Pirates The Best Pirate Movies  

Ranker Film
21.2k votes 2k voters 41.2k views 61 items

List Rules Films about pirates and their lives on the high seas. Vote up the best pirate movies.

Who doesn’t love a good action flick about the life of a pirate? The idea of searching the world for hidden treasure is a daydream that most of us have as kids. Some of our favorite literary works tell the story of a pirate and his ship and it’s no wonder so many movies tell these piratey, swashbuckling stories as well. But what are the best pirate movies? Cast your votes below and see which film comes out on top!
 
The movies featured on this list follow the life of a pirate in one way or another. Some are cartoon versions that are great sources of adventure for children, others are based on classic books such as the famous Treasure Island, while others take a dramatic look at what life on the seas is really like. No matter what kind of pirate you're looking for, the world of film certainly has a salty character for you.
 
This list has the best pirate movies including, Treasure Planet, The Swiss Family Robinson, Pirates of the Caribbean, Treasure Island, Hook, Blackbeard’s Ghost, The Goonies, The Island, and Captain Phillips. Vote up your favorite pirate film below or add one you love that isn't already on the list.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The ... is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Zoe Saldana Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 American fantasy swashbuckler film based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney theme parks. It was directed by Gore ...more

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Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead... is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 American fantasy swashbuckler film and the second installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, following The Curse of the Black ...more

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The Goonies is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
The Goonies Corey Feldman, Josh Brolin, Sean Astin The Goonies is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed by Richard Donner. The screenplay was written by Chris Columbus from a story by executive producer Steven Spielberg. The film's ...more

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Hook is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Hook Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts, Robin Williams Hook is a 1991 American fantasy adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by James V. Hart and Malia Scotch Marmo. It stars Robin Williams as Peter Pan/Peter Banning, Dustin ...more

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The Princess Bride is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
The Princess Bride Billy Crystal, Robin Wright, André the Giant The Princess Bride is a 1987 American romantic comedy fantasy adventure film directed and co-produced by Rob Reiner. It was adapted by William Goldman from his 1973 novel of the same name. The ...more

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Pirates of the Caribbean: On S... is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Keith Richards Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides a 2011 action adventure film based on Tim Powers' novel. The film is directed by Rob Marshall

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Pirates of the Caribbean: At W... is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Keith Richards Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is a 2007 American fantasy swashbuckler film and the third film in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. The plot follows Will Turner, Elizabeth ...more

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Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead... is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man Tell No Tales Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is a 2017 fantasy swashbuckler film, and the fifth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is ...more

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Treasure Island is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Treasure Island Patrick Troughton, Bobby Driscoll, Robert Newton Treasure Island is a 1950 live action adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions, adapted from the Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel Treasure Island. It stars Bobby Driscoll as Jim ...more

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Swiss Family Robinson is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Swiss Family Robinson John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, Tommy Kirk Swiss Family Robinson is a 1960 British-American family film starring John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, James MacArthur, Janet Munro and Tommy Kirk in a tale of a shipwrecked family building an ...more

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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Kirk Douglas, Peter Lorre, Paul Lukas 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1954 American Technicolor adventure film starring Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas and Peter Lorre. It was the first CinemaScope science fiction film and ...more

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Blackbeard the Pirate is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Blackbeard the Pirate Linda Darnell, William Bendix, Robert Newton Blackbeard the Pirate is a 1952 Technicolor adventure film made by RKO. The film was directed by Raoul Walsh and produced by Edmund Grainger from a screenplay by Alan Le May based on the story ...more

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Muppet Treasure Island is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Muppet Treasure Island Tim Curry, Billy Connolly, Jennifer Saunders Muppet Treasure Island is a 1996 American musical adventure comedy film based on Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. It is the fifth feature film to star The Muppets and was directed by ...more

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Cutthroat Island is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Cutthroat Island Geena Davis, Frank Langella, Matthew Modine Cutthroat Island is a 1995 romantic comedy action adventure film directed by Renny Harlin. The film stars Geena Davis, Matthew Modine, and Frank Langella. The film, having endured a notoriously ...more

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Treasure Planet is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Treasure Planet Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emma Thompson, Martin Short Treasure Planet is a 2002 American animated science fiction adventure film directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. After he receives a map from a dying pirate, a rebellious teen (Joseph ...more

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Captain Blood is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Captain Blood Olivia de Havilland, Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone Captain Blood is a 1935 American swashbuckling film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, and Ross Alexander. The film was made by First ...more

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Treasure Island is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added Treasure Island Orson Welles, Maria Rohm, Lionel Stander Treasure Island is a 1972 adventure film, based on the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film stars Orson Welles as Long John Silver, Walter Slezak as Squire Trelawney, Rik ...more

