Fri, Jun 16, 2006
In the Golden Age of Piracy, at the dawn of the 18th century, Blackbeard stood out among the lawless rogues as the most fearsome and notorious seafarer of them all. Bristol, England, 1717. In order to restore safe passage to the sea lanes, Lieutenant Robert Maynard of the Royal Navy (Mark Umbers, Color Me Kubrick) scouts the seas and offers amnesty to all pirates who choose to give up their evil ways and banish the criminals from the hundreds of islands they occupy. An imposing force, Maynard meets his match, a pirate sailing off the Island of St. Vincent: Edward Teach (Angus Macfadyen, Braveheart). Teach's goal is to find and lay claim to the fabled treasures of Captain Kidd. Teach re-christens himself Blackbeard. The educated Maynard, now in his custody, can be of great use to Blackbeard--as a chronicler of the nefarious deeds that are to come. What unfolds is an epic battle for control of the seas, for the honor of Maynard's beloved friend Charlotte Ormond (Jessica Chastain, ER), and for the possession of untold riches that lie buried in the decaying and ghostly Vulture Island, where Blackbeard's fate would become a symbol of an era's end in the history of piracy in the New World. Everyone knows the legend, but few people really know what made him one. Now, meet one of history's most notorious figures in this rousing and spectacular adventure, featuring an all-star cast that includes Golden Globe winner Stacy Keach (American History X), Golden Globe winner Richard Chamberlain (The Thorn Birds) and Golden Globe nominee Rachel Ward (On the Beach).
