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Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
DVD cover art
Directed by	Gore Verbinski
Produced by	Jerry Bruckheimer
Written by	Ted Elliott Terry Rossio
Starring	Johnny Depp Orlando Bloom Keira Knightley Geoffrey Rush Bill Nighy Naomie Harris Tom Hollander Stellan Skarsgard Chow Yun-Fat Jack Davenport
Music by	Hans Zimmer
Cinematography	Dariusz Wolski
Editing by	Stephen E. Rivkin Craig Wood
Distributed by	Buena Vista
Release date(s)	May 24, 2007
Running time	168 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Gross revenue	$959.8 million
Preceded by	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Official website
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is a 2007 adventure film, the third in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. The plot follows the crew of the Black Pearl rescuing Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), from Davy Jones' Locker, and then preparing to fight the East India Trading Company, led by Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) and Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), who plan to extinguish piracy.

Gore Verbinski directed the film, as he did with the previous two. It was shot in two shoots during 2005 and 2006, the former simultaneously with the preceding film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. The film was released in English-speaking countries on May 24, 2007 after Disney opted to move the release date to a day earlier than originally planned. Critical reviews were mixed, but At World's End was a box office hit, becoming the most successful film of 2007, grossing approximately US$960 million worldwide, and making it the second most successful in the series.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Marketing 5 Release 5.1 Reaction 5.2 Censorship 5.3 Home video 6 References 7 External links

Lord Cutler Beckett begins executing anyone associated with piracy and commands Davy Jones to destroy all pirate ships. To confront Beckett’s assault, the nine pirate lords making up the Brethren Court have been summoned to convene on Shipwreck Cove. However, Captain Jack Sparrow, pirate lord of the Caribbean, never appointed his successor, and therefore must be present. Captain Barbossa leads Will, Elizabeth, Tia Dalma and the Black Pearl crew to rescue Jack. Sao Feng, pirate lord of Singapore, possesses a map to World's End, the gateway to Davy Jones' Locker. Elizabeth and Barbossa attempt to bargain with Feng for the map and a ship, but Feng is furious that Will already attempted to steal it. The British Royal Navy, led by Mercer, acting under orders from Beckett, suddenly attack Feng's bathhouse. During the ensuing chaos, Will strikes a bargain with Feng for the Black Pearl in exchange for Sparrow, whom Feng wants to turn over to Beckett, presumably in exchange for immunity from Davy Jones' attacks on pirates. Will wants the Black Pearl to rescue his father from the Flying Dutchman.

The crew journey through a frozen sea and sail over an enormous waterfall into the Locker. On board Gibbs explains that a flash of green light during the last glimpse of sunset means a person is returning from the land of the dead. Aboard the Pearl, Sparrow is suffering hallucinations about an entire crew comprising himself, each representing a different facet of his character. The Pearl is dragged to an ocean shore by crab-like creatures, and Jack is reunited with his old shipmates, though he is initially reluctant to rejoin a crew who, among them, include four people who had attempted to kill him in the past. As the Black Pearl crew seek an escape route, they see dead souls floating under the water. Tia Dalma reveals that Davy Jones was appointed by his lover, Calypso, goddess of the sea, to ferry the dead to the next world. In return, Jones was allowed to step upon land for one day every ten years to be with his love, but when she failed to meet him, the scorned captain abandoned his duty and transformed into a monster. Elizabeth sees her father, Governor Weatherby Swann's soul pass by in a boat; he was murdered by Beckett. A distraught Elizabeth vows revenge.

The Black Pearl remains trapped in the Locker until Sparrow deciphers the map, realizing the ship must be capsized to return to the living world. They overturn the ship at sunset, upturn back into the living world as the sun is rising, and witness a flash of green light, marking Jack's return to the living. Upon their return, Sao Feng attacks, revealing his agreement with Will. But he betrays Will, having made a deal with Cutler Beckett to hand over the crew and keep the Black Pearl. Onboard Endeavor, Sparrow refuses to divulge to Beckett where the Brethren Court will convene. Beckett double-crosses Feng by keeping the Black Pearl for his armada, and in turn Feng gives Sparrow the ship back, while taking Elizabeth, whom he believes is Calypso. Aboard his warship, the Empress, Feng tells Elizabeth that it was the first Brethren Court who trapped Calypso into human form so they could control the seas. Feng is mortally wounded when Davy Jones attacks his ship. Before dying, he appoints Elizabeth his heir, making her captain and the pirate lord of Singapore. She and the crew are imprisoned in Flying Dutchman's brig. Also aboard is Admiral James Norrington, who betrays Beckett and frees Elizabeth and her crew, who escape back to their ship, although Norrington is killed when he is discovered by Bootstrap Bill.

