Dead Man's Chest
A debt of a thousand souls must be paid, or the ocean will claim them all.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 American swashbuckler film directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), it is the second installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. It is set a year after the first film and follows Captain Jack Sparrow who owes a debt to Davy Jones, the ghastly captain of the Flying Dutchman, and being marked for death and pursued by the Kraken. Meanwhile, the wedding of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann is interrupted by Lord Cutler Beckett, who wants Turner to acquire Jack's magic compass in a bid to find the Dead Man's Chest. With a production budget of $225 million, it was the most expensive film ever made at the time of its release.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Gore Verbinski
- Release year
- 2006
- Main protagonist
- Captain Jack Sparrow
- Primary antagonist
- Davy Jones
- Key creature introduced
- The Kraken
Lore & Background
Davy Jones was once a human being. Unable to bear the pain of losing his true love, he carved out his heart and put it into the Dead Man's Chest, then buried it in a secret location. He has become a bizarre creature – part octopus, part crab, part man – and collects the souls of dead or dying sailors to serve aboard his ship for one hundred years. The chest holds Jones' still-beating heart; whoever has it can control Jones. Tia Dalma, a voodoo priestess, explains the legend of Davy Jones and owns a similar locket to his. Bootstrap Bill Turner, Will's father, sold his soul to Davy Jones to alleviate his eternal suffering after being tied to a cannon and thrown overboard by Barbossa.
Reader's Guide
The narrative picks up about one year after the first film. Captain Jack Sparrow is hunted by the Kraken because of his unpaid debt to Davy Jones. He is also searching for the Dead Man's Chest to free himself from Jones' servitude. Will Turner strikes a deal with Cutler Beckett to find Jack Sparrow and his compass so he can save both himself and his fiancée Elizabeth from execution.
Elizabeth is arrested on her wedding day for helping Captain Jack Sparrow escape. She escapes jail with help from her father, meets up with Jack in Tortuga, and joins his crew to search for both Will and the chest. The key to the chest is possessed by Davy Jones himself, and Will learns this through a game of Liar's Dice aboard the Dutchman. All parties arrive on Isla Cruces, where the chest is buried.
A three-way sword fight breaks out between Jack, Will, and Norrington, who all want the heart for their respective goals: Jack to negate his debt to Jones and call off the Kraken; Will to free his father from the Dutchman; and Norrington to regain his life as a Navy officer. The film concludes with Jack dragged to the depths by the Kraken, and Barbossa revealed to have been resurrected by Tia Dalma.
Did You Know?
- It was shot back-to-back with the third film of the series, At World's End (2007).
- The film broke the opening-weekend record in the United States with $136 million.
- It became the fastest film to gross over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, doing so in 63 days.
- The film won Best Visual Effects at the 79th Academy Awards.
Elsewhere in Pirates of the Caribbean
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