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The Guy That Saw TRAFFIC tells us about it!
Hey folks, Harry here... Well Soderbergh has cut 25 minutes, filmed some new stuff... and how is TRAFFIC coming along? Well this particular fella was dumbstruck by brilliance it seems. Now... this brings up an interesting tidbit for me. When I saw TRAFFIC... (two cuts ago), I embraced the film... lauded it for many many acheivements... BUT, given the cut of TRAFFIC I saw... and Aronofsky's REQUEIM FOR A DREAM... which would I have to pick as the better? Well... first off... they are very very very very different... and the cut I saw of TRAFFIC was rough... but at that stage, I'd go with Requiem... but TRAFFIC had great potential... and with the right sculpting from Soderbergh (a master filmmaker) it could be amazingly powerful. I'd say... that what we are looking at conversation wise come January 2001, is that TRAFFIC will be the FULL METAL JACKET of Drug Films... and REQUEIM FOR A DREAM will be the PLATOON... However... I can not wait to see Soderbergh's finished film when he has it... but ya know... USA and ARTISAN are the two film studios with the biggest uncompromised pair of balls in that town of Holly. Here's our latest look at TRAFFIC...
Hey Harry. I just got back from a screening of Traffic in Pasadena at
the UA Marketplace. Let me begin by telling you that this movie is amazing.
It clocked in at about two hours and twenty minutes of pure brilliance.
The film opens in Mexico with Benicio Del Toro and another Mexican
police officer attempting to stop some drug smuggling. It then moves to
Ohio where Mike Douglas is preaching about how we need to win the war on
drugs while he sips on a glass of scotch. The movie progresses at a great
pace, never getting dull and never causing me look at my watch. We see how
every character is affected by drugs and how they all question their purpose
in this so called "war". The film pretty much follows the synopsis we have
all read. Catherine Zeta Jones takes over the family business when her
husband is arrested, Mike's daughter becomes very addicted to some strong
shit, Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman have some great scenes together as DEA
agents, and Benicio Del Toro is completly deserving of an academy award as
the Mexican police officer.
Steven Soderbergh did a perfect job with this film. He photographed it
with utter greatness, allowing windows and the sky to be over-exposed
causing some shots to just glare right at you. I'm not sure if it was the
final score, but it should be. I just wanted to go to the back of the
theater and give him a hug for putting this film together so well.
Well thats about it. Go see this movie. It's as good as you think it
is.
The guy who saw Traffic
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+ Expand All
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...my eyes water just thinkin' about `em.
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Oct 12, 2000 2:52:36 AM CDT
And what do you feel is the difference between Platoon and Full
by j nasty
I've seen both Platoon and Full Metal Jacket but I've seen neither Traffic nor Requiem. I'd just like to hear what you feel is the comparison between Platoon and FMJ so I have a better idea of the difference between Traffic and Requiem. Thanks!
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Platoon is a more personal take on the War, more about the people than the actual war.
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Oct 12, 2000 3:25:44 AM CDT
"Platoon" builds its realistic feel from a first-person....
by crimsonrage
...perspective, and gives new life to old war film cliches, while "FMJ" deals with the dehumanizing aspects of an institution created solely to turn boys into unflinching killing machines. How this relates to Harry's analogy is unbeknownst to me. He probably doesn't know what he's talking about.
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Oct 12, 2000 3:36:07 AM CDT
And then, suddenly, the thread was officially derailed - More di
by toby o notoby
I agree with veers, although I'd also argue that FMJ was less clear cut. I mean this in a good way. After the death of Elias in Platoon, you're left with a very black and white, bad guys get their comeuppance and good guys "gonna make it" ending. In FMJ, where never quite sure who the enemy is - the drill sergeant? the psycho recruit? the girl sniper? Just one man's opinion, though, not quite sure what Harry meant by that.
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Man, now I really can't wait to see this film... But you know what PISSES ME OFF?! It won't be released wide until January 12th! What the hell is that? Why hamper its Oscar chances by releasing it so late? Sure, critics will see it, but you can't build Oscar buzz without mainstream appeal... Look at all of the past films that were successful at the Oscars -- they were ALL pretty much released in December or well before then. Why do this? I hope they at least do a 500 screen limited release around Christmas and then go wider over the next few weeks...
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Just checked out the web site (www.trafficthemovie.com) pretty cool ambient stuff. Interesting artwork, definitely makes me curious about the movie. The trailer's on the site too and is really making me drool for the movie. I just heard that Herbie Hancock and Flea are recording stuff for the soundtrack. How cool would that be?!
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Apocalypse Now?
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What's CTHD?
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CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON.... sorry... it's a long title to type. I nominate MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO as the APOCALYPSE NOW of drug movies.
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Oct 12, 2000 8:04:05 PM CDT
What all filmmakers need to learn from the great Steven Soderber
by magnoliaman
I just read an article in the new issue of PREMIERE about M Night Shymalan and his new movie. This guy is a complete, unjustifiably arrogant prick. He truly believes that he's one of the great living filmmakers and he deserved to sweep the Oscars. Well, the 6th Sense sucked, in my admittedly minority opinion. How does this relate to Soderbergh, you ask. Soderbergh has taste and the ability to see that he isn't perfect and definitely capable of making mistakes. Out of Sight and Erin Brockovich both have many minutes of great deleted scenes that he was able to cut and so did The Limey, as him and Lem Dobbs discussed on the DVD (why weren't those damn scenes included on the DVD). Now, again, with Traffic he seems to have taken his humility and ability to see his imperfections and correct them to the benefit of his film (that's what it sounds like anyway). He's the best there is, right now.
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Actually the later a movie is released in the year, the greater its chance for an Oscar, not the reverse. By releasing in Los Angeles on Dec. 27, Traffic is perfectly positioned for an Oscar run, barely qualifying for the year, and receiving the full brunt of the marketing and promotion at exactly the right time. Screening for critics is utterly immaterial for an Oscar. And, for the most part, Academy members could care less what the rest of the country, or the media thinks. Rest assured that every Academy member will have ample opportunity to see Traffic in a theater, a studio screening room, or in the comfort of their own homes at precisely the right time, not coincidentally the same time they receive their ballots.
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Since everyone else is having a go... 'Platoon' tells it from the first person perspective, of someone on the frontline. The machinations of the people in charge of the conflict, and of the people on the other side, are unseen. In FMJ, on the other hand, we not only see the US 'grunts', but also the different layers in both US army society and Vietnamese (both civilians and soldiers), to show how different groups react to different things, illustrate differences e.g. the professional, trained Americans versus the young female sniper. Similarly, Requiem is from the users perspective only, but demonstrates it superbly and thoroughly. While Traffic shows the users, the pushers, the cops, and the government. That is, all the different groups involved. Easy really...
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Wouldn't that be Go Ask Alice
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