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Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean)
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- See "Dead Man's Chest", for the fictional chest which plays a major role in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
David Jones is a fictional character from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series and is loosely based on the old seaman's legend of Davy Jones’ Locker. Jones made his first appearance as the main antagonist in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest portrayed by actor Bill Nighy through Motion capture. The computer-generated imagery used to complete Jones was highly praised, and named by Entertainment Weekly as the second most convincing computer generated film character in film history, only behind King Kong from the 2005 film adaptation of the same name, and before Gollum from The Lord of the Rings.
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Encyclopedia
- See "Dead Man's Chest", for the fictional chest which plays a major role in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
David Jones is a fictional character from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series and is loosely based on the old seaman's legend of Davy Jones’ Locker. Jones made his first appearance as the main antagonist in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest portrayed by actor Bill Nighy through Motion capture. The computer-generated imagery used to complete Jones was highly praised, and named by Entertainment Weekly as the second most convincing computer generated film character in film history, only behind King Kong from the 2005 film adaptation of the same name, and before Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. The work on Davy Jones by Industrial Light and Magic earned Dead Man's Chest the 2006 Academy Award for Visual Effects. Nighy returned to reprise his role of Davy Jones in the third film, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, as a one of the two major antagonists (the other being Lord Cutler Beckett).
In the Pirates trilogy, Davy Jones is the captain of the Flying Dutchman (a feared ghost ship of the same name featured in nautical lore ), and roams the seas in search of souls to serve upon his vessel for a century. He was previously the lover of Calypso, a "heathen goddess" from which a bad relationship turned him antagonistic. Jones is the legend behind the fictitious Dead Man's Chest, a major aspect of the second film.
Conception and creation
Historical influence
The legend of Davy Jones' Locker is hundreds of years old and originally not connected to the legend of the Flying Dutchman.
The character's act of removing and concealing his heart draws on a well-established theme in which the villain is rendered immortal by sacrificing its humanity. Examples of this range from ancient mythology (particularly the Legend of Koschei) to modern concepts of the undead and demons. Similarly to the ghost pirate LeChuck in the classic computer game The Secret of Monkey Island, Davy Jones is a villainous, undead captain whose immortality is a curse resulting from his broken heart. Davy Jones was depicted by sailors in all of maritime history as the devil of the sea. Several books have described a man that resembles a creature of the sea.
Davy Jones' pipe organ may be a reference to the fictional Captain Nemo, the main character of Jules Verne´s famous novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, who had a pipe organ aboard his submarine Nautilus. The character of Davy Jones playing his pipe organ is reminiscent of 'haunted villain' characters, who often play the organ as an outlet of their anguish. Davy Jones possesses a musical locket, which is one of a pair that belongs to Calypso. This is similar to El Indio, the villain of Sergio Leone's For a Few Dollars More, who possessed one of a pair of musical pocket-watches, and also seems to be tormented by the object's connection with a lost love. One scene that in At World's End that is extremely similar to For a Few Dollars More is when Calypso is playing her locket and when her tune ends it is picked up again by Davy Jones', who then appears in the scene, referencing the climactic fight at the end of the Spaghetti Western. Gore Verbinski has admitted the influence of Leone's work. In addition, during the parlay just before the climactic battle in At World's End, the theme music that accompanies the scene is nearly identical to the music from the climactic confrontation at the end of Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West.
Jones's relationship to the sea goddess Calypso, as well as his (abandoned) charge of ferrying the souls of those who die at sea link him to Greek and Roman mythology, specifically Charon, the boatman of Hades.
Film production
Before officially casting Bill Nighy producers also met with Jim Broadbent, Iain Glenn and Richard E. Grant for the role.
The entire crew of the Flying Dutchman (except "Bootstrap Bill") is completely 3-D Computer-generated, including Davy Jones. Their performances were recorded using motion capture during actual filming on the set, rather than in a motion capture studio during post-production. Briefly during the third film, Jones appears as a human for a single scene, played by Nighy in costume. Many reviewers have in fact mistakenly identified Nighy as wearing prosthetic makeup due to the computer-generated character's photorealism
Background
Davy Jones was born in Scotland; nothing is known about his youth. He fell in love with Calypso, the "heathen god[dess]" of the sea who gave him the charge of ferrying souls which died at sea to the "other side". Calypso gave Davy Jones the Flying Dutchman to accomplish this task. Her reason for this is unknown. She swore that after ten years she would meet him and they would spend one day together before he returned to his duties. He kept to his charge for ten years, knowing he would see his love again. Calypso however, after those ten years, failed to show up because of her capricious nature, which had drawn Jones to her in the first place. Enraged and heart-broken, Jones turned the Pirate Brethren against her, saying that if she was removed from the world, they would be able to claim the seas for themselves. They assembled in the First Brethren Court and Jones taught them how to imprison her into her human bonds (Tia Dalma); the Court agreed with him to imprison her forever.
