History Film / Pirates

* IAmAHumanitarian: Played for laughs. At the beginning of the movie, the two leads are drifting on a raft with no land or food in sight. Captain Red snaps.

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Despite being a BoxOfficeBomb, it earned an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Costume Design.

* EpicFail: In Maracaibo, Captain Red and Frog successfully seize the Golden Throne and are in process of carrying it out of the bay on boat. However, their path is obstructed by a chain blocking the entrance to the harbor, which is hung so low that the Throne, standing upright, gets in the way. Rather than [[WhatAnIdiot just laying the Throne down, they try to flip it over the chain]]. This attempt results in getting the Throne just slung there and the boat floating away, leaving them clinging helplessly to the chain as well. So they spend the entire night hanging out there and are captured by Spaniards in the morning.

* FakedFoodContaminant: Having been saved from maritime distress by a Spanish galleon and fearful of being identified as the notorious pirate captain that he is, Bartholomew Red attempts to incite a mutiny among the common sailors after one of them finds a dead rat in the soup pot from which they are being fed, claiming the rat as proof that they are being intolerably mistreated. However, the fact that Red killed a rat in the preceding scene strongly suggests that he himself is responsible for the rat being there in the first place. The plan does not work as intended, leading to a [[{{Squick}} gross scene]] in which the Spanish captain forces Red to eat the cooked rat himself.

* TheQueensLatin: All of the Spaniards except Maria-Dolores have pure British accents. On the rare occasion when a Spaniard says an actual Spanish word, however, they tend to put a slight Spanish accent on it.

* TranslationConvention: The Spanish speak almost nothing but English except for a few terms of address. The only major exception is a few brief lyrics spoken by Maria-Dolores.

* KickTheDog: Even though he plans to execute them anyway, Don Alfonso makes Red and The Frog eat a dead rat at the officer's table purely out of spite.

** Zig-zagged with Captain Red. Normally, he is fairly respectful and appreciative towards the Frog (and later, Boomako), but that doesn't stop him from occasionally lashing out at him and venting his frustration on him when things don't go his way. He also seems to share a genuine camaraderie with his crew, knows them all by name and enjoys having fun and laugh with them... [[spoiler:but after the climactic battle, he still leaves them all (sans Frog) to their fate -- which, in their case, would be certain death from drowning]].

* AllLovingHeroine: Dolores. Her EstablishingCharacterMoment has her stepping up in defence of Red and Frog when don Alfonso humiliates them, and despite everything she's been put through by the pirates (including kidnapping and attempted rape), she never seems to hold any grudge towards them and is invariably gentle and kind (if a bit haughty). When Captain Red is imprisoned along with the Frog and thrown into the dungeon, she visits them and provides them with some rum -- a gesture Red is genuinely moved by.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: Well, either this or GreyAndGrayMorality. Captain Red and his comrades are all ruthless pirates (maybe except [[TokenGoodTeammate Jean-Baptiste]]) who rob and kill throughout the movie. However, their adversaries are equally ruthless Spaniards, who got their wealth by invading and slaughtering native nations of America (which is even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by captain Linares at one point).

* DidNotGetTheGirl: Jean-Baptiste is in love with Dolores and over time, she starts to reciprocate his feelings. In the heat of climactic battle, [[spoiler:they find each other, and Frog duels with don Alfonso over her. However, in the end, he abandons the fight in order to [[UndyingLoyalty aid Captain Red]]. In penultimate scene, both lovers can only watch each other yearningly as their boats go in opposite directions]].

* NiceGuy: The Frog is a decent guy. For, you know, a professional robber.

* OffScreenMomentOfAwesome: The wreck and battle on Red's ship, the ''Black Princess''. Overrun by Spanish Pirate Hunters, Red and The Frog somehow survived this onslaught and escaped, killing plenty of the attackers in the process. We only hear a few details of this event from other characters: The Spaniards, the pirates, and even Red himself.

