Le pirate noir

A nobleman vows vengeance on the cutthroats responsible for his father's death. Becoming THE BLACK PIRATE, he joins their scurvy crew and quickly becomes their leader. But his plans for revenge become more complicated when he meets his first captive - a beautiful Spanish princess.

Roistering, robust & richly detailed, this was one of Douglas Fairbanks' greatest films. With enough excitement to satisfy any lover of adventure, one needs only read the film's prologue to get an idea of its delights: 'A page from the History and Lives of the most Bloodthirsty PIRATES who ever infested THE SOUTHERN SEAS. Being an account of BUCCANEERS & the Spanish MAIN, the Jolly Roger, Golden Galleons, bleached skulls, BURIED TREASURE, the Plank, dirks & cutlasses, SCUTTLED SHIPS, marooning, DESPERATE DEEDS, DESPERATE MEN, and - even on this dark soil - ROMANCE.' Aside from the bleached skulls, everything else is there as promised

Fairbanks is a joy to behold, exulting in his physical prowess, becoming a legend of the screen before the delighted eyes of the viewer. Can any other swashbuckler top the flair or élan of the sequence where Doug captures a merchantman single-handed, climbing up the forecastle & sliding down the slit sails on his dagger, light as any sprite? No one else would have even dared.

As the princess, Billie Dove is beautiful, but has very little to do except look frightened. Donald Crisp, in a change of pace role, is very enjoyable as a gruff one-armed Scots pirate who befriends Fairbanks. Anders Randolf & Sam De Grasse are the black-hearted pirate captain & lieutenant whom Doug must contend with and they are nasty indeed.

A milestone in cinematic history, this was one of the first movies to be filmed entirely in Technicolor. In its restored version, it is very pleasant to the eyes, its antique hues perfectly complementing the richly textured art design, costumes & sets.

For those interested in such things, there are explanations for the various special effects (the underwater attack, for instance), but the reader will need to look elsewhere for them. Sometimes too many facts can spoil the illusion of daydreams so necessary for the enjoyment of silent cinema. Find this fabulous film & dream on.

Too bad about the bleached skulls, though...

THE BLACK PIRATE (1926) tells the story of a mysterious figure (Douglas Fairbanks) who survives a pirate raid. Sworn to avenge his dead father, he takes command of the pirates responsible, and secretly strives to free the princess whom they have kidnapped. A power-hungry lieutenant who tries to incite the men against him complicates his plans. Directed by Albert Parker.

The script is quite interesting, following The Black Pirate's skillful command of his pirate band, as well as his resourcefulness and ingenuity. The scenario offers plenty of action – pirate raids, duels, underwater photography – as well as a little bit of rather unlikely romance that always seems to pop up in films like these.

Perhaps the greatest cinematographic interest is provided by the film's use of two-strip Technicolor. There are some lovely sweeping shots of the ocean and the ships at sea. The film could benefit from more dynamic editing and variety between close-ups and long shots during the other scenes, though. The camera work feels very restrained for much of the film's running time, as if the crew were aiming to evoke the tableaux style of earlier films. In my opinion this diluted the impact of the action scenes and caused the film to feel somewhat detached. The direction of the movie was competent rather than brilliant, and greater use of the cinematographic resources available at the time would have given the film more impact. After all, this was made in 1926, after such pioneering classics as THE LAST LAUGH and BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN. However, there were very dynamic moments as well, mostly due to the stunt work.

THE BLACK PIRATE boasts fine performances, particularly by the charismatic and athletic Fairbanks, as well as by Sam de Grasse, the lieutenant who chafes under The Black Pirate's leadership. There's a scene where the Black Pirate takes over a ship by himself, and the athleticism shown by Fairbanks is astounding. Billie Dove plays a fairly typical damsel in distress type as the Princess.

