A pirate captain can outsmart a rival ship and still lose the people on deck. Start with The Curse of the Black Pearl for the aftermath of a mutiny, Treasure Island for a crew with a second plan, or Cutthroat Island for…

Items49The creator’s order
  1. 1Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)8.1IMDbReleased Jul 9, 2003Jack Sparrow’s old crew has taken his ship, and their new captain needs something Jack knows. Start here if you want to see a mutiny continue to shape who can bargain with whom well after the original betrayal.0
  2. 2Treasure Island (1950)Treasure Island (1950)6.9IMDbReleased Jul 19, 1950Disney’s 1950 adaptation makes ship’s cook Long John Silver one of the few adults Jim Hawkins knows well. The crew’s other plans keep testing what that friendship is worth. Robert Newton’s Silver makes it an accessible first version of the story.0
  3. 3Cutthroat Island (1995)Cutthroat Island (1995)5.7IMDbReleased Dec 22, 1995Morgan Adams inherits a piece of a treasure map and faces a rival relative alongside trouble among her own people. Choose it for an extravagant adventure where the captain has to earn enough time and loyalty to finish working out the map.0
  4. 4The Crimson Pirate (1952)The Crimson Pirate (1952)7.1IMDbReleased Sep 27, 1952Captain Vallo changes course when the people he planned to exploit persuade him to help them. His crew has to decide whether to turn a profitable voyage into a rebellion. Pick it for a broadly comic swashbuckler with a mutiny that makes practical sense from the crew’s perspective.0
  5. 5Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)7.2IMDbReleased May 19, 2007A gathering of pirate captains becomes a contest between people who agree on very little except the threat gathering around them. Pick it for feuds and unlikely coalitions, after the earlier films establish why individual promises are so hard to trust.0
  6. 6Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)7.4IMDbReleased Jul 6, 2006The Black Pearl’s crew and the people swept into its voyage keep running into the consequences of Jack’s old bargain. It is a stronger pick for impossible debts and changing loyalties than for a clear contest between one captain and one mutineer.0
  7. 7Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)6.6IMDbReleased May 15, 2011A mutiny aboard Blackbeard’s ship makes clear how little its sailors are able to control. Watch for the way Jack tests what an apparently rebellious crew can actually do while old rivals pursue the same goal.0
  8. 8Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)6.5IMDbReleased May 23, 2017Jack’s crew loses confidence in him before an old enemy forces another voyage. Try it later in the series, when the crew walking away carries the history of the other films and the pirate captain has to make his case from much less secure ground.0
  9. 9Muppet Treasure Island (1996)Muppet Treasure Island (1996)7.0IMDbReleased Feb 16, 1996Tim Curry’s Long John Silver still has to convince Jim Hawkins he is on the boy’s side, even with singing and Muppet sailors around them. Choose it for a very funny retelling that preserves the tension of sharing a ship with a crew pretending to have one purpose.0
  10. 10Treasure Planet (2002)Treasure Planet (2002)7.2IMDbReleased Nov 26, 2002A spacecraft built like a sailing ship carries Jim Hawkins and a crew that includes the person he trusts most. Silver’s involvement in a mutiny makes his two loyalties the emotional center of the story, with plenty of room for a space adventure around it.0