Running head: FILM ANALYSIS 13

Film Analysis 13: Oceans Eleven

V. N.
Mercy College of Health Sciences

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Film Analysis 13: Oceans Eleven

The movie I chose to watch and analyze this week is Oceans Eleven (1960). This film is
about a gang of decorated WWII soldiers that hold up five Las Vegas casinos on New Years
Eve. The gang is recruited by Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra), and Jimmy Foster (Peter Lawford).
Other members of the crew include Sam Harmon (Dean Martin), Josh Howard (Sammy Davis
Jr.) and Mushy OConnors (Joey Bishop) from the Rat Pack. The original version of Oceans
Eleven (1960) was directed by Lewis Milestone, and filmed at various locations including the
Sahara, the Riviera, Desert Inn, the Sands and the Flamingo casinos. The remake, Oceans
Eleven (2001), starring Danny Ocean (George Clooney), Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), Linus Caldwell
(Matt Damon), Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle), and Frank Catton (Bernie Mac), is a film about a
large heist of three Las Vegas casinos, the Bellagio, the Mirage and the MGM Grand. Although
both films revolve around the heist of various Las Vegas casinos, both films have many
differences.
The 2001 remake of Oceans Eleven was a much needed, updated version of the classic
heist film. The 1960 version gave the viewers a very unrecognizable view of Las Vegas by
todays standards. Only one of the casinos, the Flamingo, from the original version still remains
standing today. All the others have been demolished and replaced by larger, more elaborate
casinos. Both downtown Las Vegas and the Vegas Strip have faced numerous changes since the
sixties. Viewers may have a difficult time relating to the outdated Las Vegas strip in the original
version. Other changes between the two versions include gaming and security technologies.
Technology has changed the face of gaming as coin slot machines have been removed and
replaced by modern, computerized machines. Expensive security systems are much more

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technical and advanced today, making heists more difficulty to pull off. Although everyone loves
a good heist film, certain changes were necessary in the remake to update the story.
In the original version, filmmakers focused more on the relationship between the
members of the gang. In the remake, Danny Oceans gang members were not decorated soldiers,
but rather skillful thieves. This change was necessary since WWII was so far back in time and no
longer popular. The remake focused more on the heist of the three Las Vegas casinos. The 1960
version showed the viewers very little of the beautiful city and much more of the dark, subdued,
small casinos. The 2001 version took us inside, outside, and all around Las Vegas which is much
louder, busier and exciting than it was in 1960. One very different, but interesting difference
between the two versions are the music scenes. The soundtrack for the 1960 version was very
popular. The starring actors actually performed their own numbers in the film and on the
soundtrack. This was very common for films made in the 1960s, but is very unusual in film
today.
Although both versions of Oceans Eleven told the story of a Las Vegas heist, there were
many differences that clearly separated the two films. The actors, scenery, characters and
technology are a few of the changes that have made the new version a successful, and
entertaining remake.

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References

Milestone, L. (Producer), Brown, H., Lederer, C. (Writers), & Milestone, L. (Director). (1960).
Ocean's Eleven [DVD]. Warner Bros.
Petrie, D., & Boggs, J. (2012). The art of watching films (8th ed.). NY: McGraw-Hill.
Weintraub, J. (Producer), Griffin, T. (Writer), & Soderbergh, S. (Director). (2001). Ocean's
Eleven [DVD].