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Treasure Island is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added Treasure Island Christian Bale, Christopher Lee, Charlton Heston Treasure Island is a 1990 TV film adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous 1883 novel Treasure Island, written & directed by Fraser Clarke Heston, and also starring several notable ...more

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Blackbeard's Ghost is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Blackbeard's Ghost Suzanne Pleshette, Peter Ustinov, Elsa Lanchester Blackbeard's Ghost is a 1968 live-action fantasy comedy Disney film starring Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones, and Suzanne Pleshette, directed by Robert Stevenson. It is based upon the novel of the ...more

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Captain Phillips is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Captain Phillips Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Max Martini Captain Phillips is a 2013 American biographical thriller film directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi. The film is inspired by the true story of the 2009 Maersk ...more

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Captain Kidd is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added Captain Kidd Charles Laughton, John Carradine, Randolph Scott Captain Kidd is a 1945 adventure film starring Charles Laughton, Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, and John Carradine, directed by Rowland V. Lee, produced by Benedict Bogeaus and James Nasser, ...more

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Blackbeard is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added Blackbeard Angus Macfadyen, Richard Chamberlain, Rachel Ward Blackbeard is a 2006 adventure-drama miniseries based on the pirate Blackbeard, directed by Kevin Connor from a screenplay written by Bryce Zabel. It premiered on Hallmark Channel on June 17, ...more

The Best Olivia Wilde Movies

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The Pirates of Penzance is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
The Pirates of Penzance Kevin Kline, Angela Lansbury, Linda Ronstadt The Pirates of Penzance is a 1983 musical film based on Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera of the same name. It stars Kevin Kline, Rex Smith, Angela Lansbury, George Rose, Linda Ronstadt, and ...more

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Long John Silver is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added Long John Silver Rod Taylor, Robert Newton, Connie Gilchrist Long John Silver, also known as Long John Silver's Return to Treasure Island, is a 1954 United States film production made in Australia about the eponymous pirate from Treasure Island, starring ...more

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The Sea Hawk is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added The Sea Hawk Errol Flynn, Claude Rains, Gilbert Roland The Sea Hawk is a 1940 American Warner Bros. feature film starring Errol Flynn as an English privateer who defends his nation's interests on the eve of the Spanish Armada. The film was the tenth ...more

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The Buccaneer is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added The Buccaneer Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Charles Boyer The Buccaneer is a 1958 War film, made by Paramount Pictures like the 1938 version, starring Yul Brynner as Jean Lafitte, Charles Boyer and Claire Bloom. Charlton Heston plays a supporting role ...more

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Against All Flags is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Against All Flags Maureen O'Hara, Errol Flynn, Anthony Quinn Against All Flags is a 1952 American pirate film starring Errol Flynn as Brian Hawke, Maureen O'Hara as Prudence "Spitfire" Stevens and Anthony Quinn as Roc Brasiliano. The film's plot ...more

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Abbott and Costello Meet Capta... is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd Charles Laughton, Lou Costello, Bud Abbott Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd is a 1952 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, along with Charles Laughton, who reprised his role as the infamous pirate from the 1945 film ...more

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Yellowbeard is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Yellowbeard David Bowie, John Cleese, Madeline Kahn Yellowbeard is a 1983 comedy film by Graham Chapman, along with Peter Cook, Bernard McKenna and David Sherlock. It was directed by Mel Damski, and was Marty Feldman's last film appearance.

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The Black Swan is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added The Black Swan Maureen O'Hara, Anthony Quinn, Tyrone Power The Black Swan is a 1942 American swashbuckler Technicolor film by Henry King, based on a novel by Rafael Sabatini, and starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara. It was nominated for two Academy ...more

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The Crimson Pirate is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added The Crimson Pirate Christopher Lee, Burt Lancaster, Dana Wynter The Crimson Pirate is a 1952 American adventure film directed by Robert Siodmak. It stars Burt Lancaster, who also co-produced the film, as Captain Vallo, the eponymous pirate, and is set in the ...more

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Pirates is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Pirates Walter Matthau, Charlotte Lewis, Emilio Fernández Pirates is a 1986 Franco-Tunisian adventure comedy film written by Gérard Brach, John Brownjohn, and Roman Polanski and directed by Polanski. It was screened out of competition at the ...more

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Return to Treasure Island is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added Return to Treasure Island Tab Hunter, Kit Taylor Return to Treasure Island is a 1954 American film directed by Ewald André Dupont.