Will leaves a trail of corpses for Beckett's ship to follow. Sparrow catches him and tosses him overboard, but he first gives him his magical compass, apparently intending for Beckett to find them. Will is picked up by Beckett's ship, and it is revealed that it was Davy Jones who masterminded Calypso's imprisonment by the pirate lords. At Shipwreck Island, the nine pirate lords disagree over freeing Calypso. Barbossa calls upon Captain Teague Sparrow, Keeper of the Pirata Codex and Jack's father, to reveal that a Pirate King is needed to declare war. Elizabeth, newly ordained Pirate lord of Singapore, is elected "Pirate King" after Sparrow’s vote breaks a stalemate (during previous elections, each pirate lord voted only for himself/herself). She orders the pirates to fight Beckett. During a preceding parlay with Beckett and Jones, Elizabeth and Barbossa swap Sparrow for Will.

Barbossa tricks the other pirate lords into giving him their insignias, which he needs to free Calypso, who is Tia Dalma. When Barbossa releases her in a ritual, her fury over Jones' betrayal unleashes a violent maelstrom just as the Navy's massive fleet appears on the horizon. During the battle, Sparrow escapes the brig of the Flying Dutchman and steals the Dead Man's Chest. Meanwhile, Davy Jones kills Mercer and obtains the key to the chest, which Jack then steals back from Jones. As the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman face off near the center of a massive whirlpool, Will proposes to Elizabeth. They insist Barbossa marry them as Captain of the Black Pearl. Barbossa agrees, marries them and continues fighting as they exchange vows and kiss in the ensuing chaos. Will then boards the Flying Dutchman to retrieve the chest. When Davy Jones mortally wounds Will aboard his ship, Bootstrap Bill attacks Jones. Sparrow, who wanted the heart for his own immortality, places his broken sword in Will's hand and helps him stab Jones' heart, killing Jones and making Will the Flying Dutchman's captain. After Jack tears Elizabeth away from the seemingly dead body of her husband, they escape the Flying Dutchman. The crew of the Dutchman cut out Will's heart and place it into the Dead Man's Chest: the crewmen regain their humanity, and Will and Sparrow captain the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl respectively to destroy Beckett's ship, the Endeavor, killing Beckett in the process and forcing the enemy fleet to retreat.

Although Will has been saved and the Dutchman crew has regained their humanity, he must now spend the next ten years at sea. He and Elizabeth have one day together and consummate their marriage on an island before Will must leave for his new life. Will gives Elizabeth the Dead Man's Chest for safekeeping. Shortly after, Barbossa again commandeers the Black Pearl, stranding Jack and Gibbs in Tortuga. Having anticipated Barbossa's deception, however, Sparrow has already removed the map's middle that leads to the Fountain of Youth. In a post-credits scene set ten years later, Will appears on the horizon at sunset aboard the Flying Dutchman and is seen sailing towards land to meet Elizabeth and their adolescent child, during which a flash of green light is seen in the sky. The screenwriters have said that because Elizabeth stayed true to Will for the interim 10 years and he continued to ferry souls to the next world, the curse is lifted and he is free of the Flying Dutchman.^[1] This is contradicted by the "Pirates Secrets Revealed" leaflet insert in the DVD release, which states that Will is bound to the Flying Dutchman forever and may only step onto land once every 10 years.

• Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow: Pirate Lord of the Caribbean Sea, he was tricked by Elizabeth Swann into being swallowed by the Kraken to save the crew. Sparrow is trapped in Davy Jones' Locker until a rescue party arrives, whereupon he returns to the living world to battle his nemesis, Davy Jones. While in the Locker, he suffers hallucinations, seeing multiple versions of himself, each representing a different facet of his personality.
• Orlando Bloom as Will Turner: A blacksmith turned pirate, and the son of the pirate "Bootstrap Bill" Turner, a crewman on the Flying Dutchman, commanded by Davy Jones. Will eventually becomes the Captain of the "Flying Dutchman" after killing Davy Jones. Will hopes to free his father, and marry Elizabeth.
• Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann: Governor Swann’s daughter and engaged to Will. She tricked Jack Sparrow into being swallowed by the Kraken to save herself and the Black Pearl crew. Jack is at first unable to forgive her for sending him to his doom, but eventually relents.
• Geoffrey Rush as Captain Hector Barbossa: Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea, he was the first mate of the Black Pearl under Jack's command before leading a mutiny. Although killed by Sparrow a year before, a resurrected Barbossa returns to lead the Black Pearl crew to the World's End. He and Sparrow argue over who is the real captain of the Black Pearl.
• Bill Nighy provides a short live-action scene, in addition to the motion capture and voice acting for Davy Jones: Ghostly ruler of the ocean realm, captain of The Flying Dutchman, and to whom Jack owed a blood debt. His heart was captured by James Norrington, and as a result, he is now trapped into service to Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company, who forces him to kill the Kraken. During a brief reunion, Tia Dalma momentarily restores his former human form.
• Tom Hollander as Lord Cutler Beckett: Chairman of the East India Trading Company and the main villain of the film. Beckett possesses Davy Jones' heart, thus controlling the world's oceans and seven seas.
• Naomie Harris as Tia Dalma/Calypso: A witch who travels with the Black Pearl crew to rescue Jack, she also raised Hector Barbossa from the dead at the conclusion of Dead Man's Chest and is the woman Davy Jones fell in love with. She is more powerful than the crew realizes.
• Stellan Skarsgård as William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner: Will's father, he is cursed to serve an eternity aboard The Flying Dutchman. As he slowly loses his humanity to the sea, he becomes mentally confused, barely recognizing his own son.
• Chow Yun-Fat as Captain Sao Feng: Pirate Lord of the South China Sea, he captains the Chinese ship The Empress. He has a bad history with Sparrow and is reluctant to aid in his rescue from Davy Jones' Locker. "Sao Feng" (嘯風) means "Howling Wind" in Chinese.
• Kevin McNally as Joshamee Gibbs: Jack's loyal and superstitious first mate.
• Jack Davenport as James Norrington: Promoted to the rank of admiral, he has an alliance with Lord Beckett and the East India Trading Company after stealing the heart of Davy Jones and bargaining it to Cutler Beckett in exchange for his career. He is also Elizabeth's former fiancé and still loves her.
• Lee Arenberg as Pintel: A slightly mischievous, stolid member of Jack's crew.
• Mackenzie Crook as Ragetti: A Black Pearl crewman and Pintel's eccentric companion who wears a wooden eye.
• Jonathan Pryce as Weatherby Swann: Governor of Port Royal, Jamaica. He is Elizabeth's father and is also trapped in Beckett's service.
• Keith Richards as Captain Teague: A pirate and the Keeper of the Pirata Codex for the Brethren Court. He is Jack Sparrow's father, and keeps Jack's dead mother's shrunken head with him.

See also: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest#Production

"I felt it important that the third film was the end of an era — like in a postmodern western where the railroad comes and the gunfighter is extinct. It seemed that we had an opportunity to take a look at a world where the legitimate has become corrupt and there is no place for honest thieves in that society, so you have darker issues and a little melancholy. The myths are dying. That seemed a great theme with which to complete the trilogy." —Gore Verbinski[2]

Following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl's success in 2003, the cast and crew signed on for two sequels to be shot back-to-back.^[3] For the third film, director Gore Verbinski wanted to return the tone to that of a character piece after using the second film to keep the plot moving. The film would explore Jack Sparrow's mad desperation to not return to Davy Jones' Locker,^[4] Barbossa's political manipulations, the completion of Will and Elizabeth's coming of age arcs, the increasing humanity in Davy Jones and Norrington and vice versa in "Bootstrap" Bill.^[5] Actor Johnny Depp was happy that he got more screentime with Geoffrey Rush than in the first film: "We're like a couple of old ladies fighting over their knitting needles... it's fantastic!"^[6] Inspired by the real-life confederation of pirates, Elliott and Rossio looked at historical figures and created fictional characters from them to expand the scope beyond the main cast.^[7] Finally embellishing their mythology, Calypso was introduced, going full circle to Barbossa's mention of "heathen gods" that created the curse in the first film.^[8]

Parts of the third film were shot during location filming of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, a long shoot which finished on March 1, 2006.^[9] Chow Yun-Fat was confirmed to be playing Sao Feng in July 2005 while production of the second film was on hiatus.^[10] Chow relished playing the role, even helping out crew members with props.^[4] The two-film schedule resumed in August at the Singapore set, built on Stage 12 of the Universal backlot. It comprised 40 structures within an 80 by 130-foot tank that was 3½ feet deep. As 18th century Singapore is not a well-documented era, the filmmakers chose to use an Expressionist style based on Chinese and Malaysian cities of the same period. The design of the city was also intended by Verbinski to parody spa culture, with fungi growing throughout the set. Continuing this natural feel, the floorboards of Sao Feng's bathhouse had to be cut by hand, and real humidity was created by the combination of gallons of water and the lighting equipment on the set.^[11]