Jones then proceeded to rip out his heart and place it in the Dead Man's Chest. Containing a powerful lock, the Chest was sealed and placed within a larger wooden chest along with Jones' numerous love letters to Calypso. This was then buried on Isla Cruces, a plague island. Jones then departed, keeping his unique double-stemmed key to the Chest with him at all times. Since then, Jones has abandoned his post and sailed the seas, making deals and doing as he pleased. Though immortal, his disregard for his duty brought punishment, mutating him into a parody of humanity, and with him his ship and whomsoever served on it. The lore of the "feared Flying Dutchman" begins as Jones' eerie ship sailed about destroying ships to recruit for crew. With his supernatural power, he becomes ruler of the oceans' realm and comes to command the Kraken, a feared mythological sea monster.
In the book series about the earlier adventures of fictional character Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones shows interest in the Sword of Cortés, which Jack is seeking. He is a minor character, but finally appears in the cliff-hanger ending to book 7 when Jack and his crew encounter the Flying Dutchman.
After Cutler Beckett sunk Jack Sparrow's Wicked Wench, Davy Jones approaches Sparrow with a deal: Jones will raise the Wench back from Davy Jones' Locker, allowing Sparrow to be captain for 13 years if Sparrow agrees to serve on the Dutchman then on. Sparrow agrees and the ship is raised, renamed by Sparrow as the Black Pearl.
Appearances
Dead Man's Chest
The character of Captain Davy Jones is introduced in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006); the time now being 13 years later, he seeks to claim Sparrow's soul. It becomes clear that Jack Sparrow and Cutler Beckett are after the Dead Man's Chest and its key; one to buy time against Jones and the other to secure Jones' power over the seas (respectively). After several events (none including Jones), Sparrow and the Black Pearl arrive at what seems to be the Flying Dutchman, but is really a merchant ship destroyed by the Kraken. The real Dutchman rises from the sea and captures the men on board, including Will Turner, who was tricked there by Sparrow. Jones makes his first appearance as he approaches the fearful crew and asks, "Do you fear death?", his catchphrase. After spotting Sparrow on the overlooking Pearl he teleports to the ship. Jones confronts Sparrow about their expired deal; in the end, Sparrow agrees to bring to Jones 99 souls (Will being the first of 100) in exchange for Jack's soul. Jones then removes his mark from Jack's hand and retains Turner.
While on the Dutchman, Will challenges Jones at a game of liar's dice, the purpose of which was to find out where Jones hides the key to the Chest. The stakes for which they gambled were Will's soul for an eternity of service, against the key to the Dead Man's Chest. Although Will was saved by his losing father, Bootstrap Bill, Jones did give Will a glimpse of where he kept the key to the Chest. Jones the next morning realizes the key is gone and summons the Kraken to destroy the ship carrying Turner, forcing Bootstrap Bill Turner to watch the scene; the Dutchman then sails to Isla Cruces to stop Sparrow from getting the Chest.
Arriving, Jones sent his crew to retrieve the Chest; they return to him with it. The Dutchman then goes after the Black Pearl, but is outrun and falls back. Jones summons the Kraken instead and it attacks the ship, finally pulling it down onto Davy Jones' Locker along with Jack Sparrow as Jones surveys. He afterwards opens the Chest only to find his heart missing, it having been taken by James Norrington.
At World's End and Future
Bill Nighy returns as Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, now being under the control of Cutler Beckett for the use of the East India Trading Co. Beckett threatens to have his men shoot Jones' heart should he disobey, knowing that if the heart is destroyed, Jones will die. The Flying Dutchman is ordered to roam the seas in search of pirate ships to destroy, which it does without mercy, much to Beckett's annoyance who needs prisoners to interrogate. Mercer, a henchman of Beckett's, names the Dutchman "a loose cannon". To ensure Jones would obey, Beckett also ordered him to kill the Kraken in case he attempted to use it against him and the East India Trading Co. Lord Beckett afterwards orders Jones to seek and attack the Pirate Lord, Sao Feng; Jones subsequently kills Sao and captures Elizabeth Swann, who had been named captain by Sao Feng upon his death. When Admiral James Norrington dies on board the Dutchman freeing prisoners, Jones claims Norrington's sword (originally crafted by Will Turner) after he attempted to kill Jones. Jones then attempts mutiny and has his men kill the Company's marines on the Flying Dutchman. However, Mercer organizes a defense on the Chest which includes Mullroy and Murtogg aiming cannon at it, forcing Jones to continue under Beckett's service.
