Synopsis
Traffic examines the effect of drugs as politics, business, and lifestyle. Acting as his own director of photography, Steven Soderbergh employs an innovative, color-coded cinematic treatment to distinguish the interwoven stories of a newly appointed drug czar and his family, a West Coast kingpin’s wife, a key informant, and cops on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Rarely has a film so energetic and suspenseful presented a more complex and nuanced view of an issue of such international importance. Instantly recognized as a classic, Traffic appeared on more than 200 critics’ ten-best lists, and won four Academy Awards.
Cast
| Javier Rodriguez | Benicio Del Toro |
| Robert Wakefield | Michael Douglas |
| Montel Gordon | Don Cheadle |
| Helena Ayala | Catherine Zeta-Jones |
| Chief of Staff | Albert Finney |
| Arnie Metzger | Dennis Quaid |
| Barbara Wakefield | Amy Irving |
| Ray Castro | Luis Guzman |
| Caroline Wakefield | Erika Christensen |
| Seth Abrahms | Topher Grace |
| Jeff Sheridan | D.W. Moffett |
| Carlos Ayala | Steven Bauer |
| Francisco Flores | Clifton Collins, Jr. |
| Attorney Michael Adler | Peter Riegert |
| Juan Obregón | Benjamin Bratt |
| Eduardo Ruiz | Miguel Ferrer |
| Manolo Sanchez | Jacob Vargas |
Credits
| Director | Steven Soderbergh |
| Screenplay | Stephen Gaghan and Simon Moore |
| Producer | Laura Bickford, Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick |
| Editing | Stephen Mirrione |
| Cinematography | Steven Soderbergh |
Disc Features
SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET:
- Digital transfer, enhanced for 16×9 televisions
- Three commentary tracks: director Steven Soderbergh and writer Stephen Gaghan; producers Laura Bickford, Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, and consultants Tim Golden and Craig Chretien; composer Cliff Martinez (with two music cues not included in the film)
- Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack
- Twenty-five deleted scenes featuring commentary from director Steven Soderbergh and writer Stephen Gaghan
- Film processing demonstration: Achieving the look of the Mexico sequences
- Editing demonstration with commentary from editor Stephen Mirrione
- Dialogue editing demonstration
- Additional footage featuring multiple angles from the scenes of the El Paso Intelligence Center, and the cocktail party where U.S. Senators, major politicians, lobbyists, and others state their views on the drug war
- Theatrical and television trailers
- U.S. Customs trading cards of the K-9 squad used in the detection of narcotics and illegal substances
- English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
- Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
From the Current
Traffic
by May 27, 2002At once a political epic and a radical gesture in personal filmmaking, Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic is an unexpected, unlikely triumph. It was a film that Hollywood didn’t want to make—every studio in town turned it down—that went on to secure some of the American movie industry’s highest . . .
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