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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Ocean's Thirteen (Ocean's 13)

    Featured In Issue 127, January 2008

    Picture2.5
    SoundNR
    WSR Score3.5
    Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
    (Studio/Distributor):
    Warner Home Video
    (Catalog Number):
    113923
    (MPAA Rating):
    PG-13
    (Rating Reason):
    For brief sensuality
    (Retail Price):
    $35.99
    (Disc Type):
    Dual Side/Dual Layer (HD DVD15/DVD9)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    122
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    No
    (Regional Coding):
    1
    (Theatrical Year):
    2007
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    11/13/07
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Steven Soderbergh
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer):
    (Visual Effects):
    (Costume Designer):
    (Editor):
    (Supervising Sound Editors):
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers):
    (Co-Producers):
    (Producers):
    (Academy Awards):
    (Principal Photography):
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
    (Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
    (Disc Soundtrack):
    Dolby Digital 5.1
    (Theatrical Sound):
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (DTS Bit Rate):
    (Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
    (Additional Languages):
    (French Language):
    (Spanish Language):
    (Chinese Language):
    (Subtitles):
    (Cantonese Language):
    (Mandarin Language):
    (Japanese Language):
    (Italian Language):
    (German Language):
    (Portuguese Language):

    Danny Ocean (Clooney) and the boys are back to their double-crossing ways in Ocean's Thirteen. This time the flimflam artists are set to hit the newest casino in Vegas, The Bank. If their heist goes without a glitch, the Ocean's gang will walk away with a fat payday and the owner of The Bank, Vegas Kingpin Will Bank (Pacino) will be denied the coveted Five Diamond rating he desires of his property. Based upon characters created by George Clayton Johnson and Jack Golden Russell. (Stacey Pendry)

    The additional special feature to those found on the DVD is a 44-minute documentary entitled "Masters Of The Heist." Supplements that are the same as on the DVD include up-front previews, a featurette "Vegas: An Opulent Illusion" (23 minutes), a backstage look at the set hosted by Producer Jerry Weintraub (three minutes), and five,minutes of deleted scenes.

    The anamorphically enhanced 2.36:1 DVD exhibits well-saturated colors but is littered with noise, which can be very distracting. Fleshtones have a dated appearance, looking pasty and orange. Black levels are slightly washed out, and contrast is rather hot. Resolution is decent, but fine details in the imagery aren't visible. Pixel breakup is noticeable frequently, and compression artifacts are a big distraction. Edge enhancement is also noticeable throughout. This really is a disappointing picture. Similarly, the Blu-ray Disc's and HD DVD's VC-1 encoding has overblown contrast and a very orange appearance to skin tones. Heavy noise is also a distraction. Still, resolution is good and some scenes can have a solid dimensional appearance, but this just isn't a good picture. (Danny Richelieu)

    The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack features good fidelity, but the mix is rather lacking of surround envelopment. Even when the channels are used, they are at such low levels they barely even register on our Dorrough signal meter (about 25 dB below reference level). Imaging across the front stage is mixed in well, but the entire mix is rather dimensionless. Dialogue generally sounds natural. Deep bass is generally limited in the soundtrack, but the LFE channel is incorporated well when needed. The Dolby Digital Plus encoding on the HD DVD does improve fidelity slightly over the DVD, with a more naturally smooth delivery, but it isn't a night-and-day difference. The Blu-ray Disc's Dolby Digital encoding also has a slight improvement in fidelity over the DVD, but it really is like splitting hairs saying there is a difference between the two. (Danny Richelieu)

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