Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Julia Roberts
Story rating: 3 discs (out of 4)
Story review: Loosely based on the (rather lame) 1960 Rat Pack film, dashing, understated-but-cool thief Danny Ocean (George Clooney) orchestrates the most sophisticated, elaborate casino heist in history, less than 24 hours after being released from jail. In one night, Danny’s handpicked 11-man crew of specialists–including an ace card shark (Brad Pitt), a young-but-masterful pickpocket (Matt Damon) and a demolition genius (Don Cheadle)–will attempt to steal over $150 million from three Las Vegas casinos owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the elegant, ruthless entrepreneur who just happens to be dating Danny’s ex-wife Tess (Julia Roberts). To score the cash, Danny will have to risk his life and risk his chance of ever reconciling with Tess. But if all goes according to his intricate, nearly impossible plan, Danny won’t have to choose between his stake in the heist and his high-stakes reunion with Tess. Or will he? Like the original, Ocean’s Eleven is a lark, but unlike the 1960 version, it’s no throwaway; with Steven Soderbergh directing, the film is stylish and smart, even if it lacks a little soul. —Noah Davis, Hollywood.com
Features rating: 3 discs (out of 4)
Features review: Warner has done a nice job with its disc here, and it’s giving fans more of what they want…star power! Although it doesn’t feature that much supplemental information, the two audio commentaries are very interesting.
The first commentary is with director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Ted Griffin, who clearly have an intimate knowledge of the film. As with most of his tracks, Soderbergh is very entertaining and talks almost all the way through.
Even more entertaining is the second track, featuring Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. Pitt is the most gregarious of the trio, but the whole movie is worth watching again while listening to these guys banter. They obviously had a good time making the film, and a good time recording the commentary.
This leaves us with two featurettes: The Look of the Con is an awesome reminder of just how difficult it is to dress a roomful of Hollywood stars and maintain the authenticity of the director’s visual palette. Kudos to costume designer Jeffrey Kurland for knowing his color schemes. HBO’s First Look Special on the making of the film is most notable for how smoothly and efficiently it’s edited; it’s certainly one of the punchier making-of featurettes.
A few theatrical trailers are included, as are some limited cast and crew bios. Lastly, some DVD-ROM content is shown with links to the original Web site and an interactive game, “In or Out.”
Bottom line: You’ll feel like a winner buying the Ocean’s Eleven DVD. The disc and its features enhance this stylish movie nicely, making it a worthy purchase.
Special features list:
• Languages: English, French
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Commentary by director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Ted Griffin
• Commentary by stars Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia
• HBO First Look: The Making of Ocean’s Eleven
• The Look of the Con
• Enhanced DVD-ROM features, including In or Out?
• Theatrical Trailers
