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Traffic

starring: Michael Douglas, Benicio Del Toro, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jacob Vargas, Andrew Chavez
directed by: Steven Soderbergh

: Traffic
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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0696306018124
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: Polygram USA Video
Manufacturer: Polygram USA Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Polygram USA Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: May 29, 2001
Running Time: 147 minutes
Sales Rank: 42480
Studio: Polygram USA Video
Theatrical Release Date: 2000



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Editorial Review:

Amazon.com essential video:
Featuring a huge cast of characters, the ambitious and breathtaking Traffic is a tapestry of three separate stories woven together by a common theme: the war on drugs. In Ohio, there's the newly appointed government drug czar (Michael Douglas) who realizes after he's accepted the job that he may have gotten into a no-win situation. Not only that, his teenage daughter (Erika Christensen) is herself quietly developing a nasty addiction problem. In San Diego, a drug kingpin (Steven Bauer) is arrested on information provided by an informant (Miguel Ferrer) who was nabbed by two undercover detectives (Don Cheadle and Luis Guzmán). The kingpin's wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones), heretofore ignorant of where her husband's wealth comes from, gets a crash course in the drug business and its nasty side effects. And south of the border, a Mexican cop (Benicio Del Toro) finds himself caught between both his home country and the U.S., as corrupt government officials duke it out with the drug cartel for control of trafficking various drugs back and forth across the border.

Bold in scope, Traffic showcases Steven Soderbergh at the top of his game, directing a peerless ensemble cast in a gritty, multifaceted tale that will captivate you from beginning to end. Utilizing the no-frills techniques of the Dogme 95 school, Soderbergh enhances his hand-held filming with imaginative editing and film-stock manipulation that eerily captures the atmosphere of each location: a washed-out, grainy Mexico; a blue and chilly Ohio; and a sleek, sun-dappled San Diego. But Traffic is more than a film-school exercise. Soderbergh and screenwriter Stephen Gaghan (adapting the British TV miniseries Traffik to the U.S.) seamlessly weave the threads of each separate plotline into one solid tale, with the actions of one plot having quiet repercussions on the other two. And if you needed more proof that Soderbergh takes unparalleled care with his actors, practically all the members of this cast turn in their best work ever, the standout being an Oscar-worthy Del Toro as the conflicted moral conscience of the film. While no story is fully resolved in the film, you'll be haunted by these characters days after you've seen the film. By far one of the best movies of 2000. --Mark Englehart



Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Should be re-released with cut scenes re-inserted.
The bloody war on drugs counted over five-thousand dead in Mexico this year. Do Americans think about ... Read More


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - The drug traffic as it really is and from all three perspectives
This movie is intense, complex and firmly grounded in reality. The topic is the drug traffic between ... Read More


Rating: 1 out of 5 stars - Buy the DVD Version Instead
I liked this movie. The cast was pretty good and the acting and story were also strong.

The ... Read More


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - Traffic
Enjoyed this movie , but not a movie I would recommened as a must own
on HD dvd. Looked just as good ... Read More


Rating: 1 out of 5 stars - An Unpowerful Drama, Unimportant Film
This Movie Started off Good then turned to Trash half way through. Who ever believed Michael Douglas & Catherine ... Read More

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Copyright ©2003, Mark Carey.