The Movie: 2001's remake of Ocean's 11 was a big box-office draw that I enjoyed very much. I thought it would be a great idea to see the original movie, made in 1960, starring Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. Not only to see the differences between the two movies, but also to get a taste of that old Vegas style.

Overall, I think the new version ended up being more entertaining, with much better pacing. The old version is over 2 hours long, and it really feels like it. I thought that the movie took forever to get going, but once it did, it was pretty entertaining. Or maybe it was just the fact that they finally got to Vegas and I got to see all the sights as they were back then. And oh yes, it was kind of cool seeing Dean Martin sing "Ain't That A Kick In The Head"!

Differences and similarities with the new version:

But yeah, overall, it's an okay movie. It's mostly all about the Rat Pack gallivanting across the screen, and it gets a slow start, but after it gets going, it is entertaining, and has a really great surprise ending that I won't reveal for those of you who haven't seen this movie yet. And it's full of old Vegas style -- check out this shot down Freemont street from in front of the Plaza hotel! Super old school! But that Golden Gate sign still looks exactly like that! That's one of the reasons why I love Downtown Las Vegas... even if this movie is mostly set on the Strip.

The DVD: The film is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen format with a mono soundtrack. And although it is in mono, the sound quality is good. The film transfer is also pretty clean, as far as artifacts, dust and scratches go, but it certainly does have that "old" quality of color to it. There are a few special features, including two theatrical trailers, and an excerpt of the Tonight Show which had Frank Sinatra guest hosting and interviewing Ocean's 11 co-star Angie Dickinson.

It also features a "Las Vegas Strip Map" which looks like the map used in the movie showing the five casinos they rob (Sahara, Riviera, Desert Inn, Sands and Flamingo), and when you click on each casino, you see short features on each of the casinos and the changes they've gone through between then and now, including interviews with people who worked in those casinos, often for 30 years or more! However, I think this section of the DVD could have been done much better, and most of the interviews consisted mostly of "yeah I'm an old lady and I liked the old Vegas better"... the featurettes, short as they may have been (less than 5 minutes each) could have been much more in depth, even for their short time length. Also, the interface is totally messed up and it's hard to navigate the menu on this part of the disc. So yeah, this part could have been a lot better, although, I may just feel that way because I am a big fan of Vegas and already know a lot about the history, in which case I'm just being a big nerd.

But overall, it's a decent DVD, with decent video and audio, and OK special features. One last thing to note about the movie -- It's kind of cool knowing that these guys made this movie in the day time as they were still performing two shows a night in the show rooms in Las Vegas, but the only hint that you really get of this in the whole movie is at the very end when you see them walking in front of the Sands and see their real names up on the marquee.