Does it pass? bechdel.io

Passes the Bechdel test

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

2003. Directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and Stuart Beattie.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    7 women characters. 6 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 1 scene out of 136.
  3. Yes 3. About something besides a man
    In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.

Poster for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

The film

This swash-buckling tale follows the quest of Captain Jack Sparrow, a savvy pirate, and Will Turner, a resourceful blacksmith, as they search for Elizabeth Swann. Elizabeth, the daughter of the governor and the love of Will's life, has been kidnapped by the feared Captain Barbossa. Little do they know, but the fierce and clever Barbossa has been cursed. He, along with his large crew, are under an ancient curse, doomed for eternity to neither live, nor die. That is, unless a blood sacrifice is made.

Released
09 Jul 2003
Genres
Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Rated
PG-13
IMDb
8.1 / 10
Metascore
63 / 100
Awards
Nominated for 5 Oscars. 38 wins & 104 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Jack 225 lines, man
  2. Elizabeth 111 lines, woman
  3. Barbossa 105 lines, man
  4. Will 102 lines, man
  5. Norrington 77 lines, man
  6. Gibbs 37 lines, man
  7. Pintel 28 lines, man
  8. Swann 27 lines
  9. Murtogg 22 lines, man
  10. Gillette 14 lines, man
Full cast, 70 people
  • Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow
  • Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa
  • Orlando Bloom as Will Turner
  • Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann
  • Jack Davenport as Norrington
  • Jonathan Pryce as Governor Weatherby Swann
  • Lee Arenberg as Pintel
  • Mackenzie Crook as Ragetti
  • Damian O'Hare as Lt. Gillette
  • Giles New as Murtogg
  • Angus Barnett as Mullroy
  • David Bailie as Cotton
  • Michael Berry Jr. as Twigg
  • Isaac C. Singleton, Jr. as Bo'sun
  • Kevin McNally as Joshamee Gibbs
  • Treva Etienne as Koehler
  • Zoe Saldaña as Anamaria
  • Guy Siner as Harbormaster
  • Ralph P. Martin as Mr. Brown
  • Paula J. Newman as Estrella
  • Paul Keith as Butler
  • Dylan Smith as Young Will
  • Lucinda Dryzek as Young Elizabeth
  • Michael Sean Tighe as Seedy Looking Prisoner
  • Greg Ellis as Officer
  • Dustin Seavey as Sentry
  • Christian Martin as Steersman
  • Trevor Goddard as Grapple
  • Vince Lozano as Jacoby
  • Ben Wilson as Seedy Prisoner #2
  • Antonio Valentino as Seedy Prisoner #3
  • Lauren Maher as Scarlett
  • Brye Cooper as Mallot
  • Mike Babcock as Seedy Prisoner #4
  • Owen Finnegan as Town Clerk
  • Ian McIntyre as Sailor
  • Vanessa Branch as Giselle
  • Sam Roberts as Crying Boy
  • Ben Roberts as Crying Boy
  • Martin Klebba as Marty
  • Félix Castro as Moises
  • Mike Haberecht as Kursar
  • Rudolph McCollum as Matelot
  • Gerard J. Reyes as Tearlach
  • M. Scott Shields as Duncan
  • Christopher Sullivan as Ladbroc
  • Craig Thomson as Crimp
  • Fred Toft as Quartetto
  • D.P. FitzGerald as Weatherby
  • Jerry Gauny as Ketchum
  • Maxie J. Santillan Jr. as Maximo
  • Michael Earl Lane as Monk
  • Tobias McKinney as Dog Ear
  • David Patykewich as Clubba
  • Tommy Schooler as Scarus
  • Michael A. Thompson as Simbakka
  • Michael W. Williams as Hawksmoor
  • José Zelaya as Katracho
  • Finneus Egan as Scratch
  • Don LaDaga as Nipperkin
  • LeJon Stewart as Lejon
  • Israel Aduramo as Crippled Man
  • Luke de Woolfson as Frightened Sailor
  • Matthew Bowyer as Sailor / Edinburgh
  • Christopher S. Capp as Cotton's Parrot (voice)
  • Gregory Ryan Alosio as Pirate (uncredited)
  • Jordi Caballero as Pirate (uncredited)
  • Tamara Castle as Woman in Bar (uncredited)
  • Paul Gagné as Sailor (uncredited)
  • Joe Grisaffi as Marine (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 7% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 136

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 31819
4 to 668
7 to 9041
10 to 12110
13 to 15634
16 to 18028
19 to 2113
22 to 2407
25 to 2702
28 to 3031
31 to 3300
34 to 3602
37 to 3948
40 to 421326
43 to 4501
46 to 48046
49 to 51017
52 to 5406
55 to 57013
58 to 60623
61 to 63025
64 to 66414
67 to 69131
70 to 7204
73 to 75022
76 to 7828
79 to 81117
82 to 84513
85 to 87539
88 to 9002
91 to 9302
94 to 96330
97 to 99214
100 to 1022124
103 to 1051419
106 to 108418
109 to 11106
112 to 11407
115 to 117029
118 to 12004
121 to 12301
124 to 12609
127 to 12901
130 to 132011
133 to 135414
136 to 13622

The evidence

  • Straight from the script
  • Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scene

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
ESTRELLA: Miss Elizabeth? ESTRELLA: Are they come to kidnap you, miss? The daughter of the governor would be very valuable. ELIZABETH: Listen, Estrella -- they haven't seen you. Hide, and first chance, run for the fort .

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 16 are women's.

126 lines from women, 661 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

7 women and 50 men in the cast. 6 women and 20 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

A woman speaks the first line. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 93 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 13% of the words (1,194), men 87% (7,716). Women have 16% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit E: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Exhibit F: behind the camera

2 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 16% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Gore Verbinski (man)
Written by
Terry Rossio (man), Ted Elliott (man)
Produced by
Jerry Bruckheimer (man)
Shot by
Dariusz Wolski (man)
Edited by
Stephen E. Rivkin (man), Craig Wood (man), Arthur Schmidt (man)
Music by
Klaus Badelt (man)
Production design by
Brian Morris (man)
Costumes by
Penny Rose (woman)
Cast by
Ronna Kress (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Other crew

    11 women, 76 men, 43 not listed

  • Sound

    8 women, 24 men, 10 not listed

  • Production

    6 women, 10 men, 16 not listed

  • Visual Effects

    0 women, 13 men, 18 not listed

  • Art

    2 women, 11 men, 10 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    4 women, 7 men, 11 not listed

  • Camera

    0 women, 11 men, 8 not listed

  • Editing

    0 women, 6 men, 6 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 18 on average. Men: 38 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Keira Knightley 18

Men

Damian O'Hare 25, Orlando Bloom 26, Jack Davenport 30, Mackenzie Crook 31, Johnny Depp 40, Lee Arenberg 40, Geoffrey Rush 52, Jonathan Pryce 56

Exhibit H: the money

It made 4.7 times what it cost.

Budget
$140 million
Box office
$655 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 136 scenes and 849 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

Related films

Back to the whole shelf