OCEAN’S
ELEVEN ($27) is the best caper movie to come this way in a long time.
If fact, this film revels in the simple joy of being perfect escapist
fun. Everything about OCEAN’S ELEVEN is cool, slick, stylish and
totally enjoyable. Although OCEAN’S ELEVEN is a remake of a famous
"Rat Pack" movie from the sixties, this modern update discards
pretty much everything but the basic premise of eleven individuals pulling
of a virtually impossible robbery of a Las Vegas casino. Actually, by
throwing away almost everything from the original, director Steven Soderbergh
and screenwriter Ted Griffin have come up with a film infinitely superior
to its predecessor.
OCEAN’S
ELEVEN features an all-star cast headed up by George Clooney as Danny
Ocean, who has just been released from a New Jersey prison after doing
a four-year sentence. While inside, Danny had the opportunity to plan
the perfect heist- Rob the vault of three high caliber Las Vegas casinos
owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia)- with an estimated take of over
one hundred fifty million dollars. Hooking up with his right-hand man
Dusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), the two find the perfect person to bankroll their
operation in the form of Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), a former casino
owner, who has an axe to grind with Terry Benedict. With their finances
in place, the two assemble the rest of their team to carry off Danny’s
perfectly devised heist. All of the pieces seem to fall into place, until
the rest of the team learns that Danny has an ulterior motive for robbing
Terry Benedict- namely his ex-wife Tess (Julia Roberts), who is now deeply
involved with the ruthless Vegas casino owner. The rest of Ocean’s Eleven
includes Matt Damon, Carl Reiner (who steals scenes like crazy), Bernie
Mac, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Eddie Jemison, Shaobo Qin and an uncredited
Don Cheadle.
Warner
Home Video has made OCEAN’S ELEVEN available on DVD in a 2.35:1
wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for
16:9 displays. Warner has also released a separate pan and scan version
of the film, but who would want to watch only half of this wonderful movie?
While the cinematography can be a little "artsy" and director
Soderbergh complains in his commentary that certain shots did not come
out to his liking, I think the wide screen edition of OCEAN’S ELEVEN
is a gorgeous looking DVD. The image is consistently sharp and wonderfully
well defined throughout the course of the film. There are sequences where
the contrast is overblown and others moments where the image appears grainy,
but these are excellent stylistic choices for this particular motion picture.
I don’t think Las Vegas has ever looked better in a movie than the way
Soderbergh has chosen to shoot it in OCEAN’S ELEVEN. Colors run
the gamut, from appearing subdued to appearing well saturated to even
appearing wonderfully overripe- again; the effect is perfect. Blacks are
solid and inky, plus the level of shadow detail is just fine throughout.
Dual layer authoring keeps digital compression artifacts completely in
check.
The
Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack isn’t anything spectacular, but it
does get the job done. Since most of OCEAN’S ELEVEN is dialogue
driven, there isn’t much for the sound engineers to play around with.
The forward soundstage predominates in the sound mix, although the surround
channels do provide a bit of ambient fill throughout the course of the
movie. Of course, the soundtrack does spring to life during the film’s
climax- when there are some actual sound effects and an opportunity for
the sound mix to become playful. The film’s music does fare rather well
in the sound mix, sounding full bodied and managing to make good use of
all five discrete channels. A French 5.1 channel and an English Dolby
Surround track are also encoded onto the DVD, as are English, French and
Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the DVD’s supplements. OCEAN’S ELEVEN
includes two running audio commentaries; the first is with director Steven
Soderbergh and screenwriter Ted Griffin, while the second features actors
Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia. Both commentaries prove to be entertaining
and worth listening to, although those wanting to hear about the technical
side of the movie should stick with the director/screenwriter track, while
those wanting a looser talk will prefer what the actors have to say.
The
DVD also includes two featurettes. Running fifteen minutes is the HBO
First Look Special The Making of Ocean's Eleven. Although on the
fluffy side, the program includes interviews with the cast and crew, all
of whom appear to be having a blast while making the movie. Clocking in
at ten minutes is The Look of the Con, which features costume
designer Jeffrey Kurland who discusses the great looking costumes that
he created for various members of the cast. All of the clothes worn in
the movie look really good, especially those designed for Andy Garcia-
I wonder if he got to take that great wardrobe home after the movie wrapped?
Two theatrical teasers and one full trailer are also included on the DVD,
along with cast & crew filmographies. OCEAN’S ELEVEN is also
DVD-ROM enabled, offering the theatrical web site, other Warner web links,
plus a great little interactive game. Are You In or Out?
is a game that allows the player to become part of the heist team, as
well as playing blackjack and answering trivia questions.
OCEAN’S
ELEVEN is a genuine delight of
a caper movie that really delivers the goods. Warner’s DVD looks great
and sounds quite nice. That, along with the extras, makes picking up your
own copy of OCEAN’S ELEVEN on DVD a no brainer.
