Any good realistic pirate movies?

[DreadPirateSmith]

And I'm not talking documentaries. A gritty, dark, hardcore pirate movie. Any out there that are somewhat true to history?

[Andrea LeSangre]

I'd say no
Either you have ships giving full broadside with each cannon shooting at same time, or you get romantic heroes, who are wrongly convinced and fight to reclaim their honor

You don't see anything like things done by captain Low or Blackbeard. Sometimes I really thing Hook is the most realistic pirate movie. After all pirate is evil in that movie

Well, the Hollywood done fine job to turn the bloodthirsty thieves and murderers, who ended either killed during battle or hanged, or died as poor men (as cpt Avery) into heroes.

WIsh they would make a hero of lieutenant Maynard

[Zehive]

The closest thing you get to realism is Master and Commander

[NimitsTexan]

The most realistic movie actually dealing with pirates available is probably the TNT/Charlton Heston version of "Treasure Island" made back in the 1990s. It is quite faithful to he book, so while Long John Silver's character is complex (and veryl will played by Heston) the (ex-)pirates in general are devious, treacherous, selfish, and cruel. It is also a very well done period piece; clothing, dialogue, etc. match the era. That said of course, Treasure Island was historical/adventure fiction when Stevenson penned it. However, the Heston "Treasure Island" does an excellent job of showing how, if the Treasure Island story had happened in the 18th century, it would have looked and played out. Unfortunately, despite being such a great film, Heston's Treasue Island is currently only available on VHS off Amazon. Most other pirate films around are from the 1930s-1950s (Captain Blood, Against All Flags) and while some are good films from a cinematographic point of view, they are full of historical errors and tend to romanticize the pirates. And of course the ongoing Pirates of the Carribean series from Disney, while fun (at least the first one) obviously have next to nothing to do with historical 18th century West Indies or piracy

The absolute best, unrivelled age of sail movie is Master and Commander: Far Side of the World with Russell Crowe, directed by Peter Weir. The story, with elements borrowed from at least 4 different O'Brien books is about a small RN 28-gun frigate sent to intercept a larger French operated American-built 44-gun Constitution-class frigate operating in the Pacific. Master and Commander is a great story and a hyper-accurate representation of the Royal Navy around the turn of the 18th/19th century. Short of getting in a time machine, Master and Commander is your best chance to see what it was like to serve in the Napoleonic British Navy.

Also worth mentioning is 1950s "Captain Horatio Hornblower" with Gregory Peck and A&Es more recent Young Hornblower, Lieutenant Hornblower, and Hornblower and the Hotspur miniseries based on C.S. Forrester's Hornblower novels. They are not quite as accurate as Master and Commander, and in the case of the A&E miniseries probably a little too "action packed" (both in relation to the original books and to the quality of the stories in general), but all reasonably historically accurate and enjoyable movies.

Also worth mentioning is the 1960s film, "Damn the Defiany" which takes place around the Spithead Mutany. I have never seen it, but it is supposed to be pretty good.

[GauwynVorec]

Yeah, haven't come across many Pirate movies that fit your bill... but this National Geographic documentary was fantastic:

http://www.burningsea.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10031

So, to answer your question... no. But there are other options. I wouldn't turn down the documentaries just yet.

This might help you though:

http://www.thepirateking.com/movies/index.htm

[Andanor]

I would also suggest Blackbeard: terror at sea. It's made by National Geographics but it's more made like a movie then a documentary. It's really worth to buy the dvd.

[Redrum]

Originally Posted by GauwynVorec http://www.thepirateking.com/movies/index.htm

While the site is informative.. i find it disturbing that he calls himself a pirate king..

every chance he gets..

[Black.Razor]

I was not alive in pirate times to know whats realistic, and most naval tales are highly exaggerated. I am fond of Cutthroat Island when it comes to pirate movies .. seems realistic enough I guess and its just a really good movie. So thats my recommendation. I would say it fits your gritty and dark requirements very well.

[Stormhead0912]

Captain Kidd - the 1945 version is considered by most (if not all) critics to be a pirate movie that was iconic enough to set the standard for pirate movies made up to and including the present day. Here is the link to that version, plus many other related Captain Kidd movies made over the year. Many of them were made in the 1910s and 1920s.
http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=captain+kidd

[Captaincrocs214]

well, Master and Commander is the best naval movie in this niche- it is realistic, and though it takes place at the turn of the 19th century- Blackbeard: Terror at sea (NatGeo) is really good too- half movie, half documentary. That is all I can offer. Walking the plank, etc. generally didn't happen- they are things added in by fiction, sadly. Thus, you generally don't have those things and still be historically accurate.