Beckett later summons Jones to his ship, the Endeavour, where Jones confronts Will Turner again and divulges the truth of his own story while learning of Jack Sparrow's escape from the Locker. The three men then plan to arrive at Shipwreck Cove. Jones later confronts Calypso in her human shape of Tia Dalma, locked in the brig of the Black Pearl; here, the two former lovers engage in a poignant conversation wherein several crucial subplots between the two are revealed, such as the reasons for which Calypso did not meet him after Jones' first decade of service on the Flying Dutchman and the subsequent mutation of Davy Jones. Tia Dalma touches his chest, and Jones is briefly seen in his original human form (also portrayed by Bill Nighy), which bears striking similarities to his grotesque appearance, including a long and full beard with multiple braids parallel to his facial tentacles. Jones, despite his attempts to hate her, seems unable to truly do so and instead tells her that his heart will always be with her. Tia Dalma says that after her release, she will fully give her love to him and will help him fight the Brethren Court. However, Will Turner later reveals to her that Jones had revealed how to enslave her to the Brethren Court, enraging her and terminating her promise to help him.
After the parlay between Cutler Beckett, Will Turner, and Jones with Elizabeth Swann, Hector Barbossa, and Jack Sparrow, the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl sail into battle as flagships for their sides. A monstrous maelstrom (caused by the now-free Calypso) forms between them and both enter it, engaging in an epic battle. During the battle, Jones kills Mercer. After Mercer is dead, he fights Jack Sparrow for the Dead Man's Chest - an intense sword fight atop the mast of the Dutchman. In the end of the battle, Jack acquires both the Chest and the key while Jones battles Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann. After recevieng a sword slash on the chest, he turns to Will and says: "Did you forget? I'm a heartless wretch!" Knocking him out with Elizabeth , he sees them glance at each other and says scornfully "Ah love a dreadful bond." And later asks Turner if he fears death. Jack appears and asks Jones "Do you?" When realizing that Sparrow has his heart, Jones stabs and twists the sword that Turner crafted into its maker's heart, leaving Sparrow to either save or abandon his friend. Suddenly Will's father jumps upon Jones to fight him, but is quickly defeated. Minutes later, Sparrow places Turner's hand on his broken sword and plunges it into Davy Jones' beating heart, mortally wounding him for a moment. Jones staggers backwards and looks up into the sky, in which a blast of lightning is visible. This implies that he now belongs to Calypso. The heart stops beating and Davy Jones then dies. He tumbles backwards off the ship and falls into the still raging maelstorm.
Attributes
Personality
Davy Jones is a character written to be highly ruthless and sadistic particularly to his crew, believing that every human should suffer in the after-life with much pain This is shown by his proclamation of "Life is cruel. Why should the afterlife be any different!?". Despite Jones' vicious nature, his character has appeared to be deeply influenced by situations involving love and passion as a result of the ruined relationship he had with Calypso, the sea goddess, in the past. As revealed in At World's End, Jones' character fell madly in love with the goddess Calypso. His character's passionate nature is rarely shown to others, such as when he plays his theme on the pipe organ whilst shedding a single tear over Calypso and ultimately meeting her aboard the Black Pearl. Another instance where his soft side is shown is when Captain Jack Sparrow tells him that Will Turner is about to be married. Jones' expression softens considerably after being told this; many fans have even spotted what appear to be tears in his eyes. Other clues reflecting the character's privately romantic side include the matching music-box lockets which Jones and Calypso both possess, the numerous love letters and poems (found with a dried bouquet of yellow roses) stashed along with his heart when it was found in Dead Man's Chest, and the moment that shows him staring at Elizabeth's wedding dress floating amongst the debris of the just-sunken Edinburgh Trader, with the locket's melody playing with the scene. During the climax of At World's End, he taunts Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann when he realized their apparent relationship, stating that love is a dreadful bond which can be easily severed .
In the films, Jones possesses a locket that plays a distinguishable melody, and he is known to play the same melody on his pipe organ. This melody is also his character’s theme, and can be heard throughout the film's score. It comes in two variations: The soundtrack version and the film version. The soundtrack version is never heard in its full splendor during the film (only in the end credits), and its melody is heard only in Dead Man's Chest. The film version is played in both films multiple times, and is heard last during the climax of the film. Because Jones and Calypso own matching locket musicboxes, Tia Dalma's theme is similar to that of Davy Jones, albeit in a different arrangement.
It can also be noted that Davy Jones is often "quirky" throughout film. Producers of Dead Man's Chest originally assumed the character to be serious, though when Bill Nighy began his acting on set, he incorporated very unexpected "quirky" bodily and facial movements, including the Scottish accent and a slight nervous tic of the left eye, making the character more "interesting" than presumed.
