Traffic

Theatrical Release Date: 2000 12 27 (USA - Limited) / 2001 01 05 (USA)

UPC: 025192064739

Studio: Universal Studios

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Brief Nudity, Not For Children, Profanity, Substance Abuse, Sexual Situations, Drug Content, Watch With Your Teen, Youth Substance Use]

Summary: 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, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Picture - Drama – null Best Supporting Actress – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – null Best Director – null Best Screenplay – null AFI's Top 10 Films of the Year – American Film Institute Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – National Society of Film Critics Best Director – National Society of Film Critics Best Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Ensemble Acting – Screen Actors Guild Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Director – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Editing – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Adapted Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Silver Bear for Best Actor – Berlin International Film Festival Best Foreign Film – French Academy of Cinema Best Director – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Director – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Adapted Screenplay – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Silver Bear for Best Actor – Berlin International Film Festival Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Director – National Board of Review Best Picture [Runner-up] – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Actor – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Director – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Director – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Picture – New York Film Critics Circle Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – New York Film Critics Circle Best Director – New York Film Critics Circle Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actor – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Supporting Actor – National Society of Film Critics Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Supporting Actor – New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Moti – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Blul-ray excluisve
Additional features: 24 deleted scenes
Inside Traffic

Traffic

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 04/27/2010

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DHMA null, AR2 Advanced Resolution Stereo, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 148 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Traffic
1. Javier and Manole Make a Bust [3:04]
2. General Salazar [2:33]
3. Robert Leaves Ohio [2:23]
4. Ray and Monte Meet Eddie Ruiz [5:10]
5. Caroline and Seth After School [2:19]
6. Helena Lunches With Friends [1:39]
7. Robert Briefed In Washington [1:35]
8. General Landry [1:42]
9. Javi and the Tourists [1:44]
10. Robert At a Georgetown Party [1:36]
11. Visiting Ruiz In the Hospital [1:42]
12. Carl Is Arrested [:57]
13. Salazar Asks Javier For Help [2:18]
14. Robert Back At Home In Ohio [1:21]
15. Arnie Metzger Briefs Helena [1:26]
16. Javier Picks Up Frankie Flowers [2:07]
17. Caroline At a Party [3:54]
18. Frankie's Interrogation [1:14]
19. Arnie Explains Carl's Business [2:37]
20. Caroline At Jail [1:48]
21. Robert and Barbara Question Caroline [2:15]
22. Salazar Plays "Good Cop" to Frankie [1:40]
23. Ball Is Denied [3:16]
24. Ruiz Gives a Statement [2:00]
25. Salazar Eats Dinner With Frankie [2:58]
26. Obreg?n Cartel Is Hit With Arrests [1:12]
27. Robert Inspects the Border [1:09]
28. "Tell Me What to Do" [1:19]
29. Caroline and Seth Score Drugs [2:21]
30. Helena Is Threatened At the Beach [1:45]
31. Ana Is Looking For Manolo [2:28]
32. Robert Gets a Tour of Epic [1:46]
33. Robert Talks to His Staff "Out of the Box" [1:29]
34. Helena Asks Arnie For Money [2:00]
35. Manolo Sees the Scorpion [3:14]
36. Robert and Barbara Argue In the Car [1:51]
37. Robert Catches Caroline [2:14]
38. The Pool Scene [2:17]
39. Helena Makes Lemondae For Ray and Monte [2:32]
40. Caroline In Rehab [1:47]
41. Helena Puts the Pieces Together [3:05]
42. Robert Visits Salazar In Mexico City [1:54]
43. Ruiz Visits His New Home; Testimony [:47]
44. Helena Meets With Frankie [1:06]
45. Caroline Escapes Rehab [1:31]
46. Ana Is Worried About Man [:40]
47. Robert Looking For Caroline (Day) [1:12]
48. Caroline Pays For Her Drugs [1:09]
49. Ruiz Escorted to Court: Frankie Is Sighted [1:54]
50. Frankie Stalks Ruiz [2:09]
51. Manolo In San Diego [3:15]
52. Two Graves In the Desert [1:23]
53. Robert Looking For Caroline (Night) [2:29]
54. Javier Comforts Ana [1:21]
55. Helena Makes a Deal With Juan Obreg?n [1:48]
56. Javier Goes On the Wire [2:33]
57. Monte At the Funeral [1:14]
58. Sheridan Calls Robert About Salazar [1:42]
59. Robert Takes Seth On a "Field Trip" [1:21]
60. Robert Meets Caroline's Dealer [1:36]
61. Javier Talks to Ana About Manolo [1:37]
62. Robert Follows Seth [1:27]
63. Eddie Ruiz's "Big Day" [2:06]
64. Javier Makes Another Bust in the Desert [3:10]
65. Robert's White House Press Conference [2:37]
66. Carl Talks With Arnie; Monte Comes Over [4:19]
67. "We'r Here to Listen"; Night Baseball [3:07]
68. End Titles [4:28]
1. Manolo's Anxiety Escalates [1:06]
2. Javier Warns Manolo [:34]
3. Surveillance [1:03]
4. Old Friends [1:34]
5. Legalization [:52]
6. Auction [:46]
7. Arnie Comforts Helena [:34]
8. Madrigal's Mistress & Manolo [:39]
9. Helena Wants To Help [:43]
10. Art Appraisal [1:01]
11. Helena Gets Involved [:49]
12. Robert's Lunch With Seth [2:43]
13. Helena Asks To Meet Obreg?n [1:28]
14. Factory [1:00]
15. Robert Finds Caroline's Drugs [:58]
16. Obreg?n Tests Helena [1:56]
17. Helena Searched At Border [1:40]
18. Arnie Comes Through [:49]
19. Helena's Meeting At Fun Zone [:52]
20. Robert Drives Caroline Home [:51]
21. Javier Makes Obreg?n An Offer [1:03]
22. Robert Meets Javier [1:42]
23. Madrigal's Mistress & Javier [:42]
24. Monte Continues Surveillance [:27]

