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Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez (Benecio Del Toro) is a Mexican state policeman who is operating in a corrupt system. Rodriguez follows the written rules (within reason), but it is the unwritten rules (like accepting bribes) that are continually conflicting him. At the heart of the problems in northern Mexico is the illegal drug trade, and Rodriguez soon finds himself in the middle of the supposed war on drugs.

In nearby San Diego Montel and Ray (Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman) are two narcotics agents who are trying to ensnare an alleged drug dealer (Miguel Ferrer) so that they can go after an allegedly even bigger drug dealer, whose wife (Catherine Zeta Jones) is completely unaware of his alleged activities. Meanwhile, across the country Robert Hudson Wakefield has recently been named the country's new drug czar. Wakefield has been named to the position despite his apparent naivete about the causes and solutions to the drug problem in the United States. In an ironic twist his daughter (Erika Christensen) becomes the antithesis of what his job (politically, anyway) is supposed to stand for.

First and foremost Traffic is an entertaining film. It does have a powerful message, but it rarely becomes preachy and contains quite a few surprises and suspense. It is not an action movie, but the movie does contain some action scenes, and it certainly is not lacking in confrontations. Soderbergh masterfully intertwined the different storylines and characters; his Academy Award win for Best Director was well deserved, as were the film's wins for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Film Editing. Yet, oddly, Traffic actually managed to win all these awards and yet still failed to capture Best Picture, losing to Gladiator! I guess the logic used by Academy Awards voters is not much better than the logic behind our country's drug policy?

As usual with Soderbergh's films, the acting is top notch. While Michael Douglas plays a well-educated, very articulate character in nearly every film he appears in nowadays, he does it so damn well that I cannot really complain. He delivers one line in the film to his wife that is so cold-hearted that it had me wincing, even when I knew what he was going to say. Miguel Ferrer also usually plays the same character, that of the sleazebag, and about the only actor better at that is James Woods. Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman have strung together some impressive performances in the last five years, and as a team their chemistry is superb. The one role that I was really concerned about was Catherine Zeta Jones as the wife of the drug dealer. Jones manages to pull off this complex role, though I still remain skeptical about her acting talents. Maybe Soderbergh deserves a lot of the credit due to his skill at directing actors? He did win Julia Roberts an Oscar after all...

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The notes in this second DVD release of Traffic refer to it as a "new digital transfer," but even doing back and forth comparisons between this and the previous USA Home entertainment movie-only release, I could not detect a huge difference.

The picture does seem a little more stable and less edgy in spots (like on window blinds and other fine details), but the difference is subtle. For a new movie, Traffic is difficult to judge because of its three different looks: the bluish tint of the Ohio scenes, the washed-out look of the Mexican scenes, and the relative normalcy of the San Diego scenes. These San Diego scenes certainly meet the excellence standard, but the quality of the other scenes will be in the eye of the beholder.

Though the image is a bit soft in these scenes compared to the clarity of San Diego, surprising detail is present despite the radical alterations that the film went under to achieve that specific appearance (which is superbly illustrated in the film processing supplement). The bottom line is that it is safe to assume that this is exactly how Traffic is supposed to look. If you have the older DVD, and are thinking about upgrading to this release, do it because of the extras, not because of the improved video quality, because the difference is not pronounced enough to warrant another purchase for most people, except the perfectionist crowd.

Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?

The first time I reviewed Traffic, the fact that the movie is largely monaural except for the score went by completely unnoticed. Now, watching it for the third time recently, I still did not notice that the movie is mostly monaural, though that is a good indication that this atypical mix actually works. This mono mix is actually discussed in two of the audio commentaries, and the effectiveness of the music is certainly enhanced by this unorthodox utilization, as it compliments the somber tone of the subject matter.

Despite the preponderance of sound being directed to the center speaker only, it never sounds limited in any way with nice dynamic range. Otherwise, the track does obviously lack envelopment, but the .1 LFE does enhance a few scenes, and again the score is nicely deployed throughout the soundstage. Weird, but it all works.

Also included are English subtitles and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Director Steven Soderbergh is a veteran of recording commentary tracks; he is consistently entertaining and knows what to talk about, though on occasion can get very technical, especially here, thanks to his being the uncredited cinematographer on the film, using a pseudonym in the credits. He is also joined by screenwriter Stephen Gaghan, who speaks very calmly and does not have the same verbal sparring that is present with Soderbergh's commentary partners on The Limey or the Ocean's 11 commentary tracks, but at least Gaghan is informative and brings up interesting topics. Worth a listen for those more interested in the nuts and bolts of guerilla filmmaking.