Keith Richards, who partially inspired Johnny Depp's portrayal of Sparrow, was meant to appear in Dead Man's Chest, but there was no room for him in the story,^[12] and he almost missed filming a scene in At World's End following injuries sustained by falling out of a palm tree. In June 2006, Verbinski finally managed to make room in Richards' schedule to shoot in September,^[13] when he spent his three days of shooting drunk.^[4] Filming resumed in August 2006 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah^[14] and continued until early 2007 for seventy days off the California coast, as all the shooting required in the Caribbean had been conducted in 2005.^[15] Davy Jones' Locker was shot at Utah, and it was shot in a monochromatic way to represent its different feeling from the usual colorful environment of a pirate.^[16]

The climactic battle was shot in a former air hanger at Palmdale, California,^[17] where the cast had to wear wetsuits underneath their costumes on angle-tipped ships. The water-drenched set was kept in freezing temperatures, to make sure bacteria did not come inside and infect the crew.^[18] The maelstrom was one of many water-based challenges for Industrial Light & Magic in the film, spending just five months finishing the special effects. ILM took on 750 shots, while Digital Domain also took on 300.^[19] A second unit shot at Niagara Falls.^[20]

Filming finished on January 10, 2007 in Molokai,^[21] and the first assembly cut was three hours.^[22] Twenty minutes were removed, not including end credits, though producer Jerry Bruckheimer maintained that the long running time was needed to make the final battle work in terms of build-up.^[23] Hans Zimmer composed the score as he did for the previous film, composing eight new motifs including a new love theme for the At World's End soundtrack.^[21]

At the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con International, two minutes of footage were shown including Captain Jack Sparrow having to convince the crew to run back and forth on the ship deck to rock a ship over and Sparrow and Davy Jones battling on top of a crow's nest during the maelstrom battle.^[24] After a muted publicity campaign, the trailer finally debuted at ShoWest 2007.^[25] It was shown on March 18, 2007 at a special screening of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl named "Pirates Ultimate Fan Event", and was then shown on March 19 during Dancing with the Stars, before it debuted online.^[26]

Action figures by NECA were released in late April.^[27] Board games such as a Collectors Edition Chess Set, Monopoly Game and Pirates Dice Game (Liar's Dice) were also released. Master Replicas have made sculptures of characters and replicas of jewelery and the Dead Man's Chest.^[28] A video game with the same title as the film was released on May 22, 2007 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PSP, PlayStation 2, PC and Nintendo DS formats.^[29] The soundtrack and its remix were also released on May 22.

The world premiere of At World's End was held on May 19, 2007, at Disneyland, home of the ride that inspired the movie and where the first two films in the trilogy debuted. Disneyland offered the general public a chance to attend the premiere through the sale of tickets, priced at $1,500 each, with proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation charity.^[30] Just a few weeks before the film's release, Walt Disney Pictures decided to move the United States opening of At World's End from screenings Friday, May 25, 2007 to Thursday at 8 PM, May 24, 2007.^[31] The film opened in 4,362 theaters domestically, beating Spider-Man 3's theater opening record by 110.^[32]

As with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, At World's End received mixed reviews. The most common criticism of the film from reviewers was that the plot was too convoluted for them to follow. Drew McWeeny was an exception, praising its complexity as giving it repeat-viewing value, and its conclusion as "perhaps the most canny move it makes."^[33] Todd Gilchrist found the story too similar to other cinematic trilogies such as Star Wars but praised the production values.^[34] Brian Lowry felt that "unlike last year's bloated sequel, it at least possesses some semblance of a destination, making it slightly more coherent - if no less numbing during the protracted finale."^[35] Total Film praised the performances but complained that the twists and exposition made it hard to care for the characters.^[36] Edward Douglas liked the film but had issues with its pacing,^[37] while Blake Wright criticized the Davy Jones' Locker and Calypso segments.^[38] James Berardinelli found it the weakest of the trilogy as "the last hour offers adventure as rousing as anything provided in either of the previous installments... which doesn't account for the other 108 minutes of this gorged, self-indulgent, and uneven production."^[39] Peter Travers praised Richards and Rush but felt "there can indeed be too much of a good thing," regarding Depp's character.^[40] Travers later declared the movie to be one of the worst films of the year.^[41] In review aggregate websites, At World's End has a "rotten" rating of 45% on Rotten Tomatoes^[42] and 50% at Metacritic.^[43]

