Gore Verbinski, Rob Marshall, Joachim Rønning, and Espen Sandberg. The series was primarily written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio.

Kiera Knightly as Miss Elizabeth Swann in an absolutely stunning outfit

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