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The Ice Pirates is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
The Ice Pirates Anjelica Huston, Ron Perlman, Max von Sydow The Ice Pirates is a 1984 comic science fiction film directed by Stewart Raffill, who co-wrote the screenplay with Krull writer Stanford Sherman. The film stars Robert Urich, Mary Crosby and ...more

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Mysterious Island is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Mysterious Island Herbert Lom, Joan Greenwood, Nigel Green Mysterious Island is a 1961 science fiction adventure film. Based very loosely upon the novel The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne, the film was produced by Charles H. Schneer and directed by Cy ...more

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Swashbuckler is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added Swashbuckler James Earl Jones, Anjelica Huston, Robert Shaw Swashbuckler is a romantic adventure film produced in the U.S. by Universal Studios and released in 1976. The film is based on the story “The Scarlet Buccaneer”, written by Paul Wheeler and ...more

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Kidnapped is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added Kidnapped Peter O'Toole, Peter Finch, Bernard Lee Kidnapped is a 1960 Walt Disney Productions film adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel, Kidnapped. It stars Peter Finch and James MacArthur, and was Disney's second production ...more

Fun Jobs That Pay Well

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Jamaica Inn is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added Jamaica Inn Maureen O'Hara, Charles Laughton, Robert Newton Jamaica Inn is a 1939 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock adapted from Daphne du Maurier's 1936 novel of the same name, the first of three of du Maurier's works that Hitchcock adapted. It stars ...more

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The Secret of Treasure Island is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added The Secret of Treasure Island Hobart Bosworth, Grant Withers, Walter Miller The Secret of Treasure Island is a Columbia movie serial based on Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island. The serial is broken into fifteen chapters. Reporter Larry Kent travels to an ...more

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Fortunes of Captain Blood is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added Fortunes of Captain Blood Louis Hayward, Dona Drake, George Macready Fortunes of Captain Blood is a 1950 adventure film directed by Gordon Douglas.

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The Black Pirate is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added The Black Pirate Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Donald Crisp The Black Pirate is a 1926 silent adventure film shot entirely in two-strip Technicolor about an adventurer and a "company" of pirates. It stars Douglas Fairbanks, Donald Crisp, Sam De ...more

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Caribbean is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added Caribbean Arlene Dahl, Cedric Hardwicke, Clarence Muse Caribbean is a 1952 action adventure film directed by Edward Ludwig.

14 Things That Happen In Every Frickin' Pirates Of The Caribbean Movie

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The Island is listed (or ranked) 43 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
The Island Michael Caine, David Warner, Don Henderson The Island is a 1980 American thriller film, directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Michael Caine and David Warner. The film was based on a novel of the same name by Peter Benchley who also ...more

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The Pirate is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
The Pirate Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Gladys Cooper The Pirate is a 1948 American Technicolor musical feature film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. With songs by Cole Porter, it stars Judy Garland and Gene Kelly with co-stars Walter Slezak, Gladys ...more

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The Black Pirates is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added The Black Pirates Lon Chaney, Jr., Robert Clarke The Black Pirates is a 1954 adventure film made by Salvador Films Corp. about a band of Pirates scouring a small Central American town for a buried treasure. The movie was directed by Allen H. ...more

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The Pirates of Blood River is listed (or ranked) 46 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added The Pirates of Blood River Christopher Lee, Oliver Reed, Kerwin Mathews The Pirates of Blood River is a 1962 British action film directed by John Gilling and starring Kerwin Mathews, Glenn Corbett, Christopher Lee and Oliver Reed.

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Raiders of the Seven Seas is listed (or ranked) 47 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added Raiders of the Seven Seas Donna Reed, Lon Chaney^! Jr., Frank de Kova Raiders of the Seven Seas is a 1953 swashbuckler film.

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A High Wind in Jamaica is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
A High Wind in Jamaica James Coburn, Anthony Quinn, Dennis Price A High Wind in Jamaica is a 1965 DeLuxe Color film, based on the novel of the same name, and directed by Alexander Mackendrick for the 20th Century-Fox studio. It starred Anthony Quinn and James ...more

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The Devil-Ship Pirates is listed (or ranked) 49 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added The Devil-Ship Pirates Christopher Lee, Andrew Keir, John Cairney The Devil-Ship Pirates is a 1964 British-made pirate adventure film directed by Don Sharp. It concerned pirates from a vessel from the defeated Spanish Armada terrorizing citizens on the English ...more

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The Golden Hawk is listed (or ranked) 50 on the list The Best Pirate Movies
Chuck Bennett added The Golden Hawk Rhonda Fleming, Sterling Hayden, Michael Ansara The Golden Hawk is a 1952 American adventure film directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Sterling Hayden.