Ocean's Eleven (2001)

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers (WGA):

George Clayton Johnson (1960 story) &
Jack Golden Russell (1960 story) &
Harry Brown (1960 screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 December 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Hollywood's A list stars come together to pull off the most daring heist Las Vegas has ever known...11 men, 3 casinos, 150 million dollars, 1 chance to pull it off.

Plot:

Danny Ocean and his ten accomplices plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously.

Plot Keywords:

Casino | Heist | Boxing | Acrobat | Prison

Awards:

3 wins & 17 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Sept. 10	9:00 PM	TBS
Sat. Sept. 11	12:10 AM	TBS

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

George Clooney	...	Danny Ocean
Cecelia Ann Birt	...	Board Member #1 (voice) (as CeCeLia Birt)
Paul L. Nolan	...	Board Member #2 (voice)
Carol Florence	...	Board Member #3 (voice)
Lori Galinski	...	Blackjack Dealer
Bernie Mac	...	Frank Catton
Brad Pitt	...	Rusty Ryan
Mark Gantt	...	Bartender
Timothy Paul Perez	...	Security Guard
Elliott Gould	...	Reuben Tishkoff
Frank Patton	...	Lockbox Carrier
Casey Affleck	...	Virgil Malloy
Scott Caan	...	Turk Malloy
Eddie Jemison	...	Livingston Dell
Jorge R. Hernandez	...	FBI Man #1

Also Known As:

"11" - USA (promotional abbreviation)
"O11" - USA (informal short title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some language and sexual content.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #38543) | Iceland:L | India:UA | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:PG | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:MG6 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | Greece:K-13

Filming Locations:

999 N Patencio, Palm Springs, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The cast did gamble during off hours. While there's disagreement between who won the most (George Clooney says Matt Damon, Damon says Brad Pitt), Clooney managed to lose 25 hands of blackjack in a row.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene before Rusty discovers that Tess is involved, he is speaking with Linus and holding a plate of shrimp. In the next shot, when he's witnessing Tess walk down the stairs, it's become a shrimp cocktail.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[At Parole Hearing]
Woman's Voice:Good Morning.
Danny:Morning.
Woman's Voice:Please state your name for the record.
Danny:Daniel Ocean.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hunting Grounds (2009)

Soundtrack:

Moon River

Tasty cast in very cool and slick movie

What a tasty prospect for a film: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts and for the young at heart amongst us, Joshua Jackson of 'Dawson's Creek' fame in a cameo role -all directed by the Oscar winning Steven Soderbergh!

George Clooney plays Danny Ocean who soon after being released from prison, puts together a team of eleven to undertake a robbery of the three biggest casinos in Las Vegas in an attempt to bring in a reward of $150 million. What soon becomes clear is that it's not the money which will give Danny the ultimate satisfaction, but the opportunity to get revenge on the owner of the three casinos he is robbing -Benedict (Andy Garcia) who just happens to be the new beau of Danny's ex, Tess (Julia Roberts).

Some of the gang of eleven are more memorable than others -especially the Chinese acrobat, the explosives expert with a dodgy cockney accent and the medallion wearing Reuben -aka Monica Gellar's dad! The cast are brilliant at acting cool -even if all Brad Pitt is doing is snacking on the screen (he does this a lot!), you are still transfixed by him because he looks so good on screen.

What makes the story so intriguing is the fact that Danny's mission seems so impossible: security in the casinos is paramount and the route to the reward is littered with obstacles. The number of close calls that the gang is faced with is great fun and one can't help but root for these crooks throughout the film. It is also refreshing to watch a film which is dominated by male stars and is not filled with macho swearing. Instead, we have a banter between the stars which is indicative of their camaraderie.

'Ocean's Eleven' is a welcome option in the choice of movies available at the moment which is dominated by Oscar nominees that are not going to be everyone's cup of tea. With this film, it's simply a case of sit back and enjoy the fun!