Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End—Two-Disc Special Edition

The third Pirates film downplays Johnny Depp (Captain Jack) and Orlando Bloom (Will) to build up Keira Knightley (Elizabeth) and the returning Geoffrey Rush (Barbossa), but the real stars are the special-effects techies, whose work the entire film seems to have been structured around. Easily a half-hour too long, At World’s End reworks themes and gimmicks from the previous two entries but sacrifices some of their exuberance. But buyers won’t feel cheated: the bonus disc bulges with entertaining featurettes that explore various aspects of the production and spotlight individual talents such as Depp, Keith Richards, Chow Yun Fat and composer Hans Zimmer. The Blu-ray edition adds a feature-length commentary by producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who also hosts an hour-long, interactive exploration of the elaborate, climactic “Maelstrom” battle sequence.

Shelf Talk: With a global box-office take approaching $1 billion, 2007’s top-grossing film doesn’t need much promotional support above and beyond what Disney is giving it; consumer awareness is already high and the timing of the DVD and Blu-ray releases is perfect for the holiday-buying season. A single-disc version is available for $29.99, but we’re thinking that fans of this effects-heavy adventure will skew toward the supplements-laden platform, which would make a more impressive gift.