Pirates once again....

[fajrdrako]

I went to see "Pirates of the Caribbean" again last night.

Embarrassing to say, perhaps, but I enjoyed it more than ever.

More and more I noticed what to me are glaring parallels with the Dorothy Dunnett novels, particularly putting Jack Sparrow in the position of Lymond and Will Turner in the position of Will Scott in "The Game of Kings":

• Jack and Lymond are both outlaws, betrayed by someone they trusted
  
• both are friendly with strumpets
  
• both are masters of the sword and love ships, and see ships as a kind of freedom
  
• Lymond apparently sets up an elaborate plan to sell Will Scott (whose identity is unknown to others) to the enemy in order to get the information he needs; but the whole set-up is a double-cross because he never had any intention of selling Will, and knew that those he was negotiating with (George Douglas and friends, in this case) were not dealing honestly. Will Scott, suspecting he was being set up, turns on Lymond and ultimately stabs him in the back. Essentially the same scenario happens with Jack, Will Turner and Barbossa, except that Will Turner hits Jack over the head instead of stabbing him.
  
• Lymond and Jack are both witty drunks.
  
• Lymond and Jack are both branded.
  
• Will Scott, like Will Turner, is respectable until he joins the band of outlaws or pirates.
  

Like the Lymond books, my 'favourite bits' are any scenes in which Jack Sparrow appears.

I shouldn't be indulging myself like this....

The people I went to the movie with this time had not seen it before, and everyone liked it. Everyone talked about 'buying it on DVD' when it came out.