IMDb > Pirates (1986)

Overview

User Rating:
5.9/10   2,869 votes
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Down 14% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Roman Polanski
Writers:
Gérard Brach (writer)
John Brownjohn (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Pirates on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 July 1986 (USA) more
Genre:
Adventure | Comedy more
Plot:
Captain Red runs a hardy pirate ship with the able assistance of Frog, a dashing young French sailor... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination more
User Comments:
The best pirate film of recent times more (36 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Walter Matthau ... Captain Thomas Bartholomew Red
Cris Campion ... The Frog - Jean-Baptiste
Damien Thomas ... Don Alfonso de la Torré
Olu Jacobs ... Boomako
Ferdy Mayne ... Captain Linares

David Kelly ... Surgeon
Tony Peck ... Spanish Officer (as Anthony Peck)
Anthony Dawson ... Spanish Officer
Richard Dieux ... Spanish Officer
Jacques Maury ... Spanish Officer
José Santamaría ... Master at Arms (as Jose Santamaría)
Robert Dorning ... Commander of Marines
Luc Jamati ... Pepito Gonzalez
Emilio Fernandez ... Angelito (as Emilio Fernandez)
Wladyslaw Komar ... Jesus (also as Wladislaw Komar)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
121 min | Argentina:116 min | Sweden:118 min
Country:
France | Tunisia
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)
Filming Locations:
Malta more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Opening film at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival. more
Quotes:
Captain Thomas Bartholomew Red: Holy poker! You son of a double-eyed whore from the reeking gutters of Rotterdam! more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Clive James Meets Roman Polanski (1984) (TV) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
10 out of 13 people found the following comment useful.
The best pirate film of recent times, 17 January 2003
Author: Robin King (mrtricks) from London, England

I agree with many of the comments here, but most have opted to concentrate on Walter Matthau's (forgive the spelling if it's wrong) delicious performance as Captain Red. While it is undeniably brilliant - a few dodgy accent moments aside - especially when you consider how few risks many actors take with their casting, I would like to draw attention to a fine performance by Cris Campion as The Frog. When I was watching this again the other day and getting my girlfriend to watch it, she at first despaired when I told her the frog was the romantic lead. I told her to have patience, and at the end she could, after all, see why he was the object of Dolores' love. Head and shoulders above nearly all young actors around at the moment, Campion exudes passion, swashbuckling- derring-do and smouldering charm as well as being an excellent foil for Matthau's comic exertions. This makes his love story with Dolores all the more heightened and genuinely affecting. In many modern "buddy" films, the onscreen duo have no chemistry and are simply put together to maximise box office interest, but Matthau and Campion are a perfectly matched pair, the frog's unfaltering loyalty to his captain matching Red's utterly selfish backstabbing. You get the feeling that if there is one person in the world that Red would not betray, it might be the frog - even if he might eat him!

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Pirates (1986)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Pirates on Blu Ray in France MrFist
Anyone know if this movie will come out on DVD (North America)? Byteknight
I was there when they made it runefromnorway
Why is this film so hated by critics? sebastiaanros
french edition ! jonlenine
Available in Australia Crystal_kitten16
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