Ocean's 11 (1960) Review

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(More customer reviews)OCEAN'S 11 is a real time-capsule classic. The ultimate "heist" movie, starring The Chairman of The Board, Dino, Sammy, Joey, Peter, and the rest of The Rat Pack, this one is worth seeing just to watch "the boys" hanging out together and getting into trouble.
The late Fifties All-Adult ambience of Vegas is priceless, as is the hep cat cool which just oozes off the screen. Let's face it: How many men could get away with calling the President of the United States "Chickee Baby"? Well, Frank called JFK precisely that. Even Bill Clinton was never that swingin'!
The storyline is a standard potboiler involving a group of old Army buddies setting up the biggest theft in American history, five Vegas casinos. Frankie ain't doin' no singin', and the film's a bit slow moving in spots. They're playing it a little too straight and serious,and there are less laughs than chuckles, and no sex, but the film was a product of it's times (1960) and still had to get past the censors in those days. Peter Lawford is over the line as a forty year old Mama's Boy trying for the Big Score.
No matter how good the Clooney remake is, he won't touch this one at all...There's only one Rat Pack!
Call this an addendum:
After seeing the Clooney release of OCEAN'S 11, I decided to add a few more thoughts. Well, the new movie is ALMOST better---more action and more pacing, better scriptwriting. In short, a technically superior film in most ways, which is marred by the one thing you can't put a price tag on---the chemistry.
Although Clooney is grand (he swanks across the screen like a Bond villain on vacation), Brad Pitt is appropriately and irreverently serious, and Carl Reiner is outrageously funny, the "new crew" can't replicate the charisma of the Rat Pack.
Although the Eleven in both films are con artists and thieves, they are the antiheroes we all dream of. At the end of the original, you feel for the "bad guys," who, after all, ain't really that bad ("Coo-coo, baby!"). The remake hardly introduces most of the Eleven, and you don't really give a Rat's Pack whether most of them get away with it or not. They're only props.
Julia Roberts is curiously flat, colorless, and dried up as Danny Ocean's wife (where in the original, Angie Dickinson was undeniably THERE in what was a really very minor role). Andy Garcia is an evil presence as the "good guy" casino owner.
Both films are worth your time. The one has what the other lacks. In short, if computer imnaging could ever morph the original actors into the remake, this might just be the best film ever made.

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Frank sinatra and his rat pack prove how to win in las vegas: rob the casinos. Special features: two trailers sinatra family archive photos subtitles in english french spanish portuguese japanese chinese thai and korean. Feature-length audo commentary by frank sinatra jr. And angie dickinson.Studio: Warner Home VideoRelease Date: 09/26/2006Starring: Dean Martin Peter LawfordRun time: 127 minutesRating: Nr

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Frank Sinatra - A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim (1965) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have to admit I'm not an overly enthusiastic Sinatra fan myself, but he is certainly at his prime in this 1967 TV special. Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra are top notch as is Miss Ella in her solos and duets with Frank. The opening track "Day In, Day Out" featuring a lot of percussion instruments surrounding Frank is particularly memorable and full of drive.
The real reason I bought this DVD, however, was for the segment with Antonio Carlos Jobim. Frank and Antonio do a short medley of Jobim and Cole Porter-written songs (this segment of the show could and should have been MUCH longer) - but which medley unfortunately is credited to the arranging talents of Nelson Riddle - when in fact, the entire arrangement of all 4 Jobim and Porter songs played should have been attributed to Claus Ogerman. The arrangement of these four tunes can be heard note for note in the "Francis Albert Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim" 1967 LP (and now CD) on the Reprise label. Claus Ogerman arranged and conducted this entire album. Shortened versions of these four songs were only "lifted" from the album for this tv show. Antonio plays guitar chord changes in between the songs which make the 4 tunes flow effortlessly from one to the other. Nelson Riddle does a fine job arranging the music for the rest of the tv special, but I believe in giving credit where credit is due - and by no means did he arrange the Sinatra/Jobim part of the special.
Two of the very best albums Sinatra ever recorded were those with Jobim and I am glad that at least some of the material from one of these albums gets to shine on this tv special.
Of course, there are no words to describe Ella Fitzgerald's talent; every superlative about her singing has already been used many times over. She's great to both watch and listen to on this special and you can tell that Frank enjoys listening to her - when he's not singing with her himself - as well.
Anyone who loves bossa nova or wonderful renditions of standard swing and jazz tunes should definitely not miss buying this DVD. The only dissapointment for me is that it was not remastered in Dolby Digital, and offered in only PCM sound. Although the video part of the DVD is very good considering its age, it also could have done with a remastering to make it look even more pristine for the digital age.
--bj
January 2003.