Overall, THE BLACK PIRATE is entertaining, but it could have packed more of a punch with more imaginative direction. However, the color cinematography is generally lovely to look at, and Fairbanks gives a splendid performance. SCORE: 7/10

This was an excellent pirate movie and was better than many sound pirate films. However, it's really hard to rate the movie---compared to other silent pirate films, it might just be the best. But, compared to THE SEA HAWK, CAPTAIN BLOOD or THE BLACK SWAN (all wonderful sound pirate films from the 30s and 40s), it isn't as good a film.

So what does the movie do that worked so well for me? First, being a Douglas Fairbanks film, it had wonderful stunts and impeccable production values--something he was known for in his silent films. Second, this film had excellent sets and was the best film money could buy in its day. In fact, it was such a lavish production that it was supposedly the first full-length film made in 2-color Technicolor--an early and somewhat crude way of producing a color movie. Because the film was dyed with green-blue and orange-red dyes, the film mostly looks reddish-green--definitely NOT true color. But, it doesn't look that bad--certainly much better than the horrid colorized films destroyed in the 1980s. Plus, if it hadn't been for films like this, the infinitely better 3-color system might never have been developed by Technicolor. And, finally, the plot is pretty good for a silent film--not the most complex when compared to later films, it's not nearly as simplistic as most other silents.

This video was produced by KINO FILMS. Some of their silent films in the past were less than wonderful (especially some of their Buster Keaton videotapes), but this videotape is top quality and has nice extras at the end of the tape. Some cheaper prints apparently are only black and white, not color. Nice job for the restoration, KINO! However, despite what the video box said, it was apparently NOT the first full-length two-color Technicolor film. I recently saw a restored print from TOLL OF THE SEA (1922) and it was in fact made using this process four years earlier than THE BLACK PIRATE.

I first heard about this film from my father, who once told me that he saw it as a boy when it first came out and was completely blown away by it. I only recently had the opportunity to see it myself, and I can appreciate his point. Of course it's absurd to compare the production values of an antique movie such as this to modern films, but just see it and try to imagine how it must have seemed to audiences at the Roxy back in 1926!

Needless to say, this elaborate, full-color production is merely a showcase for the incomparable Douglas Fairbanks. Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power, Sean Connery and Harrison Ford pale to insignificance beside Fairbank's bravura on-screen personality. Fairbanks virtually invented the "action-adventure" movie, and films like "The Black Pirate" make it clear why he was the biggest movie star of his time.

In addition, bear in mind that there were no stunt men or blue-screen special effects back then. Fairbanks actually DID all those amazing stunts himself! The only latter-day Hollywood star who would (and did) dare to do his own stunts was the equally incomparable Burt Lancaster.

Don't expect modern acting or sensibilities in The Black Pirate, the movie itself is typical 1920s melodrama. The sets are pretty hokey and the plot is absurd. However, just ignore all that while you sit back and enjoy Douglas Fairbanks delivering one of the most spectacular performances ever captured on screen.

It would be hard to find a role more suitable for Douglas Fairbanks than "The Black Pirate", and when you add the lavish sets and costumes, plus an early form of color photography, it makes for an enjoyable and entertaining spectacle. The story has plenty of action and excitement, but it also includes some good character development that adds to the interest of the story itself.

The story follows Fairbanks's character through a series of events that give him a good variety of material and scenery to work with. From the opening shipwreck scene, to his meeting with the pirates, to the tense series of confrontations that follow, his scenes range from heroic to sympathetic, from impressing the crew to facing desperate predicaments, and much in between. While there are the occasional nods to stock cinema conventions, in general it is a satisfying story. Although the Black Pirate is the center of attention, the supporting cast members also all do a good job when they get the chance.

It is also quite interesting to see one of the earliest attempts to film a feature-length picture in color. It's hard to tell how good it might have looked in its original form, since in some stretches the color is now noticeably drab - but at other times the color is surprisingly good-looking. The color provides just one more reason that this is one of the more popular movies of the silent era.