Michael Hastings

Steven Soderbergh's magnum opus on the drug war, Traffic offers yet another one of the director's efforts to take conventionally engrossing, Hollywood-formula material and imbue it with a sense of authenticity, unpredictability, and vitality, much as he did with his wildly successful Erin Brockovich earlier in the year. Some seams still show -- namely, the all-too-ironic script conceit that the country's new drug czar happens to have an addict for a daughter -- but by and large, Traffic is issue-oriented storytelling of the highest order. To call the film a tour de force would be misleading; it's an intimate epic, and Soderbergh seems determined to make all of the script's grand statements resonate on a personal level. To this end, he's helped by his stable of performers: Michael Douglas is appropriately stiff as the conservative Ohio judge who learns he's in over his head in his new position; Catharine Zeta-Jones makes a believable transformation from na?ve, pampered housewife to hard-edged schemer; Erika Christensen takes the aforementioned addict-daughter character and makes it her own, suggesting that habitual abuse can arise from the most banal of circumstances; and Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman provide subtle shadings to what could have been a standard buddy-cop routine. Best of all is Benicio Del Toro, whose cunning, straight-arrow cop, Javier Rodriguez, provides the film's heart and soul. Soderbergh's cinematography (credited under the pseudonym Peter Andrews) complements the performers, eschewing establishing shots, grandiose camerawork, and traditional Hollywood framing in favor of simple shifts in color and film stock to indicate place, mood, and time. Steven Mirrone's editing also flatters the audience's ability to make connections on their own, halting scenes as soon as a point has been made, and allowing others to linger onscreen to create palpable atmosphere. Instead of favoring the loud, overbearing rhythms which accompany most hot-button "issue films," Soderbergh quietly and consistently tightens his vice grip on the audience, allowing a breather only in the film's semi-hopeful d?nouement. Though it may provide all of the pleasures of conventionally grand melodrama, Traffic feels unlike any epic that has come before it. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Rena Sofer  Actor 
Mario Roberts  Actor 
Viola Davis  Actor 
Michael Showers  Actor 
Stephen Dunham  Actor 
Marshall Herskovitz  Producer 
Cliff Martinez  Composer (Music Score) 
Mike Newell  Executive Producer 
Steven Soderbergh  Director 
Edward Zwick  Producer 
Richard Solomon  Executive Producer 
Graham King  Executive Producer 
Laura Bickford  Producer 
Stephen Gaghan  Screenwriter 
Cameron Jones  Executive Producer 
Andreas Klein  Executive Producer 
Michael Douglas  Actor 
Don Cheadle  Actor 
Benicio Del Toro  Actor 
Luis Guzman  Actor 
Dennis Quaid  Actor 
Catherine Zeta-Jones  Actor 
Steven Bauer  Actor 
Benjamin Bratt  Actor 
James Brolin  Actor 
Erika Christensen  Actor 
Clifton Collins, Jr.  Actor 
Miguel Ferrer  Actor 
Albert Finney  Actor 
Topher Grace  Actor 
Amy Irving  Actor 
Tomas Milian  Actor 
D.W. Moffett  Actor 
Marisol Padilla Sanchez  Actor 
Peter Riegert  Actor 
Jacob Vargas  Actor 

Country: USA