For Hollywood adventure seekers

Anthony Capps

The third major summer movie arrives in theaters across the country this weekend. “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” is guaranteed to be a surefire hit at the box office, but with sellout crowds and long lines expected, why not kick back for a night? Check out some movies every adventure-seeking movie goers should see.

“Captain Blood” (1935)

Johnny Depp wasn’t the first Hollywood heartthrob to play a pirate. It was Errol Flynn, in “Captain Blood,” that first made pirates an in-thing. “Blood” was Flynn’s breakthrough film that launched a career in which he portrayed soldiers, gunslingers, womanizers and more. In this film, we see Captain Peter Blood wrongly convicted of treachery and sent to prison in the West Indies. It is there he falls for a maiden – his frequent co-star Olivia de Havilland – who also happens to be the governor’s daughter. He and other prisoners escape the prison and set sail as pirates, but Blood must return to win the maiden in a duel to the death.

While it may not be up to par with the lavish sets, zany characters and tacky humor that “Pirates of the Caribbean” is known for, “Captain Blood” has a story told in the oldest fashion, as it is filled with classic Hollywood swashbuckling swordplay and is completed by a final battle for the maiden’s hand. Flynn’s charm and charisma as Blood was one big reason he instantly won the hearts of women all over the world.

“The 7th Voyage of Sinbad” (1958)

With a giant Cyclops, a dragon, a two-headed bird, a sword-wielding skeleton, a boy genie and a princess in distress all in less in 90 minutes, this “Sinbad” is one of the most famous Hollywood tellings. Although the film doesn’t have any big star names to its credits – Kerwin Mathews or Kathryn Grant, anyone? – it does offer the special effects of the legendary Ray Harryhausen. While dated by today’s computer technology, his technique is still a wonder to be reckoned with. The story, on the other hand, revolves around Sinbad, who, after taking a magician from the Island of Colossa, must return to Colossa when the magician secretly puts a spell on a princess and shrinks her to a minuscule size. Knowing the dangers that lie ahead, Sinbad and his crew head off to seek after the components that might save the princess – and to look for a magical lamp.

“Jason and the Argonauts” (1963)

This is another film with the special effects of Ray Harryhausen. The scene in which Jason alongside two others fights off a small band of skeleton warriors, sets “Jason and the Argonaunts” off to be arguably Harryhausen’s best work. Again, there are no well-known stars in the film, but a light-hearted plot moves at a brisk pace. King Pelias, aware Jason is prophesied to take the throne from him, refuses to let it come true. Pelias asks Jason, who is unaware of the prophecy, to go to the far land of Colchis for him to retrieve the Golden Fleece so he will be invincible and prevent the prophecy’s fulfillment. Unaware of the king’s motives, Jason and his crew, which includes Hercules, set sail in a sea adventure for the ages – since no one has ever successfully made it to Colchis.

“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” (2003)

Russell Crowe stars in this tale of high seas adventure, set in the early 1800s. During the war between the British and the French, Captain Jack Aubrey of HMS Surprise is off the coast of South America looking for the French privateer Acheron. Like “Jaws,” you never see the villain up close until well into the film, but the first match between the two is a great loss for Aubrey and his crew. The damaged Surprise must decide whether to retreat back to England or repair and fight the superior Acheron again.