The Criterion Collection

When Steven Soderbergh decided to make a film (or two films, as it turned out) about socialist leader and Cuban Revolution mastermind Che Guevara, he knew he had a lot of expectations to live up to—as well as challenge. Rather than just reproduce the T-shirt icon, Soderbergh, along with screenwriters Peter Buchman and Benjamin A. van der Veen, took a naturalistic approach, showing that grand change can come from mere men. In this short segment from an exclusive new interview on the Che Criterion special edition—available now in Blu-ray and DVD editions—Soderbergh talks about the importance of interjecting into his film “eye-level” events that humanize Che instead of focusing only on the “big historical moments” that are the bread and butter of other, more traditional biopics. Buchman is also briefly featured in this clip, discussing how this approach evolved from his early drafts.