Finally, A Decent Pirate TV Documentary!

[Tartan Jack]

I was tuning in to watch yet another "the real history behind pirates of the Caribbean" show, this time on the Smithsonian channel. This one is called: "The Real Story: Pirates of the Caribbean."

Well, . . .

This one was different. They interview Angus Konstam, the English weapons expert that is on so many of the better British-made history shows, and some bloke sitting in the great cabin of some boat- named E T Fox. I wasn't expecting much, as most of these kinda shows are pretty basic and sometimes not particularly well shot or edited.

So, I was pleasantly surprised to see our own Ed Foxe there. (I pointed out to my wife "Hey, THAT is the Ed Fox I've talked about all these years and am finally meeting in-person next weekend." She said "he's younger than I expected. Better looking too." Not sure what to think of that last part . . . )

The show itself is hands-down one of the BEST one of this type I've seen. The interviews were decently edited together (I'm sure the interviewees know of great stuff that was left out) and not too chopped-up in comparison to other ones I've seen. Visually, the show edits new-shot stuff with scenes from previous shows (like the one on the Essex chasing the slaver in the early 1800s) and even National Geographic's "Blackbeard: Terror at Sea" film. It all was edited together fairly seamlessly, esp. for a show of this type. They also interview one of the PotC writers (who actually knows the history too). There is also footage from the PotC film series, which relates to the overall theme of the show.

Content-wise, it is an excellent primer and focuses primarily on Blackbeard, while being on 17-teens pirates in general. The show is aimed at giving the historical background that the PotC films are based in and telling the true reality behind it. While some parts I find to be a stretched connection, they handle them well.

The only real complaints is how they edited the part around Fox when discussing Jolly Roger flags, implying he supports how they framed the shows description of them when he would nauance it FAR more. Basically they show a bunch of flags (the "classic" set) that Fox debunks on: http://www.bonaventure.org.uk/ed/flags.htm and intercut Fox talking about how they used recognized symbols of death and how they were used. That struck me a bit (basically because I know Fox and have discussed flags with him many, many times with him over the last half-decade or so.

This article discusses the point of the show: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/news/article_1635274.php/Smithsonian-s-The-Real-Story-brings-untold-tales-from-blockbuster-films-May-15

Still, a decently done show and a good bridge between PotC and the actual activities of the 17-teens pirates. I wish I could see the un-edited interviews . . . that would have been better.

I know that the Smithsonian Channel isn't a very widely known channel, so here is the on-line video of the show:

http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/site/sn/video/player/latest-videos/related/the-real-story-pirates-of-the-caribbean-full-episode/900357858001/

Edit:

Oh, and the actually ship they are on when discussing weapons and techniques (the black one) is Foxe's workplace, the Brixton "Golden Hind"

Edited May 16, 2011 by Tartan Jack

[Silver]

well done!

[William Brand]

Yeah, that wasn't bad at all. They could put Angus Konstam in a big hamster wheel and save on energy costs during production. That man gets excited. They could pay me to be on hand to feed Angus some turkey gravy when he gets too worked up.

[Jake the SeaSnake]

MY big question is this, what tall ships were portraying the ships in the movie? And by the way, is there a page thats lists the ship casted in movies? thought that would be cool