Though I had only seen Steven Soderbergh's remake, made shortly after Frank Sinatra died, in the interim I had achieved quite an appreciation of Sinatra's work, first as a game-changing jazz vocalist and, more recently, as an actor. I picked up the 4-pack of both Milestone's original and Soderbergh's trilogy, and, having both dedicated myself to some of Milestone's films and Sinatra's appearances, decided to give the Rat Pack's version a spin. The coolness and fun of the actors rubs off nicely on the proceedings, and it's extremely enjoyable to breathe in. Both Angie Dickinson and Shirley MacLaine are great fun too, as are the Vegas mainstays that make cameos. The extras on my DVD, especially Dickinson and Sinatra talking about making the film, years later when he guest-hosted The Tonight Show, were also splendid and mad my enjoyment even more profound. I highly recommend it to anyone who thinks the remake is great. As fine as a filmmaker as Soderbergh is, it pales in comparison, because as fine as today's stars are, they just aren't The Rat Pack! Also, the ending is one of the greatest. I have always felt that comedy is the hardest genre to do, and it dates so badly, but this holds up quite nicely...