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Happy Holidays With Bing & Frank Review

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(More customer reviews)Another packaging of Sinatra's 1950's television footage, once again by Hart Sharp Video, the producers who earlier this year brought us "Sinatra: The Classic Duets." Again, the show itself is under 30 minutes with the remaining 60 minutes allocated to interviews with Nancy, Tina, and other friends and associates familiar with the circumstances of the original show.
As usual, the producers are particularly unhelpful about providing documentation, but by perusing the video contents, it can be determined that the show is from 1957, which should have been "a very good year" for Old Blue. Unfortunately, this is definitely not a performance for making the case that Sinatra was the "Entertainer of the Century." He looks rather tired and stiff, and the voice, at least by Sinatra standards, sounds rough, lifeless and "played out." By contrast, Bing lights up the screen, radiating warmth, looking far more composed than the host, and singing flawlessly.
At these prices (under the cost of many CD's), this is a worthwhile pick-up for the Sinatra-Crosby collector. In fact, it rates above the earlier "Classic Duets" release because of print quality (a stunning clarity, even if the colors are often "wrong"), the extended sequencing (as opposed to stitching together bits and pieces from different Sinatra shows), and the extemporaneous, often surprising, remarks of the Sinatra daughters at a Q&A event following the initial screening of this restored footage. (At one point, in explaining Frank's troubles with TV ratings, Nancy says, "Dad didn't do well on television." Tina responds, "He had to fail somewhere.")
Bottom line: Don't even consider this if you don't already have "The Sinatra Christmas Album" or "A Jolly Christmas." And if it's Sinatra television footage you crave, be sure to pick up first the 1967 special with Frank, Ella, and Jobim. As for the Sinatra family members who, I understand, are largely responsible for this release: how do you explain going to such lengths to restore and mass-market this sort of footage while letting a Sinatra "concept" album like "All Alone," a project worthy of Sinatra's name in every respect, fall into oblivion?

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Item Name: Happy Holidays With Bing & Frank; Studio:Arts Alliance Amer

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The Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly Collection (On the Town / Anchors Aweigh / Take Me out to the Ball Game) Review

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(More customer reviews)All three of these DVDs have been released previously; however, this new boxed set houses a few new mildly interesting "extras" to be found in the Special Features. These three films are all big colorful MGM musicals, but none are in Widescreen because that particular aspect:ratio was not "invented" until 1954. However, they LOOK spectacular anyway!
"Anchors Aweigh" (1945) is a winning musical about two sailors on shore leave in search of a "dame". This musical's only flaw is it is a bit too long, as it has everything but the kitchen sink thrown in it, including a whole lot (too much) of Jose Iturbi, who must have been "quite something" in 1945 (but not now)! However, it is thoroughly entertaining for both adults and children, the latter, due to a lengthy sequence in the middle of the film that pairs live action (Gene Kelly dancing) with animation. Note, this was over 40 years BEFORE "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and 20 years before "Mary Poppins".
Both Sinatra and Kelly are excellent and Sinatra proves he can DANCE with the greatest of them! (4 1/2 out of 5 stars)
"Take Me Out to the Ballgame" (1949) is not quite as entertaining as "Anchors Aweigh". It less colorful and has a weaker plot, but the songs and dancing are still top-notch! This is the film where Sinatra REALLY proves he can DANCE as he and Kelly charge through a song in striped suits halfway through the film. Songs like "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", "Strictly USA", "The Right Girl For Me", and "O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg" add to the fun of this film. (3 1/2 out of 5 stars)
"On the Town" (1949) Simply, one of the greatest musicals ever made! This was the FIRST musical in film history to be filmed ON LOCATION, and what a location: NEW YORK CITY CIRCA 1949! If the plot sounds familiar (THREE sailors on shore leave in search of a "dame"), the musical numbers and the thrill of the Big Apple send this one right OUT of the ballpark!
Co-starring Jules Munshin, Vera-Ellen, Betty Garrett, and Ann Miller, with some of the musical sequences composed by Leonard Bernstein, and the great theme song, "New York, New York" ("a helluva town, the Bronx is Up and the Battery Down...", not the Sinatra smash-hit song, which came way later - 1979), "On the Town" is everything a musical could and should be!
(5 out of 5 stars)
Overall rating for this DVD box set, due to the considerable strengths of "Anchors Aweigh" and "On the Town": 5 out of 5 stars!

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THE FRANK SINATRA & GENE KELLY COLLECTION ON THE TOWN The Bronx is up and the Battery’s down, but no one can be down after seeing this ebullient tale of sailors on leave in Manhattan. Sinatra, Kelly and Jules Munchin are the gobs, Ann Miller, Vera-Ellen and Betty Garrett are the gals. TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME Second baseman Sinatra and shortstop Kelly are in there pitching – pitching woo! Esther Williams and Betty Garrett costar in a tale of baseball and that other American pastime. ANCHORS AWEIGH I Fall In Love Too Easily, Frank croons. And we fall in love with the charms of two sailors at liberty in Tinseltown. Includes a milestone of musical fantasy: Kelly’s dance with cartoon mouse Jerry!

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