* OnlySaneMan: Jean-Baptiste and Dolores play this role in various moments. When don Alfonso forces Red and Frog to eat a dead rat for his own (and other officers') sick amusement, Dolores is the only one who does not find it one bit humorous and demands to put an end to this. After the ''Neptune'' is overtaken by the mutineers and some of them invade the passenger quarters and try to rape Dolores and her guardian, Frog is the one who intervenes and stops them. He is also quick to realize that the governor of Maracaibo wouldn't give two pennies to save his niece and suggests that Red tortures him instead in order to get what he wants.

* TheWomenAreSafeWithUs: As ruthless and murderous the pirates in this movie are, they never do any actual harm to Dolores and her guardian (safe for a single rape attempt, which was quickly thwarted before it went too far) when they are in their custody. This trope is briefly [[SubvertedTrope subverted]], though, when Captain Red tries to use Dolores as a hostage to force her uncle to exchange her for Golden Throne -- and orders Frog to rape her in order to make a point. Naturally, Jean-Baptiste cannot bring himself to do it.

In 1659, the {{pirate}} [[TheCaptain captain]] [[AwesomeMcCoolName Thomas Bartholomew Red]] is stranded aboard a raft at sea with Jean-Baptiste, his French first mate (nicknamed "Frog"). After Red, cracking under the starvation, tries to kill and eat Frog, the duo crosses the path of a Spanish galleon, climbs onboard and are forced into slavery before instigating a mutiny with the other prisoners and taking control of the vessel. Frog falls in love with María-Dolores de la Jenya de la Calde, the niece of the governor of a Spanish colony. Red covets the golden throne that the Spanish have taken from an Aztec king. The two undertake an IndyPloy while fighting the Spaniards to get what they want: one of them succeeds. [[PyrrhicVictory Sort of.]]

* {{Swashbuckler}}: 17th century, pirates, [[NiceHat feathered hats]], sword fights, you name it.

* NiceHat: Red's embroidered green tricorn.

In 1659, the {{pirate}} [[TheCaptain captain]] [[AwesomeMcCoolName Thomas Bartholomew Red]] is stranded aboard a raft at sea with Jean-Baptiste, his French first mate (nicknamed "Frog"). After Red, cracking under the starvation, tries to kill and eat Frog, the duo climbs onboard a Spanish galleon and are forced into slavery before instigating a mutiny with the other prisoners and taking control of the vessel. Frog falls in love with María-Dolores de la Jenya de la Calde, the niece of the governor of a Spanish colony. Red covets the golden throne that the Spanish have taken from an Aztec king. The two undertake an IndyPloy while fighting the Spaniards to get what they want: one of them succeeds. [[PyrrhicVictory Sort of.]]

''Pirates'' is a 1986 Franco-Tunisian adventure film directed and written by Creator/RomanPolanski. It stars Creator/WalterMatthau, Cris Campion, Damien Thomas, Olu Jacobs and Charlotte Lewis. It was screened out of competition at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival.

* BadassBeard: Red ''has'' a face, but it's hard to spot.

* FamousLastWords: [[spoiler:"Captain! [[ThirdPersonPerson Boomako is dead!]]"]].

* UseYourHead: One of Red's fellow mutineers breaks the door of Dolores' quarters by bashing through it with his head. [[RealityEnsues He seems to be a little dizzy afterwards]].

In 1659, the {{pirate}} [[TheCaptain captain]] [[AwesomeMcCoolName Thomas Bartholomew Red]] is stranded aboard a raft at sea with Jean-Baptiste, his French first mate (nicknamed "Frog"). After Red, cracking under the starvation, tries to kill and eat Frog, the duo climbs onboard a Spanish galleon and are forced into slavery before instigating a mutiny with the other prisoners and taking control of the vessel. Frog falls in love with María-Dolores de la Jenya de la Calde, the niece of the governor of a Spanish colony. Red covets the golden throne that the Spanish have taken from an Aztec king. The two undertake an IndyPloy to get what they want: one of them succeeds. [[PyrrhicVictory Sort of.]]

Despite being a BoxOfficeBomb, it earned an UsefulNotes/AcademyAwards nomination for Best Costume Design.