OCEAN’S
ELEVEN ($27) is the best caper movie to come this way in a long time.
If fact, this film revels in the simple joy of being perfect escapist
fun. Everything about OCEAN’S ELEVEN is cool, slick, stylish and
totally enjoyable. Although OCEAN’S ELEVEN is a remake of a famous
"Rat Pack" movie from the sixties, this modern update discards
pretty much everything but the basic premise of eleven individuals pulling
of a virtually impossible robbery of a Las Vegas casino. Actually, by
throwing away almost everything from the original, director Steven Soderbergh
and screenwriter Ted Griffin have come up with a film infinitely superior
to its predecessor.
OCEAN’S
ELEVEN features an all-star cast headed up by George Clooney as Danny
Ocean, who has just been released from a New Jersey prison after doing
a four-year sentence. While inside, Danny had the opportunity to plan
the perfect heist- Rob the vault of three high caliber Las Vegas casinos
owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia)- with an estimated take of over
one hundred fifty million dollars. Hooking up with his right-hand man
Dusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), the two find the perfect person to bankroll their
operation in the form of Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), a former casino
owner, who has an axe to grind with Terry Benedict. With their finances
in place, the two assemble the rest of their team to carry off Danny’s
perfectly devised heist. All of the pieces seem to fall into place, until
the rest of the team learns that Danny has an ulterior motive for robbing
Terry Benedict- namely his ex-wife Tess (Julia Roberts), who is now deeply
involved with the ruthless Vegas casino owner. The rest of Ocean’s Eleven
includes Matt Damon, Carl Reiner (who steals scenes like crazy), Bernie
Mac, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Eddie Jemison, Shaobo Qin and an uncredited
Don Cheadle.
Warner
Home Video has made OCEAN’S ELEVEN available on DVD in a 2.35:1
wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for
16:9 displays. Warner has also released a separate pan and scan version
of the film, but who would want to watch only half of this wonderful movie?
While the cinematography can be a little "artsy" and director
Soderbergh complains in his commentary that certain shots did not come
out to his liking, I think the wide screen edition of OCEAN’S ELEVEN
is a gorgeous looking DVD. The image is consistently sharp and wonderfully
well defined throughout the course of the film. There are sequences where
the contrast is overblown and others moments where the image appears grainy,
but these are excellent stylistic choices for this particular motion picture.
I don’t think Las Vegas has ever looked better in a movie than the way
Soderbergh has chosen to shoot it in OCEAN’S ELEVEN. Colors run
the gamut, from appearing subdued to appearing well saturated to even
appearing wonderfully overripe- again; the effect is perfect. Blacks are
solid and inky, plus the level of shadow detail is just fine throughout.
Dual layer authoring keeps digital compression artifacts completely in
check.
The
Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack isn’t anything spectacular, but it
does get the job done. Since most of OCEAN’S ELEVEN is dialogue
driven, there isn’t much for the sound engineers to play around with.
The forward soundstage predominates in the sound mix, although the surround
channels do provide a bit of ambient fill throughout the course of the
movie. Of course, the soundtrack does spring to life during the film’s
climax- when there are some actual sound effects and an opportunity for
the sound mix to become playful. The film’s music does fare rather well
in the sound mix, sounding full bodied and managing to make good use of
all five discrete channels. A French 5.1 channel and an English Dolby
Surround track are also encoded onto the DVD, as are English, French and
Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the DVD’s supplements. OCEAN’S ELEVEN
includes two running audio commentaries; the first is with director Steven
Soderbergh and screenwriter Ted Griffin, while the second features actors
Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia. Both commentaries prove to be entertaining
and worth listening to, although those wanting to hear about the technical
side of the movie should stick with the director/screenwriter track, while
those wanting a looser talk will prefer what the actors have to say.
The
DVD also includes two featurettes. Running fifteen minutes is the HBO
First Look Special The Making of Ocean's Eleven. Although on the
fluffy side, the program includes interviews with the cast and crew, all
of whom appear to be having a blast while making the movie. Clocking in
at ten minutes is The Look of the Con, which features costume
designer Jeffrey Kurland who discusses the great looking costumes that
he created for various members of the cast. All of the clothes worn in
the movie look really good, especially those designed for Andy Garcia-
I wonder if he got to take that great wardrobe home after the movie wrapped?
Two theatrical teasers and one full trailer are also included on the DVD,
along with cast & crew filmographies. OCEAN’S ELEVEN is also
DVD-ROM enabled, offering the theatrical web site, other Warner web links,
plus a great little interactive game. Are You In or Out?
is a game that allows the player to become part of the heist team, as
well as playing blackjack and answering trivia questions.
OCEAN’S
ELEVEN is a genuine delight of
a caper movie that really delivers the goods. Warner’s DVD looks great
and sounds quite nice. That, along with the extras, makes picking up your
own copy of OCEAN’S ELEVEN on DVD a no brainer.
