The Music of Dead Man’s Chest | Film Music Video Essay

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

Thank you for all the wonderful responses to this video! If you like Video Essays on Film Music, check out my other videos on Hans Zimmer here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXq0dmNuqd5ros0

[@ShadowWolfIsTheGOAT]

One song I would have loved for you to included is “Wedding crashers” the score at the start of the movie, in my opinion it’s the best one and criminal to not include it. Great video though.

[@christonadams9046]

It's crazy to think Hans Zimmer never won an Oscar or Emmy for his score in Dead Man's Chest and At World's End because they are both fantastic

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

Especially with the given time they had, the team did an exceptional job.

[@christonadams9046]

@@JackMcKenzieComposer yeah. Restrictions can truly lead to something wonderful

[@magicuniverse6253]

He won for the Lion King Soundtrack in 1995, not a low value either ^^ To me, It's absolutly a glorious victory for that one.

[@tonydoinstuff]

Pintel and Ragetti are such underrated characters. Gibbs, too. They really help move the film and keep it on track. I love the scene at Tia Dalma's, where she talks about that which vexes all men. Perfectly summarizes 4 main characters in an instant. Will naively asks what vexes all men. Gibbs guesses "the sea?" Pintel goes with "sums?" And Ragetti in his usual, oddly deep and philosophical way, "the dichotomy of good and evil?" Such a perfect way to showcase 4 completely unique characters

[@adsfornothing3146]

Ah, another video to explain my love for this trilogy

[@barborajezkova8393]

rightttt❤

[@beatrixamerlinck5818]

For anyone who wants to know, Davy Jones is inspired in Beethoven. Beethoven fell in love with a duchess, Josephine Brunsvik, and since they could not be together due to social and money issues of that time, they decided to run away. But guess what happened? The duchess arrived late, and Beethoven never forgave it, because he had such a temperament. She did bare a natural child. Check out Davy Jones first keys on his locket, and you will realize that they are the same as Piano sonata #25 in G OP 79 II andante. Also, he hides his chest in isle the la cruces because that is where he married her. The destroyed church serves for this propose. Thank you for this beautiful analysis! I too fell in love with this movie and all the unconscious music that builds the magic

[@karlsengupta7185]

Fascinating...Thank you for pointing out the parallel!

[@elvy8429]

I feel so lucky to have found this! I really do consider the score of the second and third films to be superior to the first but I could never fully put my finger on why until you explained it so well! Honestly you deserve a lot more recognition for this and I will be sure to share it :D

[@adsfornothing3146]

Good that I'm not then only person that thinks that the music of 2&3 is better....

[@galacticemperorsheevpalpat219]

@@adsfornothing3146 indeed

[@thundersaAscam]

For the music in the second and third one to be better then the first one’s soundtrack is honestly a huge achievement in of itself

[@arcticwolf8371]

I love this! I’d love to see an At World’s End one as I personally think that has the best soundtrack out of the five

[@jacobvanbuhler6659]

I would also LOVE to see an at worlds end analysis!

[@sharpaycutie2]

The Malay Ron mashup and the the lift off song playing as Will dies and Elizabeth and Jack leave him is just👌👌😭😭😭

[@traumer9622]

Amazing video! The original trilogy is my favorite of all time. Kinda sad that people don't talk about it as much as they do about Harry Potter, the Dark Knight and other great movies of that time.

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

I think because it was originally based on a ride at Disney it puts people off…but actually the original trilogy is fantastic!

[@ReiRei12]

I was expecting just a music analysis, but you gave a great movie analysis too! Awesome vid, man.

[@TheBeird]

I thought back in 2006 that Dead Man's Chest was the best Pirates film, and I think the same in 2022. Methinks audiences and critics took movies like this for granted. Like them or not, they were swinging for the fences. Now we live in a safe, sterile and even sexless hellscape of cookie cutter blockbuster cinema that neglect the score!

[@billyjoecobra2517]

This ost deserved clesarly and Oscar. Great analysis.

[@Markrspooner]

Great worth Jack, there is much more depth to the music than I had realised

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

The music is so great in this film, I bet a lot of first time viewers would still understand the plot if all the dialogue was removed!

