Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Penned by Stephan Gaghan, Traffic tackles the war on drugs from three different angles. In Washington, D.C. newly appointed drug czar, Judge Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas), spends all of his time focusing on the drug war and doesn’t realize his own daughter is a prolific user. Javier Rodriguez (Benito Del Toro), a Tijuana police officer, fights his own battle against the drug trade but corruption in his department may be his biggest obstacle. Then there's Helena Ayala (Catherine Zeta-Jones), whose life is turned upside down when her husband is accused of being the head of a drug cartel while two DEA agents (Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman) attempt to turn one of one of his employees against him.

Traffic is arguably Steven Soderbergh's finest work and landed him an Oscar for Best Director in 2001. His ability to connect these interdependent storylines in a coherent and flowing manner earned the film an Oscar nomination although the golden statue went to Gladiator. Nearly 10 years later the war on drugs is still in full force, but we are no closer to winning (just look at the current violence in Mexico). The drug trade is the ultimate free market where profit motivates people to take substantial risk because the financial rewards are so great.

Video Highlights

• VC-1/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Unique photography
• Overblown contrast (intentional)
• Outstanding depth, especially during with the Ayala storyline
• Rich textures
• Heavy film grain (intentional)

Audio Highlights

• DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack
• Pedestrian sound design
• Intelligible dialog
• Suitable ambience
• A couple of nice explosions

The visual style is very unique and the cinematography changes with each story line. The audio track is serviceable but won't be the first disc you grab off the shelf to show off your system.

Bonus Materials

• "Inside Traffic" EPK (SD)
• Deleted scenes (SD)
• Flipper disc with DVD on the "B" side

This movie was one of the early titles released on HD DVD and received poor reviews with its shoddy video transfer. Thankfully it looks as if Universal went back to the drawing board and struck a new master because the film has never looked better. The subject matter isn't a pick-me-up, but if you're looking for a gritty drama be sure to check this one out. Recommended.

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Release Date: April 27, 2010
Studio: Universal

Movie: 9/10
Picture: 8/10
Sound: 7/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Panamax M5400PM power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics