Steven Soderbergh

Schizopolis

Schizopolis

Fletcher Munson has a doppelgänger in dentist Dr. Jeffrey Korchek. In his only starring performance to date, acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh inhabits both roles: Munson, onanistic corporate drone and speechwriter for New Age guru T. Azimuth Schwitters, and the swinging Korchek, Muzak enthusiast and lover to Munson’s disenchanted wife. Meanwhile, mad exterminator and part-time celebrity prima donna Elmo Oxygen seduces local housewives in secret code and plots against Schwitters. Placing the onus squarely on the viewer (“If you don’t understand this film, it’s your fault and not ours”), writer/director/editor/cameraman Soderbergh presents a deranged comedy of confused identity, doublespeak, and white-knuckled corporate intrigue, confirming his status as one of America’s most daring and unpredictable filmmakers.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 1996
  • 96 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.85:1
  • English
  • Spine #199

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New high definition digital transfer, approved by director Steven Soderbergh and enhanced for widescreen televisions
  • Two audio commentaries: Steven Soderbergh interviewed by Steven Soderbergh; producer John Hardy, actor and casting director David Jensen, production sound mixer Paul Ledford, and actor Michael Malone
  • Maximum Busy Muscle!
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: A new essay by Village Voice critic Dennis Lim

New cover by Neil Kellerhouse

Purchase Options

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New high definition digital transfer, approved by director Steven Soderbergh and enhanced for widescreen televisions
  • Two audio commentaries: Steven Soderbergh interviewed by Steven Soderbergh; producer John Hardy, actor and casting director David Jensen, production sound mixer Paul Ledford, and actor Michael Malone
  • Maximum Busy Muscle!
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: A new essay by Village Voice critic Dennis Lim

New cover by Neil Kellerhouse

Schizopolis
Cast
Steven Soderbergh
Fletcher Munson/Dr. Jeffrey Korchek
Betsy Brantley
Mrs. Munson/Attractive Woman #2
David Jensen
Elmo Oxygen
Mike Malone
T. Azimuth Schwitters
Eddie Jemison
Nameless Numberhead Man
Scott Allen
Right-Hand Man
Katherine La Nasa
Attractive Woman #1
C.C. Courtney
Man Being Interviewed
Liann Pattison
Mysterious Couple (Female)
Silas Cooper
Mysterious Couple (Male)
Sarah Soderbergh
Fletcher’s Daughter
Peter Soderbergh
Lester Richards
Park Seward
TV Commercial Announcer
Fritzi Bjorndahl
Numbers woman
Credits
Director
Steven Soderbergh
Screenplay
Steven Soderbergh
Producer
John Hardy
Music
Cliff Martinez
Music
Joseph Wilkins
Music
Steven Soderbergh
Music
Harry Garfield
Music
Mark Mangini
Cinematography
Steven Soderbergh
Editing
Sarah Flack
Casting
David Jensen
Production sound mixers
Paul Ledford
Production sound mixers
Whit Norris
Key grip
David Jensen
Boom operator
Mike Malone
Grip
Darrin Dickerson
Sound editing
Mark Mangini
Rerecording mixer
Larry Blake

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Steven Soderbergh

Writer, Cinematographer, 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).