VST Platinum Blog

‘Ahoy, there!’ If you are planning to organise a fancy-dress party then ‘pirates’ would be a really good theme. Just imagine the hilarity of a room full of your friends and family members all dressed up as Long John Silver, Black Bart, Captain Jack Sparrow and the like. The whole scene would be so much fun right from the beginning that you can guarantee that it will go down a storm.

Since the early days of film when there were such classics as ‘Captain Blood ‘ in 1935 and ‘The Sea Hawk ‘ in 1940 there have been very few films about pirates that are worth any real mention. Only a few examples come to mind such as Roman Polanski’s ‘Pirates’ in 1986 and ‘The Goonies’ which made good use of a pirate-based storyline. Another movie that should also be mentioned, albeit for different reasons is 1995’s ‘Cutthroat Island’. This calamity of a movie ended up costing an unbelievable $100 million dollars at the time. The film went on to recover a mere $11 million dollars. The Guinness Book of World Records describes it as ‘the largest box office loss’ whilst The Washington Post said that ‘Cutthroat Island’s’ lame cliff-hangers are enough to make you a cliff jumper’.

Clothing certainly won’t be a problem. Pirates wore quite a variety of garments and with a little imagination and minimal outlay you can soon look like a true blue-blooded buccaneer! Think of simple articles like eye patches, bandanas and wide leather belts. A stripey black and white top wouldn’t be out of place; maybe it could be worn with some old black jeans.

Unless you are one of the few people to have not watched one of the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ films then you will more than likely agree when I say that Mr Depp is perfectly cast as Captain Jack Sparrow. It would be incredibly difficult trying to imagine anyone else being able to play the role anywhere near as well as Depp. Who else could be quirky, camp, cool, sexy and funny all at the same time? Out of the many modern actors that we have in Hollywood today it has to be said that Johnny Depp must be one of the most versatile. The range of parts that he has played has been incredibly varied and impressive.

Some ‘pirates’ games are another possibility. You could soon devise some original ideas or you could adapt some traditional ones so that they have a ‘pirates’ feel to them… Maybe you could have such attractions as duelling with water pistols or a treasure trail game. Musical chairs with ‘pirates’ music could be interesting, especially if you happen to know someone who can play the accordion! But don’t worry, there are plenty of ’sea shanty’ cd’s available. Even if you decide against musical chairs then proper pirate’s music would be a must to have in the background.

Depending on how far you want to go with your party and how large an event you are planning on it being, there are all sorts of others things that you could do to add authenticity to the occasion. If you have your party during the months leading up to Christmas then you should be able to get hold of some chocolate gold coins. If you have an old storage box that looks a bit like a pirates treasure chest then put that in the room being used. Perhaps you can get hold of some sea-shells and bits of old netting to decorate the room.

Try drawing a map on a piece of plain paper, stain it with coffee and burn the edges for an authentic looking treasure map. At the end of the treasure trail you could even have some appropriate booty! How about a treasure chest full of chocolates and goodies, instead of the usual boring old jewellery and sovereigns?

Unfortunately, audiences will have a long wait before the next installment of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. The fourth film in the series, ‘The Fountain of Youth’, is scheduled for release in 2012.

Tags: vst, computer