What a surprise when I got this DVD set! "Pirates of the Silver Screen", from Passport, contains a veritable treasure trove of pirate-themed material. "The Dancing Pirate" is a black-and-white copy of an originally Technicolor film. "The Black Pirate", which I fully expected to be presented in black-and-white, is here in it's restored Technicolor! A really good, rousing story keeps the action moving, and the stunts of the legendary Fairbanks are amazing to watch. The music score is taken from "Scheherazade" and fits the action perfectly. This was, I believe, the second full-length feature made in the two-strip Technicolor process. Absolutely see this one-of-a-kind silent classic.

Alfred Parker's seafaring, swashbuckler "The Black Pirate" makes watching silent movies a genuine pleasure. Although Hollywood had produced a handful of pirate epics before this 1926 release, "The Black Pirate" benefits from scenarist Elton Thomas' gripping screenplay and Douglas Fairbanks' nimble physical presence. Indeed, this adventure on the high seas boasts some of Fairbanks' best stunts, particularly when he slices into a sail with his knife and then lets gravity draw him down the length of the canvas as the knife slashes through the material. Fairbanks performs this stunt three times. The Kino DVD provides an insightful documentary about how Parker and Fairbanks staged this extraordinary stunt. The exuberance with which Fairbanks leaps and lunges, the spectacular briny settings, and the wind-driven sailing ships make this above-average adventure opus a thoroughly entertaining spectacle despite its conspicuous lack of sound. Anybody who enjoys pirate movies, especially the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, won't get sea-sick watching this epic. Mind you, this isn't a fantasy with quasi-human creatures lurking about like in the Johnny Depp movie. After the opening credits, the film presents three expository title cards. The first one states: "A page from THE HISTORY and Lives of the most Bloodthirsty Pirates who ever infested THE SOUTHERN SEAS." Indeed, these pirates live up to their notoriety. The second placard spells out the themes: "Being an account of BUCCANEERS & THE Spanish MAIN, the Jolly Roger, GOLDEN GALLEONS, bleached skulls, BURIED TREASURE, the Plank, dirks & cutlasses, SCUTTLED SHIPS, Marooning, DESPERATE DEEDS, DESPERATE MEN, and--even on this dark soil--ROMANCE." Finally, the third placard states: "It was the custom of THESE PIRATES to SUBDUE their prey, LOOT the ship, BIND their captives and BLOW THEM UP." Reportedly, Fairbanks and original director Donald Crisp quarreled and Fairbanks replaced him with Parker. Earlier, Crisp directed the Fairbanks' 1925 "Zorro" sequel "Don Q Son of Zorro." Nevertheless, Crisp remained aboard as a salty old pirate named MacTavish who helps out our hero on several occasions. The agile Douglas Fairbanks toplines this lightweight but lavish escapade as the son of the Duke of Arnoldo. As "The Black Pirate" unfolds, the sea wolves are looting a ship. They have tied up virtually everybody left alive and then run a powder trail from the deck to the powder magazine in bowels of the ship. Indeed, these guys are rather ruthless. Parker shows us the looted ship in a long shot as it explodes and sinks. Michel (Douglas Fairbanks of "The Thief of Bagdad") and his aristocratic father are the only survivors. Not only are the details about their survival omitted, but also the pirates don't recognize him when he asked to join them. Moreover, neither Michel nor his father appeared in the earlier scenes. In fact, Fairbanks' character doesn't show up until 9 minutes into the action. Michel's father hands him an elaborate ring that Michel later uses to prove his identity. Michel vows to avenge the death of his dad at the hands of dastardly pirates. The pirates here loot the ship, bind the captives, and then run a powder train to blow up both the captives and the ship. These pirates don't play around. The Duke's son masquerades as a cutthroat himself and confronts them after they have stashed their treasure in an underwater cave on the island. Before these pirates can stash their treasure, they have to dig up a chest with the key to the locked gate of their secret underwater hiding place. Michel fights his way into their ranks to end their criminal ways. Before he challenges the pirate captain (Anders Randolf) to a duel, Michel fashions a makeshift grave stone from a piece of flotsam and scratches his solemn vow on it to exact revenge on the brigands. The treacherous pirates keep our hero guessing as much as he keeps teaching them one new trick after another until he defeats them. Along the way, he saves damsel-in-distress Princess Isobel (Billie Dove of "Yellow Lily"), falls hopelessly in love with her and wins her hand in marriage. Some of our hero's clever tricks involve capturing an entire merchant vessel all by himself. Initially, they are dubious about his chances for pulling off such a stunt, but he captures a ship. Eventually, our hero vanquishes the villains after facing certain death by having to walk the plank. Meanwhile, Jack Cunningham penned the screenplay from a story by Fairbanks writing under the pseudonym of Elton Thomas. The only drawback to the plot is that some of the coincidences are just too good to be true. Principally, the same island where the pirates stash their treasure is the same island that our hero has been washed up on himself. Clocking in at a trim 94-minutes, "The Black Pirate" contains more than enough action for its length, and the characters are interesting not only for who they are but also what they accomplish. Any pirate movie that opens with the chief pirate looting the dead is a keeper. Not long after this scene, the pirate captain spots a hostage swallowing a ring. The captain summons a mate and pantomimes to him how he should remove the ring from the captive. The mate leaves and the captain observes. When the mate returns, he hands the captain the ring that he eviscerated from the captive's gullet. The two-tone Technicolor makes the blood soaked forearms of the pirate stand out. Naturally, the captain gets his comeuppance later when the Fairbanks' hero defeats him in a sword fight. Fairbanks doesn't so much kill him as the pirate kills himself when he falls on a sword that Fairbanks had stuck in the ground. No pirate movie, not even the Errol Flynn sound classics, ever topped this until the advent of R-rated movies. Indeed, "The Black Pirate" boasts everything a great pirate movie needs. Interestingly, this was Fairbank's last major money maker.