Favorable reviewer Alex Billington noted, "This is just how the film industry works nowadays; critics give bad opinions, the public usually has a differing opinion, and all is well in the world of Hollywood since the studios made their millions anyway."^[44] On May 24, 2007 the film earned US$58 million worldwide,^[45] and earned the fifth-biggest three-day opening yet, breaking the Memorial Day weekend record of X-Men: The Last Stand, with a domestic gross of $142 million. The addition of the Thursday screenings brought the opening total to $156 million. Elsewhere, it grossed $205 million, bringing the worldwide opening gross to $332 million.^[46] By June 13, 2007, the film had grossed $500 million overseas in 20 days, breaking Spider-Man 3's record for reaching that amount the fastest.^[47] The film has grossed an estimated $960 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing film of 2007, and the fifth-highest grossing film worldwide.^[48][49][50]

At least one nation's official censors have ordered scenes cut from the movie. According to Xinhua, the state news agency of the People's Republic of China, 10 minutes of footage containing Chow Yun-Fat's portrayal of Singaporean pirate Sao Feng have been trimmed from versions of the film which may be shown in China. Chow is onscreen for 20 minutes in the uncensored theatrical release of the film. No official reason for the censorship was given, but unofficial sources within China have indicated that the character offered a negative and stereotypical portrayal of the Chinese people.^[51]

The one-disc and two-disc versions of the Region 2 package versions of the DVD were released in the UK on November 19, 2007, on both DVD and Blu-Ray formats.^[52] The Australian DVD was released on November 21, 2007, and it was released on December 4, 2007 in the United States and the 2-Disc DVD is only for a limited time although the Blu-Ray format will stay. The Blu-Ray DVD release was misprinted as 1080i, although Disney confirmed it to be 1080p. Disney has decided not to recall the misprinted units, but will fix the error on subsequent printings. ^[53]

• Official Site
• Production notes
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End at MySpace
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End at the Internet Movie Database
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End at Rotten Tomatoes
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End at the Pirates of the Caribbean wiki

Preceded by Shrek the Third

Box office number-one films of 2007 (USA) May 27 - June 3, 2007

Succeeded by Ocean's Thirteen

v • d • e Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean
Theme Park Attractions	Pirates of the Caribbean • Pirate's Lair at Tom Sawyer Island
Films	The Curse of the Black Pearl • Dead Man's Chest • At World's End • Future film development
Video games	Pirates of the Caribbean • The Legend of Jack Sparrow • Dead Man's Chest • Pirates of the Caribbean Online • Pirates of the Caribbean Multiplayer Mobile • Kingdom Hearts II • At World's End • Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
Music	Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me) • Dead Man's Chest • Hoist the Colours • Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack • The Curse of the Black Pearl soundtrack • Pirates Remixed • Dead Man's Chest soundtrack • At World's End soundtrack • At World's End Remixes • Pirates of the Caribbean: Soundtrack Treasures Collection
Organizations	East India Trading Co. • Royal Navy • Brethren Court
Primary characters	Jack Sparrow • Will Turner • Elizabeth Swann • Hector Barbossa • Davy Jones • Cutler Beckett
Other characters and creatures	Bootstrap Bill Turner • Sao Feng • Joshamee Gibbs • Tia Dalma • Pintel and Ragetti • The Kraken • Weatherby Swann • James Norrington • Minor characters • Prequel characters
Ships	Black Pearl • Flying Dutchman • Interceptor • Minor ships • Ships in prequel series
Merchandise	Jack Sparrow (Prequel novels) • Trading Card Game • Pinball machine • Video Games • The Pirates' Code / Guidelines
Other	Music • Timeline of films • Pirate code of the Brethren • Geography • Dead Man's Chest

v • d • e Films starring Johnny Depp
1980s	A Nightmare on Elm Street · Private Resort · Dummies · Platoon
1990s	Edward Scissorhands · Cry-Baby · Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare · What's Eating Gilbert Grape · Benny & Joon · Arizona Dream · Ed Wood · Nick of Time · Dead Man · Don Juan DeMarco · Donnie Brasco · The Brave · Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas · Sleepy Hollow · The Astronaut's Wife · The Ninth Gate
2000s	Chocolat · Before Night Falls · From Hell  · The Man Who Cried · Blow · Lost in La Mancha · Once Upon a Time in Mexico · Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl · Happily Ever After · Finding Neverland · Secret Window · The Libertine · Charlie and the Chocolate Factory · Corpse Bride · Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest · Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End · Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street · Shantaram · The Rum Diary