[@mattgrande1755]

I also felt like for the Kraken and it’s low note motif, another reason for using low notes was to convey the depths or dark abyss it travels in and lives within until Jones calls it.

[@BEASTYBYRD]

I'd love to see you go over at worlds end and give it the same treatment regardless of how long the vid is. I've seen a lot of videos on this franchise and never seen someone break down the music in a thorough and concise way so If a at worlds end video comes out and it's a hour long I will be like a happy giddy kid on Christmas.

[@isabeltookey3795]

any musician on any instrument has played at least one of the themes from pirates at least once in their lives.

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

It’s definitely become a staple in any high school band repertoire.

[@connorapurcell]

A very thorough, interesting and engaging analysis of a magnificent film score, and the compositional techniques that elevate the storytelling. The explanations and insight you provide convey your insight and expertise, successfully entertaining and educating without being repetitive or overwhelming. Well done! I'm honestly surprised at the size of this channel's audience and subscriber count - you deserve far more recognition and appreciation.

[@tomgire3058]

Very cool video! Just a quick note, bar 75 of Jack's theme is actually an Eb major cord! 3 way sword fight is one of my cues. ;) Was the ride of a lifetime.

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

Amazing Tom thanks for letting me know! I’ve updated the transcriptions PDF in the Dropbox link! What a great cue, undoubtedly one of my favourites! Like one massive medley of all the iconic themes an motifs! Hats of sir!

[@CaptainJack-Marshall]

Very good video. I really enjoyed your breakdown of the music of the movie. I have played Captain Jack for the past 15ish years and have watched everything I can to play the role as true to John depp as I can. I will now watch the movies in a different light. Just remember It’s always a pirates life 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️

[@Markrspooner]

great video essay Jack, really informative and makes me appreciate the music in the movies more than I had before.

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

Thanks Mark! Hopefully you can go back now with a little more insight and watch out for it!

[@dandybees7695]

This is such a wonderful break down! I ADORE PotC but I hadn’t realized how much information and character is packed into the music until this video. The scores are a huge part of what makes these movies special! Definitely going to listen to the soundtrack again after this video :D

[@jacobvanbuhler6659]

This is the best video on KZbin. Hands down. Great work!

[@AJCVYC93]

You are a legend sir. It takes a trully masterful use of words to fully convince me that dead man's chest is as good as curse of the black pearl, and yet, here we are

[@Hellothere_453]

Why has this video got so little views omg

[@mariskabezuidenhout613]

This was such a good analysis. Cant believe it doesnt have more views!

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

Thanks!

[@robertstefan6971]

i like how you managed to see the essence of how music was used and composed to serve the films purpose. thanks i really enjoyed your video. new sub.

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

Thank you! I think these films are often the prime example of how music is used to serve storytelling rather than to accompany the visuals, although they might not often seem at first glance the most obvious choice.

[@muhammedzayan4399]

How the hell is this video at 29k?? Seriously, this is soo good. Man you did a great job

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

Thanks for watching!

[@xdzyviperzz2331]

i love every song played in deadmans chest and At World's End I listen to the soundtrack at my freetime also i love the Davy Jones Music box jingle. One of the only few songs that can give me allot off chills to the point i wanna watch the whole movie again. I tend to skip The Curse Of The Black Pearl just to watch Deadmans Chest. Deadmans chest deserves its spot to one off the greatest movies ever made. For me it is atleast hope people feel the same I do.

[@StellarStreak]

It is a crime that this video has not racked up the views. Loved the way you began the video by stating the motives of all the central characters and then describing the motifs and the musical elements that evoked such emotions, thereby justifying the actions the characters went along with. Incidentally, I recently went through the trilogy i.e. the first three movies. And, while I was searching for some more meta content especially based on the music score, I could not find many results on youtube. I feel lucky to have come across this masterpiece. I am in love with such video essays where they breakdown the movie into understandable musical elements and transform it into feelings and emotions that an untrained, non musical person can follow. This helps us better understand the plot, feel the mood and emotions that the onscreen characters go through and make for a very enjoyable experience. Fundamentally, re watching after being equipped with such musical tools makes for more engaging and rewarding experience. PoTC trilogy in addition to movies such as Inception, Harry Potter PoA, Interstellar, Jurassic Park, Sherlock Holmes, Rush, Batman Dark Knight have such iconic music to go with the movies that you basically remember them through the score. They compel you to look up for a particular score well after you're done watching the movie. Such a shame your channel has not blown up. The effort and love you've put into the work not only shows your fascination for the musical score but also for the movie as an artistic piece on its own. Liked and subscribed for what it's worth. You'll need the motivation to keep going and making such fun, insightful essays. P.S.: By the way, you should definitely check out another youtuber "Listening.in". He did a fantastic piece on the musical score for "Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban". kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3ixkGilg9GUlZo

