Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

An adaptation of a California Disneyland attraction became an unexpected pop-culture phenomenon. Director Gore Verbinski created a Hollywood blockbuster that balances grand adventure spectacle with over-the-top camp styling and dramatic eye makeup that would rival Cleopatra herself.

The eccentric Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) has lost his ship, crew, and plan, but not his confidence or audacity. When the young governor's daughter Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) is kidnapped by pirates of the Black Pearl, her loyal friend and blacksmith Will (Orlando Bloom) sets out to rescue her—alongside the dubious Sparrow. The rescue mission soon reveals that the Pearl's crew harbors a terrifying secret: not even death can grant them peace.

"The Curse of the Black Pearl" is a nostalgic journey for an entire generation back to a time when a Jack Sparrow poster from a magazine hung on a bedroom wall next to Legolas, the soundtrack played from a Nokia ringtone, and we all still believed Jack Sparrow was cool.