Best docuseries about pirates
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- StarsTarquin Shaw-YoungSara Mair-ThomasAnna ThomasPirates fascinate. They are wicked and cruel, and sometimes they are swashbuckling heroes. From Eric Bloodaxe to Barbarossa, Blackbeard to Bloody Morgan, they fought and pillaged their way across the world. This series tells the history of piracy, from Roman times to the present day, as modern navies still mount patrols against pirates in the South China Seas.
- DirectorTim ProkopStarsKimberly AdairPierre AndréFrankie AngelBlackbeard, Henry Morgan, Ann Bonny and Black Bart Roberts. Larger than life, more dangerous than legend - pirates and buccaneers set sail for plunder. Shot in high definition - True Caribbean Pirates recreates the rise of piracy in the Caribbean and its climactic, inevitable downfall.
- StarsSam WillisHarry PotterLucy MooreDr. Sam Willis narrates and presents this 3 part documentary series about Highwaymen, Pirates and Roques of a bygone era in Britain. We visit some actual sites along the way.
- DirectorRock BaijnauthAndrew MonizRoger SinghStarsMohamed AsharehMatt BrydenNick NuttalA tale of violence, piracy, and environmental disaster spirals into a life-threatening situation when Mohamed, a young Somali-Canadian, joins a real pirate cell with a hidden camera. This incredible footage shows the true nature of the Somalian pirates.
- StarsChris MerrillRob ReedyDavid MooreA droning account of several famous pirates & pirate bands interspersed with commentary by several unanimated experts, featuring movie clips, still painting, & repeated video that don't really convey the dramatic & violent lifestyle that is the topic of this would-be documentary. Contrary to the suggestion of its title, this is NOT an adjunct to the Disney film it attempts to expose.
- StarsNatasha LyonneLauren BentonJustin DunnavantIn pop culture, pirates are often depicted as booty-looting rogues, but their history is far more complicated. See how they became enemies of humanity.
- DirectorRonald ColbyStarsPeter BrownRonald ColbyAlex CornelissenA documentary on Paul Watson, who takes the law into his own hands on the open seas, confronting, by any nonviolent means necessary, the hunters who indiscriminately slaughter whales, seals and sharks, along with complicit governments and environmental organizations.
- StarsDerek JacobiJames Oliver WheatleySam CallisThe real-life pirates of the Caribbean violently plunder, stealing and form a surprisingly egalitarian republic in this documentary series.
- DirectorJames RoganStarsStephen AskinsSam EgagRobert KarjelThe Trouble with Pirates tells the story of Somali piracy with unique access to Somalia, the negotiators, the European warships in the Gulf of Aden and the heartbreak of a hostage situation gone wrong.
- DirectorStéphane BégoinStarsAnna Flori-LamourMartin MaresJean SoulatThanks to new excavations in Mauritius and Madagascar, as well as archival and museum research in France, Spain, England and Canada, a group of international scholars paint a new portrait of the world of piracy in the Indian Ocean.
- StarsBarry CliffordBill GravesExtraordinary National Geographic documentary on the English slave ship Whyda, the pirate Black Sam Bellamy who captured the ship before she sank, and modern-day attempts to recover the ship's treasures.
- TV SeriesCatching the Pirate King is a three part documentary series that tells the unlikely tale of a hijacking of a Belgian vessel in front of the Somali coast. The series looks at the hijacking of the ship and the elaborate police undercover operation that will lead to the downfall of a Somali Pirate King.
- DirectorPaul NebonPaul NelsonJoin us on a treasure hunt for the truth as we dive into the mythology of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series.
- DirectorRichard DaleTilman RemmeStarsJames PurefoyTyler ButterworthMark NobleIt's a movie about Blackbeard.
- DirectorAdam FriedmanStarsBen AdamsRich BrownJames CaubleIt has been over 200 years since the United States Navy has been called upon to fight pirates, but now pirates are back terrorizing the open sea and the navy is back in the hunt.
