elvircorhodzic
THE CRIMSON PIRATE is quite unconvincing pirate adventure, but the film is extremely entertaining (perhaps on the verge of taste) and full of action. The story is set in the Caribbean and shows how the captain of a pirate ship seeks to exploit the conflict colonial authorities with the revolutionaries working for both sides, as long as he does not fall in love with the beautiful daughter of the leader of resistance. This movie does not offer some exciting duels, but offers quite interesting acrobatics. Pirate at sea. The thief on the mainland. Probably, because of this fact the main protagonists look like circus artists. The scenario has its faults, and pretty large "holes", hence the emphasis on humor and action.Love and woman changed pirate character and plan. It is very nice to see no matter what is quite unconvincing. Burt Lancaster as Captain Vallo is powerful, agile and smiling pirate captain. Now, there is a lack of passion for the pirate robbery and for romance. Good, solid performance. Very handsome man jumping from ship to ship or from balcony to balcony. Nick Cravat as Ojo is the captain's right hand. The game with pantomime is always interesting and fun if you do not overdo it with her.
Hot 888 Mama
. . . did not watch THE CRIMSON PIRATE first! These two flops have the exact same spoofy tone and reliance on whiz bang gadgets both anachronistic and underwhelming, while featuring complicated story lines which leave no room for development of characters the viewer can actually care about. If the men behind the $75 million boondoggle THE THREE MUSKETEERS (which only grossed $20 million when it came out)--such as director Paul W.S. Anderson--had the business savvy to try to avoid repeating great failures of the past (2005's SAHARA, in which Breck Eisner directed Matthew McConaughey in a Clive Cussler yarn, which cost $130 million, but only returned $69 million, also comes to mind), then maybe Logan Lerman (as Percy Jackson 2, out now) could have learned to act, as did the other young stars who cut their teeth on the role of D'Artagnan in earlier, better versions of THE THREE MUSKETEERS. But no, Hollywood honchos apparently avoid watching other moguls' earlier flops like the plague! If Hollywood made cars, all we would have is Edsels!
TheLittleSongbird
Whether it is the best adventure film of all time is up for debate, personally I think not. But I cannot deny that the Crimson Pirate is a very entertaining and visually gorgeous swashbuckling adventure. The romantic interludes slow the film down a tad, but overall the film is so hugely enjoyable that any criticisms are minor. The costumes, settings and cinematography are nothing less than lavish, and the score is superb. Then we have some terrific action sequences and swordplay, a witty and fresh script and a mesmerising lead turn from Burt Lancaster. Not to mention Nick Cravat whose amazing skills are put to perfect use here.Overall, entertaining and gorgeous, simply put a must watch for any fans of the genre. 9/10 Bethany Cox
thinker1691
Caribbean Pirates have always been a staple for Hollywood. For that matter, pirates of the open sea are selected because there's always a colorful (if you consider black to be colorful) character within most sea epics. If Hollywood were to make a realistic movie of the exploits of real pirates, the film would be condemned. True depiction of actual pirates would include brutality, torture, robbery, butchery, ravishment, rape and wanton murder and would have investors scrambling for an army of lawyers. But since American audiences are not ready for realistic pirates, they can only provide us with child-proof ones. In the nineteen fifties, Hollywood created the rousing tale of the "Crimson Pirate" which starred handsome, debonair, wide smiling Burt Lancaster, as Captain Vello. A fun film to be sure and one which includes, his old friend, Nick Cravat as Lt. Ojo, Torin Thatcher as Humble Bellows, Leslie Bradley as the villain, Baron Jose Gruda, Noel Purcell as Pablo Murphy and of course, beautiful Eva Bartok as Consuelo. It's an old formula, boy pirate hopping for a big score, falls for lovely girl who's idealistic father is in prison by royal decree. Smitten, the courageous and action oriented outlaw, is reformed and with love as his goal, risks all to redeem himself and his crew. An interesting and fun adventure for Lancaster fans. ****
AD
