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The Buccaneer

The Buccaneer

Adventure · Drama · War · 1958

During the War of 1812 against Britain: General Andrew Jackson has only 1,200 men left to defend New Orleans when he learns that a British fleet will arrive with 60 ships and 16,000 men to take the city. In this situation an island near the city becomes strategically important to both parties, but it's inhabited by the last big buccaneer: Jean Lafitte. Although Lafitte never attacks American ships, the governor hates him for selling merchandise without taxes - and is loved by the citizens for the same reason. When the big fight gets nearer, Lafitte is drawn between the fronts. His heart belongs to America, but his people urge him to join the party that's more likely to win.

Movie details

The Buccaneer

“Piercing Drama of La Fitte - Man or Devil ?”

1958 Adventure · Drama · War 1h 59m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.4 / 10

2.8K votes

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

During the War of 1812 against Britain: General Andrew Jackson has only 1,200 men left to defend New Orleans when he learns that a British fleet will arrive with 60 ships and 16,000 men to take the city. In this situation an island near the city becomes strategically important to both parties, but it's inhabited by the last big buccaneer: Jean Lafitte. Although Lafitte never attacks American ships, the governor hates him for selling merchandise without taxes - and is loved by the citizens for the same reason. When the big fight gets nearer, Lafitte is drawn between the fronts. His heart belongs to America, but his people urge him to join the party that's more likely to win.

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 Buccaneer?

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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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Anthony Quinn

Written by

Bernice Mosk · C. Gardner Sullivan · Jesse Lasky Jr. · Harold Lamb

Yul Brynner

Yul Brynner

Jean Lafitte

Claire Bloom

Claire Bloom

Bonnie Brown

Charles Boyer

Charles Boyer

Dominique You

Inger Stevens

Inger Stevens

Annette Claiborne

Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston

Gen. Andrew Jackson

Henry Hull

Henry Hull

Ezra Peavey

Lorne Greene

Lorne Greene

Mercier

Court is in session

Put The Buccaneer on trial.

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

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.