Producer Samantha Lewis stated in an interview that Pirates was the most expensive pornographic film made to date,[3] with a reported budget of well over $1 million.[1][2]
In 1763, Captain Edward Reynolds is hunting pirates, or at least trying to do so. He does not consider himself a great commander, and neither does most of his crew. Only his first officer Jules believes in him. When they save a young woman named Isabella from drowning, she tells them that her husband's ship has been destroyed by the feared Captain Victor Stagnetti and his crew of cutthroat pirates.
Reynolds and his crew go hunting for Stagnetti, who tries to find a map that leads to a powerful secret on an island somewhere in the Caribbean Sea. Stagnetti finds the secret "staff" unlocked by Isabella's husband Manuel.
After the crew escapes the spawn of darkness summoned by Stagnetti, their ship engages Stagnetti's in battle, ending Stagnetti's reign as a pirate.
The production was shot using high-definition digital video cameras and featured over 300 special effects shots.[5] It also included an original music score, later released on a separate soundtrack CD, and was mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. Several scenes were shot on board Bounty II, a replica of HMS Bounty, in St. Petersburg, Florida.[6] The owners of the ship were not aware of the true nature of the film, as they were advised that the film being made was a "Disney-type pirate film for families",[7] a mistaken notion that would continue in video stores after its release.[8]
The film was initially released as a three-disc DVD set (the movie on a standard video DVD, the movie again in a high definition (720P) Windows Media format,[9] and a special features disc) priced as high as $70. An edited R-rated version of the film was released on DVD on July 11, 2006.[10]Digital Playground also released an Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD, a rarity among adult video releases.
In March 2008, Digital Playground announced that the sequel would star Belladonna along with Jesse Jane, Evan Stone and many other performers from the first movie, and that it would be released in September 2008.[13]
The second movie was released on September 26, 2008, under the title Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge.
Critical reception
RogReviews called it "the most talked about adult movie of the year".[14]
The film set a record by winning 11 AVN Awards (see section below).
The New York Times described the film as "a relatively high-budget story of a group of ragtag sailors who go searching for a crew of evil pirates who have a plan for world domination. Also, many of the characters in the movie have sex with one another."[15]
^ abTalia Ron; Dana Harris (September 14, 2005). "'Pirates' pic unbuckled". Variety. Archived from the original on April 11, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
