Joy H Watching this much-repeated UK TV docu-drama serial about the infamous life and times of BLACKBEARD is a very rewarding experience. Factual accuracy can't be guaranteed as so little genuine information survives about this man, but what it does do very successfully is to deliver a new perspective about him that other programmes/films have not; and for this alone it's a very worthwhile production. It's also very competently shot and directed, which is a big bonus. Watching this you definitely get a different insight into the man that recreated himself as BLACKBEARD and went on to market his own persona with great success - unlike the mad savage he's usually portrayed as, we get the impression he must have actually been a very cunning and intelligent man who was perhaps a maverick well beyond his time in terms of understanding how to develop a brand image and how to promote that for best effect. JAMES PUREFOY is absolutely stunning in the role, and personally I find this his best performance to date, simply because he loses himself in it, which I've not seen him do successfully in his other roles. Perhaps it's due to the costume and big beard, and that there's no reliance on his good looks for the role, so he's able to project his performance beyond the facade of his own features. For sure his portrayal of BLACKBEARD is the best I've ever seen from any actor, and it's a real credit to him. As for the pirate accents; definitely they're accurate if any non-UK viewers see this drama - most English pirates of the time (inc. Blackbeard) were from the Bristol area of the English south coast - they did indeed speak this way, and to a lesser degree it's still the local accent today.

TJYoung80465 It's rare that I sit down and watch a documentary and am pleasantly surprised by it. There's been a few on the Spartans, Ancient Greece, and WWII that I've thoroughly enjoyed, however I think this one topped them all.My single complaint about this documentary was the ending scene where Edward Teach (Blackbeard) is stabbed instead of having his throat slit.But aside from that and as minor as that little fine detail might be, it was very enjoyable. Most of what you see here is depicted in Captain Johnson's telling of Blackbeard, and the rest can be found on the internet. But, the visuals in this make it stand out. Not to mention the music and artwork put into it (the clothing, weaponry, and ship details).I'd recommend this to anyone who hasn't seen it. I rented it through an online distributor, and watched it a few times before returning it. I've since tried to find it in a local store and haven't been able to. Instead, I ordered it online and plan to watch it as soon as it arrives.If not for my one complaint, I would have given this a 10 star rating.

mr-insane I watched it on National Geographic it it was great. I was amused how Teach wanted to fight with music and loved it when he joked with Tom about the whole " Isn't the point of a joke to make people laugh?" thing. It was a pretty accurate telling of Teach. I never figured out what happened to Frenchy though and that really would've been nice to know. This movie shows that pirates were not the loving, funny, comedic "Pirates of the Caribbean" nor the stereotypic pirate that both movies displayed. Though close I'm pretty sure Blackbeard was decapitated during the fight instead of it being removed after though. Still no matter how much you prefer comedies or romances(which you will certainly not find here!) you have to love this movie.

grey-37 With the disclaimer that it was the most accurate portrayal on television, I thought I would do a little lookup. I couldn't find much online, I'm assuming most of the backup documentation is in museum or offline locations.A couple of tidbits I did find online conflict with the narrative, but then again, a great deal of stories conflict. It would be interesting to see how the determination of "most accurate" was made.However... The wife and I have a thing for the age of pirates, and looked forward to this eagerly. We weren't disappointed.My only complaint was the backtracking after commercial breaks. It was kind of like we had to be reminded of what we'd just seen not 60-90 seconds ago.Now that this is no longer in production, I think the database should be updated! I also think that a listing of the rest of the cast would be nice. I'm curious about the actors portraying the prominently displayed members of the crew.