Traffic [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Steven Soderbergh, Marshall Herskovitz, Laura Bickford

Overview

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.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/17/2012
UPC:	0715515090810
Original Release:	2000
Rating:	R
Source:	Criterion
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:27:00
Sales rank:	10,536

Special Features

Restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Steven Soderbergh and supervising sound editor and rerecordng mixer Larry Blake; The 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 one 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; An essay by film critic Manohla Dargis

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Michael Douglas	Robert
Benicio Del Toro	Javier
Don Cheadle	Montel
Catherine Zeta-Jones	Helena
Dennis Quaid	Arnie
Luis Guzman	Ray
Miguel Ferrer	Eduardo,Eduardo Ruiz
Amy Irving	Barbara
Albert Finney	Chief of Staff
Erika Christensen	Caroline
Benjamin Bratt	Juan
Peter Riegert	Adler
Topher Grace	Seth
Steven Bauer	Carlos Ayala
Jacob Vargas	Manolo Sanchez
Clifton Collins Jr.	Francisco Flores
Tomas Milian	General Arturo Salazar
Marisol Padilla S?nchez	Ana Sanchez
Joel Torres	Porfilio Madrigal
D.W. Moffett	Jeff Sheridan
James Brolin	General Ralph Landry
Jsu Garcia	Pablo Obregon
Salma Hayek	Madrigal's Mistress (uncredited)
Corey Spears	F.-Up Bowman
Majandra Delfino	Vanessa
Alec Roberts	David Ayala,DEA Agent, Public Storage
Bill Weld	Himself
Don Nickles	Himself
Harry Reed	Himself
Jeff Podolsky	Himself
Barbara Boxer	Herself
Orrin Hatch	Himself
Charles Grassley	Himself
James Pickens Jr.	Prosecutor Ben Williams
Rudy M. Camacho	Customs Official
Yul Vazquez	Tigrillo/Obregon Assassin
Jack Conley	Agent Hughes
Eddie Velez	Agent Johnson
Craig N. Chretien	Director of EPIC
John Brown	Assistant Director of EPIC
Mike Siegel	DEA Representative
Steve Rose	Marty
Kimber Fritz	Rehab Counselor
Daniella Kuhn	Tourist Woman
Brandon Keener	Tourist Man
George Blumenthal	Partygoer No. 1
Stephen Dunham	Lobbyist
Margaret Travolta	Economist
Jewelle Bickford	Partygoer No. 2
Dave Hager	Partygoer No. 3
Tucker Smallwood	Partygoer No. 4
Victor Quintero	Salazar Soldier
Toby Holguin	Salazar Soldier
Ramiro Gonzalez	Salazar Soldier
Viola Davis	Social Worker
Elaine Kagan	Judge Reed
John Slattery	ADA Dan Collier
Jim Ortega	Arrested Man in Apartment
Greg Boniface	Tackled Man No. 1
Tom Rosales	Tackled Man No. 2,Van Passenger
Harsh Nayyar	Witness No. 1
Mary Pat Gleason	Witness No. 2
Vincent Ward	Man on Street
Gregory Estevane	Polygraph Adminsitrator
Alex Procopio	Polygraph Assistant
Rita Gomez	Mrs. Castro
Kaizaad Navroze Kotwal	Teacher
David Jensen	`John'
Jay Fernando Krymis	Waiter No. 1
Mike Malone	Waiter No. 2
Rene Pereya	Doctor
Kymberly S. Newberry	Press Secretary
Carroll Schumacher	Ayala Security
Michael Showers	Meeting Leader
Rena Sofer	Helena's Friend
Stacey Travis	Helena's Friend
Jennifer Barker	Helena's Friend
Dean Faulkner	Helena's Friend
Andrew Chavez	Desert Truck Driver
Michael Saucedo	Desert Truck Driver
Jose Yenque	Salazar Soldier/Torturer
Emilio Rivera	Salazar Soldier No. 2
Michael O'Neill	Lawyer Rodman
Russell G. Jones	Clerk
Lorene Hetherington	State Capitol Reporter No. 1
Eric Collins	State Capitol Reporter No. 2,Actor
Beau Holden	DEA Agent CalTrans
Peter Stader	DEA Agent CalTrans
James Lew	DEA Agent CalTrans
Jeremy Fitzgerald	DEA Agent CalTrans
Russell Solberg	DEA Agent CalTrans
Don Snell	DEA Agent, Trailer
Enrique Murciano	DEA Agent, Trailer
Gary Carlos Cervantes	DEA Agent, Trailer
Carl Ciarfalio	Ruiz's Assistant
Steve Lambert	Van Driver,Actor
Rick Avery	DEA Agent, Public Storage,DEA Agent, Public Storage
Eileen Weisinger	DEA Agent, Public Storage
Ken Johnston	DEA Agent, Public Storage
Mike Watson	DEA Agent, Public Storage
Kurt Lott	DEA Agent, Public Storage
Lincoln Simonds	DEA Agent, Public Storage
Steve Tomaski	DEA Agent, Public Storage
Buck McDancer	DEA Agent, Public Storage
John Callery	DEA Agent, Public Storage
Ousaun Elam	DEA Agent, Public Storage
Peter Reichardt	Actor
Leticia Bombardier	Actor
Benicio De Toro	Actor
Clifton Collins Jr	Actor
Cliff Martinez	Composer