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

What a wonderful comment to wake up to, thank you for your kind words. I am a HUGE fan of ListeningIn I think he does an exceptionally great job at breaking down his musical analysis and his Video Editing is on another level entirely! This video essay was one of few I might do, as I know ListeningIn has a much better grasp on this style of content however this film (and the original PotC Trilogy) was particularly special to me so I thought I needed to make one! Very glad you have found this useful and insightful and I’m hoping now you can rewatch these films with a more comprehensive understanding of the music and why it works so well to tell the story! J

[@StellarStreak]

@@JackMcKenzieComposer Mate, you should check out this video m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/imWXfaiuma1jn9k. What you get is an explanation of the 'Liar's dice' scene from 'Dead Man's Chest' where Will challenges Davy Jones for the key to the chest. I tell you the depth and amount of work that must have gone into roughly 2 minutes of screentime is mind boggling. The sheer volume of knowledge about the characters, namely Will, Davy Jones & Bootstrap Bill, that the video highlights is unreal. Do let us know what you think of the short explanation. Have a good day. Cheers!

[@ZombishTurkey]

on top of the jack sparrow motif section, in the Sea of Thieves crossover with pirates of the caribbean (which is canon to both universes lore) they use the music in the background of the Jack Sparrow theme to represent his crew when you are tasked with finding them so you can use their memories to save jack. it is labeled as "the sunken pearl" in the game, and it used once again after you save them, and I thought that was genius on Robin Beanlands part.

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

I’ll have to check this out! Thanks for sharing.

[@TheSDATuba39]

Hans Zimmer is my favorite composer of all time. I’d love to see a video like this, about his score(s) on the 2000s Batman films.

[@sandermeevis524]

When I was 13 years old I started playing piano out of interest of playing movie soundtrack. In particular the PotC soundtrack. Now, I knew even before 13 years old that there were many motifs and themes for each character throughout the 3 movies (continious for the following 2 as well) but it is when I started studying the PotC music for my piano passion when I found out so much more. The different bases Hans made the themes sound like. The mix from 2 or more themes into one soundtrack piece of a scene. And all that I've learned playing it as well.

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

I think because these films are so over the top and bombastic that having really identifiable character themes really suited the tone. Therefore, when coming to large action sequences, having the ability to switch between them seamlessly is a lot of fun as a Composer. I often think the 15+ minute Maelstrom fight from At World’s End is the equivalent to a ‘Greatest Hits’ album.

[@zack7438]

I also love how in Dead Man's Chest, the camera pans covertly to Barbossa when Jack and his crew were at Tia's swamp, as shown in minuted 4:04.

[@thxlogofan1712]

my personal favorite use of the god motif is used during the scene where jack and the gang arrive at tia dalma's hut. the arrangement is similar to the malestrom theme, which showcases the power calypso weilds over the sea

[@the_eternal_student]

Hans Zimmer can be very monotonous, but this was a good video.

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

Check out my Orchestral Cover of ‘Three Way Swordfight’ from this Soundtrack in Logic Pro using virtual instruments!! kzbin.info/www/bejne/joK1lqaVf6aqebc

[@Killerbee4712]

Very impressive. I'm no composer but I'm somewhat musically adequate (Not adequate enough for Lizst, although I dont think anyone is anyways) and I am always so happy to see people get in touch with musical sides of... anything, especially for films with such beautifully iconic soundtracks. If you ever do more video essays and breakdowns of famous orchestral pieces (Classical, contemporary etc.) I will certainly be around to check you out! Also I enjoy your accent lol

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

Thank you for your support! You can also thank my Welsh Mother and Scottish Father for my somewhat hybrid accent…

[@Killerbee4712]

@@JackMcKenzieComposer Aha I was suspicious of both the Welsh and scottish-ness of your voice considering I've had teachers from both backgrounds. Very cool

[@ES-qy2ju]

Also Gore Verbinski himself help to the composition and played some instruments according to Tidal Music Metadata.

