Pirates

Pirates (1986)

  • 25% of critics liked it
    (8 reviews)

  • 48% of users liked it
    (10,216 ratings)

Although the title evokes a swashbuckling adventure, Roman Polanski's Pirates tuns out to be a seagoing tale with a bit of a difference. Captain Red (Walter Matthau) runs a hardy pirate ship with the able assistance of Frog, a dashing young French sailor (Cris Campion). One day Capt. Red is captured… More

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PG-13, 2 hr. 4 min.
Directed By
Roman Polanski
Written By
Gérard Brach, John Brownjohn, Roman Polanski
Genres
Drama, Action & Adventure
In Theaters
Jul 1, 1986 Wide
Cannon Film Distributors

Critic Reviews

  • Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

    The joke lies in the contrast between the beauty of Polanski's framing and the scurvy visuals being framed

  • Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily

    If Roman Polanski has done a worse film than Pirates I certainly haven't seen it.

  • Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

    Uneven, misunderstood Polanski film deserving another look.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

  • A.D. V


    Quirky, uneven comedy that coming from Polanski I expected a little bit more out of. Now I understand why it doesn't have a legitimite release on DVD.

  • Pierluigi P


    An atypical and charming adventure. It's great to see an auteur like Polanski shaping his vision no matter what genre or tone he's in, but in this case he forgot to apply a little more carefree attitude. some parts are great but still most of the film lacks sparkle and… More

  • xGary X


    This Polanski pirate adventure bombed at the box office and was slated by critics, but I actually found it great fun. It was probably the first to deconstruct the classic swashbuckler, showing the grimier, more seedy side of piracy. It has loads of humour and period detail in a… More

  • Dimitris S


    Chaotic.Polanski is struggling to control a big extravaganza of immoral surrealism,but my objection stands as to the absence of any point at all.I must give credit to the baffling satire e.g. pirates less smart than a molecule,our hero as a sinister bargainer and the obvious irony of… More

  • Alex F


    Awful. I'll never understand how could Polanski do this.

Cast

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