Search - Traffic on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Brief Nudity, Not For Children, Profanity, Substance Abuse, Sexual Situations, Drug Content, Watch With Your Teen, Youth Substance Use Movie Release: 2000 DVD Release: 05/29/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Special Collection Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 27 mins Studio: Polygram USA Video Total Copies: 113 Genres: Drama, Crime Drama, Addiction Drama, Police Drama, Social Problem Film See Also: Traffic [Special Edition], Traffic, Traffic [Special Edition] [Criterion Collection], Traffic [HD DVD], Traffic [Blu-ray]

Described by director Steven Soderbergh as "Nashville meets The French Connection," this multi-character drama explores the effects of international drug trafficking on all fronts: from their source, to the U.S. border, to the federal government, to the private lives of users. Based upon a miniseries originally aired on Britain's Channel 4, Traffic divides its time among three main storylines and almost a dozen locales. The first and primary plot thread, set in Ohio and Washington, D.C., concerns freshly-appointed drug czar Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas), whose enthusiasm for his new prestige position is quickly offset when he realizes his 16-year-old daughter Caroline (Erika Christensen) is graduating from recreational drug use to habitual abuse -- a secret that his wife, Barbara (Amy Irving), has kept from him. South of the border, Mexican cop Javier Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro) attempts to wage his own war on drugs, heading off a cocaine shipment in the middle of the desert with his less-than-virtuous partner Manolo Sanchez (Jacob Vargas). Surrounded by corruption, Javier approaches the drug war with an attitude of patience and compromise, which opens him up to investigation from General Arturo Salazar (Tomas Milian), the country's dubious drug-enforcement liaison to the U.S. Meanwhile, San Diego drug kingpin Carlos Alaya (Steven Bauer) is caught in a sting operation spearheaded by DEA agents Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle) and Ray Castro (Luis Guzman), leaving behind his very pregnant and very oblivious wife, Helena (Catharine Zeta-Jones). At the behest of Carlos' lawyer and shady confidante, Arnie Metzger (Dennis Quaid), Helena decides to carry on the family business -- with tragic consequences. Adapted by Rules of Engagement scribe Stephen Gaghan, Traffic marked Soderbergh's second major release in 2000 after the critical and box-office success of Erin Brockovich, as well as his second feature as cinematographer (credited under the pseudonym Peter Andrews). A favorite with various guild and critics' awards, Traffic won four Academy Awards in 2001, including statues for Best Supporting Actor (Del Toro) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Gaghan), and surprise wins for Steven Mirrone's editing and Soderbergh's direction. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Michael Douglas - Robert Wakefield
Don Cheadle - Montel Gordon
Benicio Del Toro - Javier Rodriguez
Luis Guzman - Ray Castro
Dennis Quaid - Arnie Metzger
Catherine Zeta-Jones - Helena Ayala
Erika Christensen - Caroline Wakefield

=Traffic will be a sought-after DVD after the 2001 Oscars, but both fans of the film and those who missed it in theaters will find that for such a fine film the DVD falls drastically short of expectations. The disc is featureless except for a disappointing 15-minute featurette, the first three minutes of which are dedicated to a stylized summary of the film that runs a lot like an extended trailer and wastes time that should be spent talking about the production. The real missed opportunity is the commentary. After recording outstanding commentaries for Out of Sight and The Limey, this is the second film for which Soderbergh has neglected to record a commentary, and for the second time, his insight (and also, in this case, the insight of Oscar-winning screenwriter Stephen Gaghan) is sorely missed. Hopefully studios will learn to start giving Soderbergh whatever he wants to record commentaries in the future. As for the film itself, the 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer retains the documentary look of the film while the Dolby track sounds a little muddy, most likely due to that same documentary approach. The only mistake made in the transfer is that the original subtitles are not kept, replaced instead by larger, more garish video subtitles. When compared to the impressive special editions given to its Oscar competitors, =Traffic ultimately stands as the perfect example of a missed opportunity. ~ Oliver Thornton, All Movie Guide