Klaus Badelt: Pirates of the Caribbean

Johnny Depp stars in this film of pirates, curses and adventure that also gave birth to Klaus Badelt's career as a major composer.

Released: 2003
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley

The Film: When the Governor's daughter Elizabeth is kidnapped by evil Captain Barbosa, her childhood friend teams up with pirate Jack Sparrow to save her. But Barbosa and the crew of his ship, the Black Pearl, are cursed. Trapped in skeletal forms that reveal themselves in moonlight, only Elizabeth's blood can remove the curse and return them to the land of the living.


Composer: Pirates was German born Klaus Badelt's first lead role on a big budget film; one that went on to be a major blockbuster putting him firmly on the treasure map as a film composer.

Badelt may not be a household name but, both in his own right and in collaboration with Hans Zimmer, he has worked on the music for dozens of movies, including The Thin Red Line, The Time Machine and Gladiator. Intriguingly, Badelt was one of a stable of composers brought in to score Pirates of the Caribbean at the last minute when Alan Silvestri decided to abandon his planned score due to musical differences.