Technical Credits

Stephen Gaghan

Simon Moore

Stephen Gaghan	Screenwriter
Laura Bickford	Producer
Kevin Hannigan	Special Effects
Marshall Herskovitz	Producer
Cameron Jones	Executive Producer,Producer
Graham King	Executive Producer,Producer
Andreas Klein	Executive Producer,Producer
Mike Newell	Executive Producer,Producer
John Robotham	Stunts
Richard Solomon	Executive Producer,Producer
Debra Zane	Casting
Edward Zwick	Producer
Simon Moore	Screenwriter
Richard A. Benoit	Special Effects
Rusty Amodeo	Sound Effects
David Betancourt	Sound Effects
Larry Blake	Sound Effects
Joseph Brennan	Sound Effects
Matt Coby	Sound Effects
Werner Hahnlein	Special Effects
William Harrison	Special Effects
Michael Roundy	Special Effects
Gunter Anderson	Special Effects
Jim Dunn	Stunts
Paul Ledford	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Drug users, dealers, and smugglers mix it up with the law in Steven Soderbergh's highly acclaimed, multi-award-winning Traffic. Based on a British TV miniseries, the film features an ensemble cast that includes Michael Douglas as the newly appointed federal drug czar whose 16-year-old daughter (Erika Christensen) just happens to be snorting, smoking, and mainlining her way through a potpourri of illegal substances. Catherine Zeta-Jones portrays the wife of a drug lord (Steven Bauer) whose world crumbles around her when he's arrested. Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro is riveting in his supporting role as a Mexican policeman who is enlisted to help bring down a Tijuana drug cartel. Also outstanding are Don Cheadle, as a DEA agent, and Dennis Quaid, as Bauer's high-priced lawyer. Traffic moves briskly back and forth between its various stories and locales, both north and south of the Mexican border, with characters and situations that are not so much original as archetypal. There's just enough philosophizing to be provocative and just enough action to get your pulse racing. Even though the film struggles to achieve a comprehensive overview, the result is never less than entertaining and absorbing. Certainly, Traffic is an impressive feat for Soderbergh, who not only directed the film but did all the gritty, handheld cinematography as well, giving each story line a distinctive palette: icy blue for the sequences involving Douglas and his wayward daughter; a sun-blasted brownish hue for the Mexico scenes. He was amply rewarded for his efforts, winning the Best Director Oscar. Traffic is Hollywood filmmaking with a distinctively personal stamp, a film that flirts easily with a host of clichés without succumbing to them.