The second commentary features multiple participants: producers Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, and Laura Bickford, and consultants Tim Golden and Craig Chretien. Zwick and Herskovitz were recorded together, but the other three participants were recorded separately. Criterion is very good at editing these things together, and on this track the scene specific comments flow together well with the rest. Zwick, Herskovitz, and Bickford provide plenty of background information on the production, while the two consultants discuss the factual accuracy of the film. Probably the best sign that this is an entertaining commentary track is that it really flew by and seemed a lot shorter than the film's two hour plus running time.

Composer commentary tracks are sometimes a snoozefest, but the third track by composer Cliff Martinez is halfway entertaining and very informative. When Martinez is not talking, the score is isolated and the two are nicely edited as not to conflict. Alas, Martinez's monotone delivery could not be any more dry, and at one point he makes a joke and has to explain that it was in fact a joke. (Remarkably, Martinez was a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers during the 80s, a fact which makes it into his discussion.) The track is very organized and well thought out, and Martinez managed to keep my interest throughout despite my ignorance of the technical side of music. Martinez has been a longtime collaborator with director Steven Soderbergh, and he discusses this relationship extensively. The track even contains some of the music that "hit the cutting room floor" during the editing process, described on the packaging as "two music cues."

This set also includes no less than 25 deleted scenes presented in anamorphic widescreen and in such fine condition that they could be inserted into the movie quite seamlessly, had Soderbergh wanted it. 25 sounds like a lot of scenes, but the total running time is only about 25 minutes. Yet these are not throwaway scenes, in that many could have easily been left in the movie without weakening it a bit. Soderbergh emphasizes in his commentary about how he likes to tell his stories as quickly as possible and so some quality scenes had to be excised.

But wait, there's more. The 30 minutes of additional footage, or so it has been labeled on the packaging, actually consists of more deleted scenes (or footage that was shot but was never included in any cut of the film), though this time its rough looking, with timing numbers above and below the frame. Some of the footage contains an angle option, where you can select different camera angles merely by hitting the angle button on your DVD player remote.

The first collection, consisting of documentary style footage taken at the El Paso Intelligence Center, contains three different views. The second collection is a look at the insides of a drug warehouse. This dull drug warehouse footage is thankfully accompanied by commentary by Traffic consultant Craig Chretien, who thoroughly explains how and why drugs are stored after they have been confiscated. One of the most talked about scenes in the film before its release was the scene in which Judge Wakefield and several prominent people are at a social gathering, with Wakefield asking various people for their opinion about the drug problem. These prominent people included several people who are not actors, but rather people whose names or faces you might recognize, particularly if you follow politics. This scene is not very long in the film, but on this supplemental disc all the footage from that day of shooting has been included. Three selectable camera angles are provided. The final set of footage is a scene involving Seth and Caroline walking the streets, looking to score some drugs. The scene has three takes, with two different angles are provided for the first two.

A look at the Technical Art of Filmmaking is provided by further sections on "Film Processing," "Editing," and "Dialogue Editing." The Film Processing section breaks down the multi-step process that was used to achieve the look of the Mexico sequences. The commentary accompanying the alterations of the film will cause some people to grab for their film dictionary, but the video demonstration will be an adequate explanation for most people. The Editing section, with commentary by editor Stephen Mirrione, examines the complicated process used to edit this complex film. This part is highly technical and difficult to follow. Switching between two views using the angle button and the option to select between the sound of the scene and Mirrione's commentary help but the explanation is still rather dense. The Dialogue Editing section is easier to understand, and it probably the most interesting technical explanation of the three. While it is nice that Criterion has included these extras, for many people they will be little more than an illustration of how complicated contemporary filmmaking can be and to opaque.

A plethora of unremarkable trailers is included. The "U.S. Teaser Trailer" accomplishes the commercial goal of making Traffic look like an action movie. A much different and fairly balanced "U.S. Trailer" does a better job of telling audiences what the movie is really about. Five TV Spots are also included, though they are repetitive and contain a lot of quote hype. All the trailers and spots are letterboxed, though none are anamorphic. The final extra on the second disc is an option to step through a large collection of trading cards. These cards are loosely connected to the movie, in that each card contains the picture and statistics for a specific drug/currency-sniffing dog. The DVD could have done without this extra, but it is amusing nonetheless.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

No ROM extras have been included.

Parting Thoughts