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The Sea Hawk

The Sea Hawk

Adventure · History · Romance · 1940

Dashing pirate Geoffrey Thorpe plunders Spanish ships for Queen Elizabeth I and falls in love with Dona Maria, a beautiful Spanish royal he captures.

Movie details

The Sea Hawk

“Dashing... romantic... Errol Flynn at his thrilling best!”

1940 Adventure · History · Romance 2h 7m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

Dashing pirate Geoffrey Thorpe plunders Spanish ships for Queen Elizabeth I and falls in love with Dona Maria, a beautiful Spanish royal he captures.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Sea Hawk?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Squanto: A Warrior's Tale

Squanto: A Warrior's Tale

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It's the 17th century, and Native American Squanto roams free in the New World until he's captured by visiting sailors who take him back to England. Monk Brother Daniel teaches him social customs, but other Englishmen aren't as kind. Squanto becomes the unwilling star of performances that highlight his fighting skills, but he eventually engineers a return trip to America. He finds that his home has changed forever, and he must chart a new path for his people.

The Adventures of Robin Hood

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Adventure · 1938

Robin Hood fights nobly for justice against the evil Sir Guy of Gisbourne while striving to win the hand of the beautiful Maid Marian.

Kings of the Sun

Kings of the Sun

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The Scarlet Pimpernel

The Scarlet Pimpernel

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During the French Revolution, a mysterious English nobleman known only as The Scarlet Pimpernel (a humble wayside flower), snatches French aristos from the jaws of the guillotine, while posing as the foppish Sir Percy Blakeney in society. Percy falls for and marries the beautiful actress Marguerite St. Just, but she is involved with Chauvelin and Robespierre, and Percy's marriage to her may endanger the Pimpernel's plans to save the little Dauphin

The Three Musketeers

The Three Musketeers

Adventure · 1948

In 17th century France, young D'Artagnan wants to join the King's Musketeers, but instead befriends three legendary musketeers—Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—and together, they become embroiled in the political intrigue surrounding King Louis XIII and his adversaries, particularly the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Michael Curtiz

Written by

Seton I. Miller · Howard W. Koch

Errol Flynn

Errol Flynn

Captain Geoffrey Thorpe

Brenda Marshall

Brenda Marshall

Doña Maria Alvarez de Cordoba

Claude Rains

Claude Rains

Don José Alvarez de Cordoba

Donald Crisp

Donald Crisp

Admiral Sir John Burleson

Flora Robson

Flora Robson

Queen Elizabeth

Alan Hale

Alan Hale

Carl Pitt

Henry Daniell

Henry Daniell

Lord Wolfingham

Court is in session

Put The Sea Hawk on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.