19 thoughts on “TBT: Yellowbeard (1983)

  1. I love this as a minimum standard for historical costuming in a movie ‘the whore is wearing all the appropriate layers under her stays” May I propose that we call this ‘The Lorraine Test’?

  2. I saw this in the theater when it first came out. I don’t remember much. Substances may have been involved. I guess I’ll have to watch it sober.

  3. Oh, yes! I thought at the time that the costumes seemed far above average, but I was too busy laughing to take closer note.

  4. Madeleine Kahn! Be still my heart! That woman was a comedic goddess amongst us.

  5. I’ve been trying to find this movie. I saw it in the theater when it came out, but couldn’t remember the name or date. All I could remember was Marty Feldman. Thank you! And costumes!

  6. I have to admit that I never believed that there would be a fan of that movie. I saw it last year. Even if the costumes were OK, I had the impression that many of the actors like John Cleese only appeared to help Chapman that the movie would be possible, which was in other regard mostly just not funny enough and was spoiled by the fact that many scenes were just too long and the jokes were running out of steam.
    It’s interesting to see how much work went into the film, noticing the different locations. As a fan of swashbuckler films I observed a massive change during the 1960s regarding the production of these films. Many productions from the US were mostly produced in studios, using even the very similar if not the same construction for the deck (even if the ship should be a lot bigger, when seen from a distance (mostly a very poor model which did not make any sense at all)). But since the Italians and Spanish captured the genre (as they did with the western and sandal film) they changed the look of the ships and harbours to “real” ships, although these “ships” were mostly looking ridiculous.
    Nevertheless I always had the feeling that the end of “Yellowbeard” with the scene in the ship’s cabin is the most funny thing in the whole film.

  7. Always loved this film, and on re-watch, thought the costuming was better than average for this type of film…. Mu husband even made a yellow beard reference last night and was surprised I picked up on it… Geeks loving geeks…LOL. Love this film for its entertainment value….and David Bowie!

Comments are closed.