Cutthroat Island
1995 / Action, Comedy, Adventure / Italy, USA, Germany, France
This is the first title with a “pirate” theme that comes to mind. Cutthroat Island came out a few years before Pirates and was planned to be a hit. Simply put, it was supposed to be a pirate franchise and a cultural phenomenon. The picture has many fans, but it failed at the box office: with a budget of 100 million dollars. It collected only 10 million in the United States. This could only mean one thing: no pirates on screen anytime soon! And only Gore Verbinski’s hit was able to overcome Hollywood’s distrust.
Hook
1991/Adventure, Comedy, Family movie
Especially since “The Island” was not the first failed movie about pirates. Shortly before him, Steven Spielberg himself, the creator of the world’s highest-grossing films and a master of telling tales for any audience, suffered a crushing defeat in this field. The story of an adult Peter Pan forced to return to Neverland is brilliantly played by actors like Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and Julia Roberts. This is perhaps the best thing that has ever been done in cinema about Peter Pan. But the market reacted badly, and this is the most important signal for Hollywood.
The Mask of Zorro
1998 / Adventure, Comedy, Action
On the other hand, pirates may not be liked, but elegant men with swords and hats still regularly receive their dose of female attention when it comes to screen work. So Hollywood continued to attack from the other side. Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, and Catherine Zeta-Jones in an adventure film about love, exploits, and battles with knives brought their creators $250 million at the world box office and then successfully soloed on the video market for a long time.
Dragonheart
1996 / Fantasy, Adventure, Action
In our country, there was such a thing as a “fairy tale film.” The Americans call everything “fantasy,” and our Kashchei immortals are also a fantasy for them. Meanwhile, “Heart of the Dragon” is a real fairy tale, although, like “Pirates,” at times it is quite scary, cruel, and sarcastic. But Dennis Quaid in the role of a knight is majestic and noble, as well as a dragon, a piece of the heart that beats in the chest of the tyrant king.
Muppet Treasure Island
1996/Adventure, Comedy, Action/USA
A great success in the USA was waiting for this comic film, which was the favorite of all children. The Muppets went to look for treasure on a desert island. Hermit the Frog and his friends fought the pirates and once again became convinced that peace and love were much more important than any bars of gold. However, if gold itself falls into your hands, why not take it?