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Pirates
Directed by	Roman Polanski
Produced by	Tarak Ben Ammar
Written by	Gérard Brach John Brownjohn Roman Polanski
Starring	Walter Matthau Cris Campion Damien Thomas
Music by	Philippe Sarde
Cinematography	Witold Sobocinski
Editing by	Hervé de Luze
Distributed by	AMLF Cannon Releasing
Release date(s)	July 18, 1986 (USA)
Running time	124 min. (USA)
Country	France / Tunisia
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Pirates is an adventure/comedy film written by Gérard Brach, John Brownjohn, and Roman Polanski. It was directed by Roman Polanski and released in 1986.

Riding on the success of the highly acclaimed Chinatown, Roman Polanski began to write a screenplay for a swashbuckling adventure film called Pirates. Originally, Polański intended for Jack Nicholson to play Captain Red, a grizzled old pirate, but complications arose partially due to the enormous fees Nicholson was demanding (according to Polanski, when Nicholson was asked what exactly he wanted, he replied, "I want more.") Following this, the production was delayed for a number of years when Polanski was arrested for statutory rape, which caused him to flee the country to avoid sentencing. Production restarted later in Europe, this time with a different production company. The role of Captain Red went to Walter Matthau and the film finally came out in 1986, years after it was first conceived.

The film's original estimated budget while Polański was aligned with Paramount on the picture, was $15 million, but the final budget is estimated to have cost US$40 million. The reported gross box office revenues in the United States was $1.65 million. Despite the film's financial failures, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design.

The film begins with Captain Red (Walter Matthau) stranded aboard a raft at sea with his first mate, Frog (Cris Campion), both of whom are presumably close to death from dehydration. They are picked up by a Spanish Galleon and are forced into slavery before instigating a shipwide mutiny with the other prisoners and taking control of the vessel. Frog falls in love with the female love interest, María-Dolores de la Jenya de la Calde (Charlotte Lewis), the niece of the governor of a Spanish colony. Red covets the golden throne that the Spanish have taken from an Aztec king. Lots of explosions and gunfights occur as the duo attempt to win over the gold and the girl throughout the remainder of the film. The film ends with Captain Red and Frog again stranded on a raft, Red sitting on the golden throne.

• Roman by Roman Polanski

• Pirates at the Internet Movie Database
• Pirates at All Movie Guide
• Neptune - photo of the galleon built for the film Pirates, now in Genoa.

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