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Video Rewind: Video piracy

PHILIP BOOTH
Published May 1, 2003

Bucs fans will be glad to know that even out of football season, pirate images are in style, thanks in part to the publicity juggernaut behind Disney's animated Treasure Planet, released this week on DVD and VHS.

And just around the corner, slated for summer release, is Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the second movie based on a Disney theme park attraction (following The Country Bears). The film, directed by Gore Verbinski (The Ring), stars Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush.

Pirates have long been staples of big-screen adventures and, in some cases, comedies. Here's an abbreviated guide to movies about the down-and-dirty denizens of the high seas.

Treasure Island (1934) - Fans of the Robert Louis Stevenson adventure novel swear by this black-and-white adaptation, one of many film versions of the book. Jackie Cooper is the brave kid, Wallace Beery is Long John Silver, and Lionel Barrymore is Captain Billy Bones.

Treasure Island (1950) - The Disney version (just released on DVD) is also beloved, with Robert Newton as the pirate. The lead and his director, Byron Haskins, returned for a sequel.

Muppet Treasure Island (1996) - Kermit, Gonzo, Ratso, Fozzie and Miss Piggy do Stevenson, with a little help from Rocky Horror Picture Show's Tim Curry as Long John Silver and Kevin Bishop as cabin boy Jim.

Captain Blood (1935) - Errol Flynn, 26, as a fair-minded pirate of the Caribbean, posed, jumped and slashed his way to breakthrough success in his hard-charging role as a swashbuckler. Flynn and future Gone With the Wind co-star Olivia de Havilland, then 19, made seven more movies together.

The Sea Hawk (1940) - Flynn is an English privateer, up to the task of helping his country fight off the Spanish Armada, at the urging of Queen Elizabeth (Flora Robson). Alan Hale is the sidekick, Claude Rains is the villain and Brenda Marshall is the love interest.

Peter Pan (1953) - Captain Hook (voiced by Hans Conried), although not flesh and blood, is one of moviedom's best pirates ever, in Disney's animated classic, based on J.M. Barrie's book.

Hook (1991) - Disney does Peter Pan again, in an $80-million epic starring Dustin Hoffman as the title character, Robin Williams as a grown-up Pan, and Julia Roberts as a seven-inch Tinker Bell. The cast, directed by Steven Spielberg, also includes Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith, Phil Collins and Gwyneth Paltrow, with cameos by Glenn Close and David Crosby.

Captain Kidd (1945) - Charles Laughton (Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame) plays a swashbuckler loosely based on the story of real-life pirate William Kidd. Also stars Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton and John Carradine. Laughton reprised the role seven years later for the comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd.

The Black Swan (1942) - Tyrone Power stars as Captain Morgan's former associate, enlisted by the famous pirate, now gone straight, to protect Jamaica from other buccaneers. Margaret O'Hara is the love interest, and George Sanders and Anthony Quinn also appear in the cast.

The Crimson Pirate (1952) - Burt Lancaster stars as an 18th century pirate, duking it out with a Spanish nobleman.

Blackbeard the Pirate (1952) - Robert Newton plays the title character in this surprisingly violent movie directed by veteran filmmaker Raoul Walsh.

The Pirates of Penzance (1983) - They sing, they dance, they cross swords in this adaptation of Joseph Papp's Broadway production, a version of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. Stars Kevin Kline, Angela Lansbury and Linda Ronstadt.

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