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

Gore is the featured solo guitar heard in the 3rd film, as Jack, Barbossa and Elizabeth meet with Beckett, Davy Jones and Will to negotiate.

[@ES-qy2ju]

@@JackMcKenzieComposer thats great, Gore knew what he wanted, and when the saga should end, unfortunately Disney didn't.

[@blickman5090]

There is a timeline video about jack sparrow and in there it states in one of the books he ended up going to an island and some crazy shit happens that he ends up picking up language from the natives living there and they respected him to a point they made him leader then he left

[@SalamanderStar]

I’d like to see a breakdown of the score to Ben Hur (1959) by Miklos Rosza-or any Rosza score, really.

[@TomHelps]

Nice video man! Loved it :)

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

Thanks Tom mate!

[@mrakashp]

I enjoyed this, and hope you have more in the future!

[@laurentdetaille4111]

Great job! Keep up the good work

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

Thanks Laurent! Hopefully you found it interesting!

[@Krillori]

Haven’t watched the whole video yet, but what about Klaus Badelt, didn’t he make the score for the original film, or am I missing something?

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

I’m sure Hans was attached to another film and couldn’t do the first one because of this. So he wrote the original thematic ideas (which you can find his original demo called ‘Pirates Day One’) and Klaus and a few others at RCP wrote the music for the first film.

[@Lord_Baphomet_]

Hans Zimmer makes mine and sooooo many others guitar playing sound like a cat coughing up a fur ball on piano strings.

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

What I love about this score is the variety of instruments and no restrictions to fit with a specific genre or style. There is a cue on KZbin you can find from within the film of ‘Dutchman Arrival’ - when Davy Jones enters its this incredibly badass riff of the kraken theme on the guitar and its absolutely bliss! Happy listening!

[@useraofdaoifvaefafvaevf5486]

do a breakdown of hereditary, please

[@simulacrae]

I kind of find videos like this funny. So many words said about a score that hinges on a track composed by Zimmer for a whole different movie. The potc hook is literally a section of the score from the Gladiator when they fight in the forest.

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

As a composer, you will have ideas ingrained in you and you will draw upon not only your influences but yourself as well. Hans wrote his demo track in 2 days (the original track in sure is titled ‘Pirates Day One 4:53am’ or something like that) and the team had less than 5 or 6 weeks to write the entire score to the first film. In context, John Williams’ ‘Auction at Hotel L’Antique’ from Indiana Jones 5 is a direct quote of his ‘Adventures of Tin-Tin’ “The Duel” theme. One might have many influences, but the biggest will be yourself.

[@simulacrae]

@@JackMcKenzieComposer this only tells me that a lot of the master scorers are very self referential. Which of course is better than taking someone elses music. But the fact remains, Zimmer kind of lopped his own stuff for a couple of years.

[@cleverusername9369]

God i love a Scottish accent

[@adsfornothing3146]

Well Jones is one of the more interesting characters, but he's not the only and also not the most interesting character.

[@alover466]

he's the only character that has full story (an interesting one)

[@tomlink5784]

Who is your most interesting?

[@Lord_Baphomet_]

The best cinematic wedding has to be Elisabeth’s and William’s.

[@daneeag3372]

My light bulb was thanks to batman returns and elo's elderado

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

Batman Returns is a brilliant score, have you checked it out on OmniMusic Publishing? They have the full film score available.

[@tischregal9678]

This video is really good. I would definitly be interestet how scores of other franchises are thought out. Another one, where I find the score just amazing is Attack on Titan's, if you don't know it. If not you should really really be carefull (if you look for it) about Spoilers at the moment and use spotify to be save, because there are some very big plot twists. I recently tried to recreate "Crew Embarks" Scene in a pirate game if you like to see: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hancg3t8nt95q5I

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

Thanks!

[@calebbarnett4905]

I wouldn’t say jones is a villain just a broken man

[@JackMcKenzieComposer]

Great way of thinking!