- DirectorAndreas WolffStarsAhadoKlaus HartmannKrzysztof KotiukIn 2009, the German container ship "Hansa Stavangar" had been seized by Somali pirates for four months. After its release, magazine covers showed a captain happy to have escaped the barbarian terror. This film shows the deeper layers, the invisible story behind the headlines, recounted from two protagonists' points of view: The pirate leader, Ahado, an eloquent, intelligent young man, and the captain, Krysztof Kotiuk. The former, who grew up amidst mortar shelling in Mogadishu, expecting to die at any moment, has nothing to lose. The latter will be left with nothing in the end. When weeks pass with no help from Germany, the captain decides to approach the opponent in a desperate attempt to save his crew. When both crew and company turn their backs on him, Ahado becomes his only confidant. Step by step the tragedy of two people is revealed - the pirate and the captain are destined to be enemies in a war that we're all a part of. Yet, they grow to form a close bond in the end. What's left when the roles we play, all moral categories and certainties implode? When you slide from a position of strength to one with no way out? And what is it like for those who have no choice in the first place? A psychological drama that addresses existential questions of war and human understanding.
- DirectorDavid CalekJakub ZahradnícekThe film reveals the plight of Somali pirates, mostly former fishermen, who as a result of the global fishing industry can no longer make a living from the sea as they once did and have to join up with pirate cartels in order to feed themselves and their families.
- DirectorBruce Y. MayerStarsStanley BrewerBuzz CornellSumer JarvisPiracy has been a part of North and South Carolina's history for many centuries. Their adventures have been well documented through pirate trial documents and in numerous volumes written of their bloody exploits on the high seas. South Carolina ETV examines the lives of these pirates and follows their adventures during the period known as "The Golden Age of Piracy". "This period - roughly between 1690 and 1725, was an important time in Carolina's early history," affirms Producer Bruce Mayer. "This was the era that saw pirates the likes of Stede Bonnet, Calico Jack, Edward Low, Charles Vane, Anne Bonny & Mary Read - and the notorious Blackbeard, rise to prominence. This certainly must have been an extremely lively time as thousands of pirates infested the inlets and towns along the South Carolina and North Carolina coasts!" Trans-Atlantic trade was disrupted by pirates seeking their plunder - and merchant ships from ports around the globe attempted to tip-toe around these swifter pirate vessels to deliver their cargoes. Remarkably - for decades piracy was tolerated by local officials in coastal towns like Charleston South Carolina but especially around Bath North Carolina. The reasons it was discovered - was that many of these town officials were engaged in trading their protection to pirates - from the hangman's noose, for a share of the illegal plunder looted from merchant ships! Commentators on "Pirates of the Carolinas" include: Mike Brown, writer and pirate historian from Charleston, SC - Nancy Roberts, writer of over two dozen books on pirates and Carolina ghosts from Charlotte NC - John Walker, Blackbeard historian from Bardonia, New York - and David Moore, Curator of Nautical Archaeology, North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort NC. Actress and voice over artist Julie Berry of London, England narrates "Pirates of the Carolinas."
- DirectorThymaya PayneStolen Seas presents a chilling exploration of the Somali pirate phenomenon and forces you to rethink everything you thought you knew about pirates. It's November 8th, 2008 and the CEC Future, a Danish-owned merchant ship, is on high alert. Sailing inside the pirate-infested swath of sea between Somalia and Yemen, the ship's captain blinks hard at the radar screen where a light begins to flash. This is it, Nozhkin thinks, and he's right. Machine guns sound on the boat's hull and for two months this 13-man crew will be held at the mercy of Somali pirates, helpless as hostage negotiations threaten their lives and cameras capture every move. The pirates' translator, Ishmael Ali, a single dad who may or may not have stumbled into this controversial role, puts in a call to the shipping magnate's CEO Per Gullestrup demanding an exorbitant 7 million dollars. The shipowner's response is the first of many misfires and communications to come. These two adversaries will have to become unlikely allies as they race against time in an attempt to keep the crew from being killed by their violent captors. Stolen Seas documents the story of 13 powerless men trapped on a ship, and why their captors feel justified in their tyranny. It's the story of a Somali translator who get's in over his head -trying to give his son a chance. With first hand accounts from leading experts on the subject refuting the common misconceptions, Stolen Seas explores theories of what drives a country to piracy, from every point of view. It is a film about a country on the brink, at the mercy of global capitalism in overdrive, and young boys with nothing to loose.