Traffic

Traffic examines the question of drugs as politics, business, and lifestyle. With an innovative color-coded cinematic treatment to distinguish his interwoven stories, Steven Soderbergh embroils viewers in the lives of a newly appointed drug czar and his family, a West Coast kingpin’s wife, a key informant, and police officers on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. The film, which delivers a complex and nuanced take on an issue of international importance without sacrificing any energy or suspense, is a contemporary classic, and the winner of four Oscars, for best director, best screenplay, best editing, and best supporting actor for Benicio del Toro.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 2000
  • 147 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.78:1
  • English, Spanish
  • Spine #151

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Steven Soderbergh and supervising sound editor and rerecording mixer Larry Blake, with 5.1 and 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks
  • Three audio commentaries, featuring Soderbergh and writer Stephen Gaghan; producers Laura Bickford, Edward Zwick, and Marshall Herskovitz and consultants Tim Golden and Craig Chretien; and composer Cliff Martinez
  • Twenty-five deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Soderbergh and Gaghan
  • Three sets of demonstrations: one on film processing and the look of the Mexico sequences; one on film editing, with commentary by editor Stephen Mirrione; and one on dialogue editing
  • Additional unused footage of various scenes, from multiple angles
  • Theatrical trailers and television spots
  • Gallery of trading cards depicting the U.S. Customs canine squad used to detect narcotics and other illegal substances
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: A new essay by film critic Manohla Dargis

New cover by Helios

Purchase Options

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Steven Soderbergh and supervising sound editor and rerecording mixer Larry Blake, with 5.1 and 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks
  • Three audio commentaries, featuring Soderbergh and writer Stephen Gaghan; producers Laura Bickford, Edward Zwick, and Marshall Herskovitz and consultants Tim Golden and Craig Chretien; and composer Cliff Martinez
  • Twenty-five deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Soderbergh and Gaghan
  • Three sets of demonstrations: one on film processing and the look of the Mexico sequences; one on film editing, with commentary by editor Stephen Mirrione; and one on dialogue editing
  • Additional unused footage of various scenes, from multiple angles
  • Theatrical trailers and television spots
  • Gallery of trading cards depicting the U.S. Customs canine squad used to detect narcotics and other illegal substances
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: A new essay by film critic Manohla Dargis

New cover by Helios

Traffic
Cast
Benicio Del Toro
Javier Rodriguez
Jacob Vargas
Manolo Sanchez
Michael Douglas
Robert Wakefield
Luis Guzmán
Ray Castro
Don Cheadle
Montel Gordon
Miguel Ferrer
Eduardo Ruiz
Topher Grace
Seth Abrahms
Erika Christensen
Caroline Wakefield
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Helena Ayala
Albert Finney
Chief of staff
D. W. Moffett
Jeff Sheridan
Steven Bauer
Carlos Ayala
Amy Irving
Barbara Wakefield
Dennis Quaid
Arnie Metzger
Clifton Collins Jr.
Francisco Flores
Viola Davis
Social worker
James Pickens Jr.
Prosecutor Ben Williams
Peter Riegert
Attorney Michael Adler
John Slattery
ADA Dan Collier
Yul Vazquez
Tigrillo/Obregón assassin
Benjamin Bratt
Juan Obregón
Credits
Director
Steven Soderbergh
Screenplay
Stephen Gaghan
Producers
Edward Zwick
Producers
Marshall Herskovitz
Producers
Laura Bickford
Executive producers
Richard Solomon
Executive producers
Mike Newell
Executive producers
Cameron Jones
Executive producers
Graham King
Executive producers
Andreas Klein
Director of photography
Peter Andrews
Casting
Debra Zane, C.S.A.
Music
Cliff Martinez
Costume design
Louise Frogley
Editor
Stephen Mirrione
Production design
Philip Messina
Unit production manager
Frederick W. Brost
First assistant director
Gregory Jacobs
Production sound mixer
Paul Ledford
Supervising sound editor/Rerecording mixer
Larry Blake

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Steven Soderbergh

Director

Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh

In 1989, when he was twenty-six, Steven Soderbergh became the youngest director ever to win the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. What’s more, he received the honor for his debut, the intense character study sex, lies, and videotape. Soderbergh spent the decade after this auspicious arrival trying out many different kinds of films, from intriguingly off-kilter studio projects like King of the Hill (1993) and Out of Sight (1998) to independent experiments like Schizopolis (1996) and Gray’s Anatomy (1996). Even after winning an Academy Award for the epic Traffic (2000) and continuing to work on bigger-budget Hollywood films like Ocean’s Eleven (2001), this high-profile filmmaker has never lost his drive to make compelling independent cinema, whether large-scale (2008’s Che) or small (2010’s And Everything Is Going Fine).