Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Ocean's 11: 50th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)

David Vaughn  |  Dec 10, 2010

Eleven WWII veterans reunite for New Years Eve to rob five Las Vegas casinos. Everything goes as planned until one of the men dies of a heart attack and Duke Santos (Cesar Romero) figures out their scheme and wants a cut of the action.

Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Angie Dickinson, and Cesar Romero—what a cast! Unfortunately the entertainment value pales in comparison to the 2001 Steven Soderbergh remake. Sure, it's fun to see the rat pack strut around and witnessing the state of the Las Vegas strip 50 years ago, but the pacing is a tad slow (like most 1960s films) and the acting is laughable from some of the stars.

Video Highlights

  • VC-1/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
  • Varying shades of flesh tones
  • Inconsistent color palette
  • Hazy detail

Audio Highlights

  • DTS-HD MA 1.0 soundtrack
  • Limited dynamic range
  • Poor frequency response
  • Intelligible dialog

The audio/video presentation isn't much to brag about, but given the age of the production and its budget at the time, beggars can't be choosers.

Bonus Materials

  • Audio commentary with Frank Sinatra, JR. and co-star Angie Dickinson
  • Las Vegas: Then and Now vignettes
  • Excerpt from "The Tonight Show" with Frank Sinatra and Angie Dickinson

Of all the films available in Warner's vault, it makes you wonder how Ocean's 11 gets chosen for Blu-ray release, but I'm sure it has its fans. The audio/video presentation is middling but seeing how the strip looked 50 years ago is worth at least a rental.

Release Date: November 9, 2010
Studio: Warner

Movie: 5/10
Picture: 7/10
Sound: 6/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Integra DTC-80.2 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PVA-PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics

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