In this "page from the history and lives of the most bloodthirsty pirates who ever infested the southern seas," the title cards explain, "it was the custom of these pirates to subdue their prey, loot the ship, bind their captives, and blow them up." That's exactly what happens to seafarer Douglas Fairbanks and his father, as the film begins. But, you don't mess with Doug. Mr. Fairbanks survives the attack, and infiltrates the offending ship (as "The Black Pirate"), vowing revenge, particularly due to the death of his father. Fairbanks also finds romance on ship, with kidnapped princess Billie Dove (as Isobel), whom he saves from gang rape.Colorful entertainment, from Fairbanks and company. Notable for the early feature-length color photography, by Henry Sharp; and, for Fairbanks' typically robust performance. Mrs. Fairbanks (aka Mary Pickford) stands in for the kissing long shot, near the film's end. Donald Crisp and Sam De Grasse are among the entertaining supporting players. In hindsight, the use of color probably hampered the production somewhat, as it looks more restrictive than other Fairbanks films of the 1920s. Still, it's a classic.

Many folks believe in the archetype, the notion that deep in the structure of the universe — deeper than we can reach — are certain pure models. There are few of them; they are crisp if not fully definable. And we spend our lives moving fey copies of them around in the patterns they allow.I don't buy that. At least so far as humans, we make our models and since about the time of this movie, movies are where most of them are made. But they stick, some of them, as if God made it so. Because this is something of an exemplar, it is required viewing I suppose.The demure princess (redheaded). The privileged young duke who assumes the role of pirate to seek revenge. Amazing exploits through cunning and some of the most impressive physical stunts on film.Color when it mattered. Romantic love, not invented here, but here first successfully placed in the heroic context of piracy. Rarely can you place your finger on a node of archetypal history and say here, here is where that was born.In keeping with a tradition of recommended pairings, I suggest you see this coupled with Geena Davis in "Cutthroat Island."Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.