Black Pirate (1926) (Silent)

Black Pirate (1926) (Silent)
The silent era's greatest swashbuckler, Douglas Fairbanks, took to the sea with cutlass in hand and gypsy earrings dangling for the first great pirate movie and a gorgeous example of early Technicolor. In a story that's become almost cliché in the intervening years, Fairbanks is the sole survivor of a pirate attack who infiltrates the high-seas criminals by posing as a master pirate. Defeating their leader in an acrobatic duel, Fairbanks proceeds to capture their next ship single-handedly in a sequence that has him swinging from mast to mast and, in the film's most memorable stunt, slicing the ship's sails with his knife as he slides down the sheet. Along with booty, however, the pirates discover a beautiful noblewoman (Billie Dove) and the Black Pirate must devise a plan to save the prisoners and himself in the face of a bloodthirsty band of brigands. Packed with every classic pirate device in the book, from saber duels to walking the plank, The Black Pirate shows off Fairbanks at his best, a jaunty, resourceful hero performing the most amazing acrobatic feats. The restoration shows the two-strip Technicolor classic at its best as well: a beautiful, delicately hued marvel, painstakingly restored and color-balanced from the original negative by film preservationist David Shepard. This edition also includes 19 minutes of rare black-and-white outtakes. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Review: Fairbanks' Art Director: Only the Best Would Do
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. had the heart of an artist, and his choice for art director of The Black Pirate reflects that. Carl Oscar Borg - whose works today command multi-thousand dollar prices - was a famous artist even then. Perhaps best known for his magical paintings of the people and landscapes of the American Southwest, Borg found in Fairbanks a kindred soul. The artist and his wife made their home in Santa Barbara, California, but with the passing of his patroness Phoebe Apperson Hearst (mother of William Randolph) and faced with financial losses, Borg sold his precious self-designed Santa Barbara adobe and moved to Hollywood. There Fairbanks proposed the assignment to Borg, and the two men made film history. The Black Pirate was America's first full-length film in color, and it caused a sensation. According to Borg biographer Helen Laird "Literally not one frame of the film escapes Borg's influence... every episode reveals the artist's vision and style." Whether you love art, or are simply a Fairbanks fan, you'll find this film a visual treat. And if you aren't already, you'll rapidly become a fan of Carl Oscar Borg.
Customer Review: Good film, very good extras
If this DVD had had just the film itself, I would have given it 4 stars, but the extras push it up to 5 stars for me. The film does move a bit slowly, begins kind of in media res, has a rather thin plot, and has some holes in what little narrative plot there is, but it's still packed with the great swashbuckling and action-adventure one expects in a Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., film. He's in top form here, be it in a fight with both swords and rapiers, swinging from ropes, swimming, or effortlessly sliding down several huge sail masts while holding onto a knife slicing its way down the masts. It doesn't hurt that the film is in two-strip Technicolor, although that early color process didn't have an extraordinarily wide color spectrum. Still, limited color spectrum or not, Doug looks even more gorgeous in color. He was never regarded as a particularly gifted actor, but he was so popular because of how fun and exciting he was to watch, and really made up for his lack of a *great* acting ability with his amazing charisma, screen presence, his exciting personality, and his indisputed talent when it came to swashbuckling, physical action, stunts, and everything else about this genre he personified. Though the plot does seem rather thin, it's pointed out in the audio commentary that it was intended that way. This film is supposed to be a series of situations and episodes, not one long solid narrative with a clearly-defined beginning, middle, and end. We open as a bunch of pirates are taking over an enemy ship and preparing to blow it up, with its tied-up crew still on board. Doug's character, the self-proclaimed "Black Pirate" (the only character who seems to have a name is MacTavish), and his dying father are the only survivors of the attack, but soon after he has carried his father onto the beach of some island, he discovers in horror and heartbreak that he's dead. He has just vowed revenge when the pirates responsible come onto the island themselves to bury some treasure; approaching them, he asks to join their company, and defeats their captain in a swordfight. For some reason, the pirates accept him as one of their own even though he's not only a stranger but has also just killed their own captain. (The pirate ship he joins is literally overflowing with pirates; one wonders where all of them fit on that ship.) He then proves his worth further by capturing a ship single-handed, and hatches the brilliant idea to hold the ship for a hefty ransom until noon the next day. To ensure the ransom will be paid up, he suggests they hold hostage the princess they found hiding down in the lower level of the ship with her maid. Of course, the Black Pirate ends up falling love with the princess (Billie Dove, who doesn't really have much to do but look scared) at first sight and decides to let her go in the night. However, one of the other pirates has his sights on her too, and feels she's his because he drew the short strand of rope when he and some of his friends were arguing over which one should get her. Things get even more complicated when he gets caught and has to face the wrath of most of the other pirates, and all while the ransom still hasn't been paid on the captured ship. Though perhaps not Fairbanks's greatest film, it's still fun to watch and an action-packed suspenseful adventure all of the way through. The audio commentary by Rudy Behlmer adds a lot to it, and covers subjects such as the history of color in motion pictures (starting back in the 1890s with hand-colored films), the main stars of the picture, the shooting of the film, the history of pirate films, and bits of trivia, such as how the woman Doug kisses and embraces in the long shot near the end was actually Mary Pickford and not Billie Dove, since Mary didn't like her husband kissing other women in his films, at least not on the mouth (Billie Dove does kiss him on the cheek in an earlier scene). There are also 19 minutes of outtakes and behind the scenes footage with more commentary by Mr. Behlmer, as well as production stills that also have commentary. (Certain comments made by Mr. Behlmer during the audio commentary indicate that this commentary was originally done on a double-sided laser disc edition of this film, with the second half of the film, and the extras, on the other side.) Additionally, the soundtrack is actually the one that was originally written for the film back in 1926, so it's not just a generic piano or organ or a modern-day reinterpretation of what the best score for the film should be. (I generally don't have a problem with modern music being used to score silents, but I know a lot of purists hate it and prefer scores to be as close to the original music as possible.) Once again Kino has put together a spectacular DVD of a classic.