7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.2 |
A conservative judge is appointed by the President to spearhead America's escalating war against drugs, only to discover that his teenage daughter is a crack addict. Two DEA agents protect an informant. A jailed drug baron's wife attempts to carry on the family business.
Starring: Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, Michael Douglas, Luis Guzmán, Dennis QuaidDrama | 100% |
Crime | 56% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS 2.0
French (Canada): DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD/DVD)
BD-Live
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Senses of humor are among the most subjective things we come pre-wired with as human beings. I still giggle over a little joke I played once on my wife, then my girlfriend, which she frankly doesn’t find all that funny (you married guys will understand). As you may guess of someone who loves film as much as I do, I have a rather large home video collection, and Betsy was going through my (then VHS) stacks one day and came across the venerable 1937 Alexander Korda epic The Elephant Boy. She asked me what it was about, and of course (of course!) I replied in a scholarly tone, “It’s the prequel to The Elephant Man,” which she readily accepted as fact, despite the VHS slipcase featuring a picture of Sabu riding atop a pachyderm. When I informed her of my perhaps lame attempt at humor, she was less than amused, shall we say. I felt like repeating the same joke when she purchased me the SD-DVD of Traffic a few years ago, intent on asking her if it were the prequel to Crash. Luckily, discretion prevailed and we’re still happily married. That said, Traffic does bear a certain similarity to the Oscar winning Best Picture of a few years ago, including a convoluted plot featuring interwoven characters, some of whom never meet. If the traffic at issue has nothing to do with automobiles and freeways, the journey of these disparate (and sometimes desperate) characters is at the core of one of the most riveting dramas in recent years, one that justly brought director Steven Soderbergh a well deserved Oscar.
Michael Douglas heads an all star cast in 'Traffic'.
Traffic's image quality on its various home video releases has been a subject almost as convoluted as the film's storylines themselves. I start this analysis by saying up front I have only seen the first SD-DVD release (which is contained on this flipper disc), and the Criterion SD-DVD version. I have not seen the HD-DVD or the international Blu releases that have cropped up in recent years. The SD-DVD was marred by horrible contrast and what some people alleged were incorrect color schemes. What few people seemed to realize is that Soderbergh clearly delineated the three major stories in the film with a very clear separation of tones, from cool blues to warmer sepias and beiges. While this may be a subliminal effect, once you begin paying attention to it, it's unmistakable and really quite fascinating in its own regard. So, what are we really seeing in this latest, VC-1 encoded Blu in 1080p and a 1.85:1 aspect ratio? The first thing you will notice in this particular release is omnipresent grain, which I found absolutely in keeping with Soderbergh's quasi-verité approach to Traffic. The grain is certainly more noticeable in the dusty, grimy Mexican sequences, but it's there throughout the film and may trouble those who want their films CGI smooth all of the time. As far as the variegated color schemes go, they're remarkably well represented here, with a fine array on both the cool and warm sides of the color wheel. Detail is impressively sharp throughout the film, and a simple flip of the disc to the SD-DVD side will show what an improvement in sharpness and clarity is achieved in this latest Blu incarnation.
The good news is we're given a lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix for this Blu-ray release. The bad news, it's still a bit on the lackluster side, with too few immersive moments to really satisfy hardcore audiophiles and a general lack of low end, except in one or two sequences, to make it really come alive. Don't misunderstand what I'm saying, though, for what is here is perfectly fine, with dialogue nicely directional and for the most part easy to hear (you have to wade through some thick accents at times), and foley effects and underscore very well mixed into the proceedings. In one or two literally explosive sequences, we finally get the sort of "wow" factor that most high-def aficionados demand from their Blu experience. Bullets whip pan brilliantly, with a nice 'thunk' as they find their targets. For all of its occasional bombast, Traffic really eschews an overly violent ethos and remains solidly grounded as a dialogue heavy dramatic film, and for those purposes, this track does just fine.
Don't go looking for Criterion sized extras on this Blu release, one of the major disappointments of this particular home video iteration. Instead we get a lamentable EPK in SD entitled Inside Traffic, which runs a little over 18 minutes, and the marginally better assortment (in SD again) of Deleted Scenes, which run barely over 26 minutes. Both of these were available on the first SD-DVD. If you're in search of excellent bonus content, stick with the superior Criterion release, which offered a plethora of really good supplements.
As complex and convoluted as its subject matter, Traffic is one of the most involving films of the past several decades. Uniformly excellent performances and an unparalleled excellence and assurance from director Steven Soderbergh make Traffic the modern classic it is. It's an often disturbing film on a number of levels, but it remains a compelling depiction of one of the scourges modern society is facing. And that's no joke.
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