Design and appearance
Davy Jones' physique was designed by the films' producers to be a mixture of various aquatic flora and fauna features. Jones' most striking feature is his cephalopod-like head, primarily a "beard" composed of octopus-like tentacles similar to the head of Cthulhu. A prominent sac bulges from under his barnacle-encrusted tricorne. The face's color was inspired by a coffee-stained styrofoam cup which was then scanned into ILM's computers to be used as the skin. Possibly because his nose no longer seems to exist, he breathes through a siphon located on the left side of his face. The character of Davy Jones has also a crustacean-style claw for his left arm, a long tentacle in place of the index finger on his right hand, and the right leg of a crab (resembling a pegleg). He also speaks with a clearly distinguishable Scottish accent. Originally, director Gore Verbinski wanted Jones to be Dutch, as he is the captain of the Dutch-man. Nighy however responded, "...I don't do Dutch. So I decided on Scottish".
Throughout the films, Jones uses the octopus-like arms of his "beard" to manipulate objects, such as the Dead Man's Chest key (he shows this during a game of Liar's Dice), his hat (when his ship submerges), and the keys of his vast pipe organ. Because his claw consists of only two parts (neither of which can move laterally), he can only strike one key with that hand. However, his "beard" plays more than twenty keys at once. Jones' computer generated tentacles are also used as a weapon in one situation, wherein he intrudes into Mercer's head by inserting his tentacles into several facial openings until finally breaking his neck.
In At World's End, Jones briefly appears as his original, human self during his final personal encounter with Tia Dalma. His human appearance reflects that of his disfigured, mutated appearance, having a thick beard consisting of several braided rows that mimic the various tentacles. It was revealed in this same scene that Jones' mutation was a curse he brought on himself by breaking his oath to ferry lost souls to World's End.
Powers and abilities
Davy Jones' character was given a large arsenal of supernatural abilities at his disposal. Though normally relying on the strength of his crew, ship, and the Kraken, Jones has proven quite powerful on his own. He is seen in At World's End as a brilliantly skilled swordsman and was able to break Jack Sparrow's sword with his crab-claw hand as well as defeat everybody that opposed him. The only 3 people that seem to be able to fight on par with Jones are Jack, Will, and Elizabeth in swordsmanship. Jones is capable of teleportation on board the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl and can pass through solid objects, although he is never seen going through people. Having no heart, Jones is immortal, capable of surviving fatal wounds. However, he is not impervious to pain, as demonstrated when Jack was able to cut off some of his facial tentacles during their battle, causing a scream of anguish. The same tentacle, displaying both animation and loyalty to its master, later inched across the ship deck with the key to Jones' chest. Jones can also track any soul that is owed to him using the black spot, which any member of his crew can give but only he can take back.
Davy Jones' character has only two real weaknesses: his inability to come on land, and his heart. Anyone who possesses his heart can "control" him by extortion. Because he can only go on land once every decade, Davy Jones sends his crew to accomplish whatever task he needs done on land. However, in At World's End, Jones is seen on "land" (actually a sandbar in the middle of the ocean,) standing in a bucket of water, which means that there may be several loopholes to this rule.
As Davy Jones was appointed by Calypso to be the one to use Flying Dutchman to ferry the souls of those who died at sea, he cannot die without a successor. This is expressed with the phrase "The Dutchman must have a captain", repeated over the course of the film, which means that whoever kills Davy Jones has to take his place as the new captain of the Flying Dutchman and ferry the lost souls to the other world. This position is eventually assumed by Will Turner.
Jones has also the power to control and call forth the Kraken, a sea monster which can destroy ships upon command by Jones.
Merchandise
Davy Jones was part of Series One of the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest action figure set produced by NECA. Although the initial run of figures had a sticker on the box that proclaimed that the figure came with the Dead Man's Chest and Jones' heart, both props (as well as the key) were released with the Bootstrap Bill figure in Series Two. Jones also made an appearance as a smaller figure with crew members Angler, Wheelback and Penrod. Jones was issued as a plush toy as part of Sega's "Dead Man's Chest" plush assortment. Jones was also part of a 3 figure pack as a 3.75 inch figure with Hector Barbossa and a limited edition gold Jack Sparrow for At World's End. Davy Jones and his ship, the Flying Dutchman, were produced as a Mega Blocks set for the movies Dead Man's Chest and At World's End. Although his minifigure counterpart in the Dead Man's Chest set has more bluish tentacles then his counterpart in the At Worlds End set, which has more greenish tentacles.
According to NECA, there are plans to make a human Davy Jones figure (which has now been released), and a Battle Pose Davy Jones, like the At World's End series 1 Battle Pose Jack Sparrow, though nothing official is known as of yet. A children's and adult Halloween costumes were released for Halloween 2007.
Hot Toys have also announced plans to make a 1:6 version of Davy Jones which will be available Q2 2008, which is widely regarded as more detailed than those produced by NECA.
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