Ocean's Eleven [DVD] [2001]

The cast and director commentary featured on the DVD edition gives the viewer a chance to go beyond merely what they see on the screen. They allow an insight into not only the making of the film but the rapport that is clearly present between the cast and crew. There is something quite surreal abour listening to Brad Pitt and Matt Damon reminice about their time on set!

'Ocean's Eleven' is a film well worth viewing more than once, if only to pick up on small, yet often vital, details missed the first time around.

The plot is simplicity itself – Danny Ocean (Clooney) forms a team of experts in their field to rob one of Vegas’s biggest casinos which holds the proceeds of three. It is this process that proves to be the most fun, as each of the eleven is introduced though a series of well thought out scenes (the best being Rusty’s (Pitt at his most effortlessly cool) attempt to lure Con artist Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner) out of retirement thanks to some crisp dialogue (“I saw you before you got out of bed this morning”). Perhaps because these are so good, it was inevitable that the heist itself would not have the same fizz, and because it is executed so neatly the tension fails to really build where it should – so it cannot be said to be in the same league as classic robbery films (see in particular Rififi, where the scenes of the robbery drip with tension). That quibble aside the film is tremendously good fun, with Soderburgh drawing excellent performances from his stellar cast and adding a professional sheen that was missing entirely from the original.

This is a great Hollywood film, we are offered nothing more here than an entertaining heist movie. If you are looking for anything deeper I would suggest Soderburgh’s barnstorming first effort ‘Sex Lies & Videotape’ or his more recent (and utterly brilliant) ‘Traffic’.

The DVD is great value for money, as despite some moans about the extras there are many more here than on other standard releases (all to often we have to wait for a special edition before we see what we are offered here). There are two great commentaries, and other assorted features on the film and DVD ROM content. This is perhaps not the sort of film that requires (or perhaps even deserves) a great deal in the way of extras to provide insights – what we have here is a very slick package. Just like the film then.