sex, lies, and videotape (1989) - Steven Soderbergh
Related: American cinema - impotence in fiction - video - sex
Description
sex, lies, and videotape (1989) - Steven Soderbergh [Amazon.com]
Winner of the Palm d'Or and Best Actor awards at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, sex, lies, and videotape transformed the independent film industry and turned writer-director Steven Soderbergh into the envy of aspiring filmmakers everywhere. Sly, seductive, and coolly intelligent, the movie explores the sexual shenanigans and personal preoccupations of its four central characters, revolving around a selfish lawyer (Peter Gallagher) who responds to his wife by having an affair with her free-spirited sister (Laura San Giacomo). But when the lawyer's college roommate (James Spader) arrives for an unexpectedly extended visit, the neglected wife (Andie MacDowell) is surprisingly responsive to his seductive hobby of videotaping women as they describe their sexual fantasies. It's his way of compensating for impotence, but the curious wife considers this a sexual challenge, and Soderbergh turns sex, lies, and videotape into a fascinating chamber piece that puts a decidedly different spin on the consequences of infidelity. Balanced on a risky and finely tuned performance by Spader, the film delivers frisky passion and emotional intrigue, and yet much of its allure is found in the exchange of secrets and the hidden mysteries of sexual desire. --Jeff Shannon for amazon;com
Sex, Lies, and Videotape is the 1989 film that first brought national attention to director Steven Soderbergh. The film stars Andie MacDowell and Peter Gallagher as a troubled married couple, Laura San Giacomo as the sister of MacDowell's character and the lover of Gallagher's, and James Spader, who arrives at the start of the film as a guest of the couple with an unusual "personal project" in progress. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex%2C_Lies%2C_and_Videotape [Dec 2005]
Description
Steven Andrew Soderbergh (born January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and Oscar-winning director.It's difficult to find a common thread between Soderbergh's movies. He has made big-budget Hollywood films as well as art-house independent films; worked with above-the-title movie stars as well as unknowns; and directed adaptations as well original material, both of which were written by himself as well as other screenwriters. His versatility is also apparent with the genres which he chooses to film and his trades as a filmaker behind the scenes. Traffic screenwriter and Syriana director Stephen Gaghan named Soderbergh "the Michael Jordan of filmaking" for his ability to assume so many distinct roles in film production. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Soderbergh