This two-disc collector's edition of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is packed with over five hours of special features that delve into everything from creating the mythology-inspired Davy Jones and Kraken figures, to working and planning without a completed script, the incredible CGI techniques used in the film, the intense sword training sessions and stunt work, and the unpredictability of filming on location in the Caribbean. The audio commentary by writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio is an interesting and insightful look into the finished film, but perhaps even more revealing is the 25-minute "Charting the Return" pre production diary in which everyone from producer Jerry Bruckheimer to associate director Peter Kohn and writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio give a sense of the enormity of the project of concurrently writing and filming two sequels to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The overwhelming logistics of planning and casting without a finished script, scouting and preparing remote locations, constructing a new Black Pearl, and functional props like the rolling water wheel, and cutting costs to stay within budget are nothing less than mind-boggling. In the hour long "According to Plan" feature, director Gore Verbinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and a host of others detail the enormity of the project, focusing on the stamina involved in a 200-day shooting schedule and the need for adaptability and flexibility in dealing with everything from behind schedule excavations to the logistics of shooting on moving water and even the natural fury of a full-blown hurricane. Shorter featurettes "Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy of a Legend" and "Creating the Kraken" focus on the mythological creatures in the film and the awesome visual effects and advances in CGI technology that made them possible. "Mastering the Blade" follows Orlando Bloom (Will Turner), Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swann), and Jack Davenport (Norrington) through some intense sword-fighting training sessions and "Fly on the Set: The Bone Cage" offers a frightening look at what it was like to shoot the bone cage scene of the movie. Other bonus features include bloopers, an interactive tour of Johnny Depp's special makeup effects and wardrobe details, a look at how the 1967 Disney Land Pirates of the Caribbean ride was recently "re-imagineered" to incorporate some of the characters and elements from the new movies, producer Jerry Bruckheimer's photo diary, and a glimpse of the glitzy June 24, 2006 red carpet premiere on Disney Land's main street. --Tami Horiuchi

 

 dvd91-00023-vg

 

 

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