The Rat Pack Ultimate Collectors Edition (1962)

THE RAT PACK COLLECTORS EDITION

The Rat Pack Ultimate Collectors Edition (Oceans 11 / Robin and the 7 Hoods / 4 for Texas / Sergeants 3)THESE ARE SOME OF THE BEST MOIVES THE RAT PACK MADE. THEY DON"T MAKE MOVIES LIKE THESE ANYMORE. IT BOUGHT BACK ALOT OF GOOD MEMORIES. KICK BACK AND ENJOY, June 30, 2008

Robin and the seven hoods

I have only watched one Rat Pack movie to date. Robin and the hoods was funny. That movie alone was worth the price of the entire package.I have heard that Sergeants 3 was a bomb but anything with the legendary late Rat Packers is a bonus to me and a collector's item.It took me 30 years to really discover and appreciate Frank Sinatra's contributions to the music and film world. I will never look back. June 22, 2008

Finally...Sergeants 3!

It's been a long wait for Rat Pack fans to see the release of "Sergeants 3". This package is worth the price of admission even if you already own the other included films as you will also receive promo photo repros, a press book repro, and the opportunity to mail in for the repro movie posters. "Sergeants 3" is a dirty western in the time of clean westerns - you can see the sweat and filming on location in Utah gives the film a reality that many westerns of the day just didn't have. Sammy and Frank put in their requisite fine performances with Deano pulling the pranks on the side. Silly "Indian" Ghost Dancers wearing Mexican Festival Masks up the cheese quotient. There's plenty of drama, camp, shenanigans, and story here to please everyone. Plus a mule performance that may deserve an Animal Academy Award. If you have never seen the other films included in this package, well, you've just been missing out. Who can forget the drama and suspense of the original "Ocean's 11", the great songs and campy fun of "Robin and the 7 Hoods" (esp. Sammy's stunning song and dance routine for "Bang Bang"), and the goofiness of "4 for Texas"? Buy this one, mix yourself up a cocktail, and sit back and enjoy the heyday of Frank's Rat Pack. June 1, 2008

The Rat Pack is Back!

What an era it was! JFK and the 'New Frontier', 'Camelot', "High Hopes", and the combined electricity of Frank, Dino, Sammy, Peter, and Joey, linked forever to the magic of the times. It was inevitable 'The Rat Pack' would make movies, and, at last, "The Rat Pack Ultimate Collectors Edition" offers all of their major film work. Are these films 'classics'? Certainly not! But they are all entertaining fun, and provide a glimpse at the hottest stars in America back when optimism was the key word, and the future seemed bright!

"Ocean's Eleven" (1960): Director Lewis Milestone ("All Quiet on the Western Front"), not known for his 'light' touch, did provide the most balanced direction of all the "Rat Pack" features. 11 army buddies execute the ultimate heist in Las Vegas, a device revived in George Clooney's 'remake', 40 years later. While most of the fun occurred 'off camera', as the boys drank and entertained at the Sands, each night of filming, you do get to see Dino sing "Ain't That a Kick in the Head", Sammy dance, a bit, and Frank with occasional girlfriend Angie Dickinson. Richard Conte, as a dying buddy, is terrific, and the film is a straightforward crime film with a twist. (3 stars, out of 4)

"Sergeants 3" (1962): John Sturges ("The Great Escape") was another director not known for comedy, but excellent in westerns and action films, which provides this Western reworking of "Gunga Din" a fast pace, and terrific climactic scenes. While the stereotypes of the time are present (Indians are all bloodthirsty and superstitious savages), the guys are obviously enjoying themselves (with Dino delivering Cary Grant's immortal line when confronted by hundreds of homicidal Indians). Famous as the film where Sammy borrowed, and lost, Duke Wayne's "Rio Bravo" Stetson! (3 stars, out of four)

"4 for Texas" (1963): Director Robert Aldrich's follow-up to "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", this Western comedy only loosely qualifies as a 'Rat Pack' film (only Frank and Dino appear), but offers a flippant, laid-back attitude that personified the team. As competing gamblers who unite to open a riverboat casino, the pair share a taste in exotic European women (Anita Ekberg and Ursula Andress), and face some terrific villains (Charles Bronson and Victor Buono). Dino even has a comic moment with the 3 Stooges! Not great, but fun... (2 1/2 stars, out of 4)

"Robin and the Seven Hoods" (1964): Remarkably, the only true musical Frank, Dino, and Sammy ever made together! Directed by Gordon Douglas, this Capra-esque comedy resets the 'Robin Hood' story in 1930s Chicago, with the guys as likable mobsters assuming the persona's of Robin, Little John, and Will Scarlet. The villains are top-notch (Peter Falk and Victor Buono), Barbara Rush is an opportunistic 'Maid Marian', and, best of all, Bing Crosby guest stars as bookish Allen A. Dale (in the role Peter Lawford was to play, until Lawford and Sinatra had a falling out). GREAT songs (including Frank singing "Chicago...My Kind of Town"), classic screen character actors in support, and Edward G. Robinson, as Sinatra's mentor, all combine for a first-rate entertainment. Sadly, JFK was assassinated during the filming (which affected Sinatra, deeply, and ended the 'Rat Pack' era), but this would be a fitting finale, and the best of the films. (4 stars, out of 4).

Make a martini, and enjoy "The Rat Pack Ultimate Collectors Edition"! February 24, 2008

Upgraded version of a previous DVD set

Warner Bros. is upgrading this DVD set as part of its 85th anniversary celebration. The following is the press release from Warner Home Video:

Frank and his boys get the high-end treatment with The Rat Pack Ultimate Collector's Edition containing:

Robin and the Seven Hoods
Special Features:
Commentary by Frank Sinatra Jr.
Vintage featurette What They Did to Robin Hood
Cast/filmmaker profiles
Theatrical trailers

Ocean's Eleven
Special Features:
Commentary by Frank Sinatra Jr. and Angie Dickinson
Interactive Las Vegas Then and Now Map Casino Vignettes
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson excerpt featuring guest host Frank Sinatra and guest Angie Dickinson
Cast/filmmaker profiles
Theatrical trailers

4 For Texas
Special Features:
Vintage making-of featurette
Cast/filmmaker profiles
Theatrical trailer

the first ever home video release of MGM's Sergeants 3
Special Features:
Audio commentary by Frank Sinatra Jr.

This collection will also feature exclusive behind-the-scenes photo cards; rare correspondence from the Warner Bros. Archives; playing cards available only in the collection; a 24-page reproduction of the original 1960's Ocean's Eleven press book. The Ultimate Collector's Edition includes a free movie poster offer for all four films.

end of press release.
It's been my experience that you either really enjoy these movies or you won't get them or like them at all. The film database has them all rated at around 6/10, some higher, some lower. However, that seems rather low if you know what you're getting as far as a group dynamic. None of these films were ever intended to be tightly plotted thrillers. Instead they are just each an opportunity to see a bunch of cool guys - as cool was defined in 1960 - who were close friends with some kind of plot in the background to give them the opportunity to interact with one another and act cool with a purpose. I give the set five stars because, if that's what you like, you'll love this set. February 11, 2008

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