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MOVIES / ON DVD / SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE
Sex, Lies and Videotape

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Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989)

97%
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79%
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97 %
Reviews Counted: 33 Fresh: 32  Rotten:1 Average Rating: 7.9/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins
Synopsis:
Steven Soderbergh explodes onto the scene with this provocative, intelligent drama about infidelity and voyeurism. Ann Milaney (Andie MacDowell) lives in a comfortable Louisiana home with her lawyer husband, John (Peter Gallagher). She spends her days fretting over the insurmountable... [More]
Steven Soderbergh explodes onto the scene with this provocative, intelligent drama about infidelity and voyeurism. Ann Milaney (Andie MacDowell) lives in a comfortable Louisiana home with her lawyer husband, John (Peter Gallagher). She spends her days fretting over the insurmountable problems of the world and her own unfocused sense of melancholy. Although she doesn't know it, she has a good reason to be upset: John is having a torrid affair with her younger, more extroverted sister, Cynthia (the sexy Laura San Giacomo). When Graham Dalton (James Spader), an old college pal of John's, comes to visit, all three are momentarily distracted from personal problems and intrigues as they scrutinize the odd outsider. Ann soon discovers that Graham has some strange habits and problems of his own. Plagued by impotency since the calamitous breakup of his last relationship, the young drifter finds sexual gratification by videotaping women willing to talk about their sexual past and fantasies in front of the camera. A chain of attraction and jealousy develops as the four interconnect in several varied pairings, culminating with Ann's decision to become Graham's latest subject. Soderbergh's highly influential debut independent feature plays like a dangerous thriller that builds in tension until everyone's secrets are bitterly exposed. [Less]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher, Laura San Giacomo

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Screenwriter: Steven Soderbergh

DVD Info

Release:

Sep 8, 1998

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary by Soderbergh
  • Trailers - Theatrical Trailer

Interactive Features:

  • Interactive Menus
  • Scene Selections

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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Full Review | Comment
03/31/08 03:15 AM
David Ansen
Newsweek
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

A Liaisons Dangereuses for the video age, Soderbergh's impressive debut is a tale of desire, anxiety, and deception, in which the camera of a sexually impotent man becomes the lead player and a natural, Antonioni-like storytelling device.

Full Review | Comment
09/27/06 07:30 PM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image

A bitter yet savory time capsule of discontent.

| Comment
09/24/06 11:05 PM
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
06/24/06 03:36 AM
Derek Adams
Time Out
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No review available.

| Comment
10/10/05 01:12 AM
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily
Ratings Image

Steven Soderbergh didn't just launch the whole movies-with-all-lowercase-titles craze (as it's commonly written), he also launched the '90s rebirth of independent cinema with this singular effort.

Full Review | Comment
09/18/05 03:15 AM
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
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No review available.

| Comment
07/01/05 09:08 AM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image

No review available.

| Comment
06/15/05 02:43 PM
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly
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No review available.

| Comment
05/06/05 02:21 AM
Clint Morris
Film Threat
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No review available.

| Comment
04/26/05 01:33 AM
Jonathan R. Perry
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)
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No review available.

| Comment
02/11/05 08:54 PM
Greg Maki
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)
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No review available.

| Comment
02/11/05 11:46 AM
Michelle Alexandria
Eclipse Magazine
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No review available.

| Comment
01/16/05 07:27 AM
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com
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No review available.

| Comment
08/04/04 08:30 PM
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)
Ratings Image

No review available.

| Comment
02/04/04 09:21 AM
Rebecca Murray
About.com
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No review available.

| Comment
01/23/04 04:49 PM
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Ratings Image

Still provocative.

| Comment
06/19/03 06:39 PM
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
Ratings Image

A film whose enormous authority and intelligence extend to every detail.

Full Review | Comment
05/20/03 05:15 PM
Caryn James
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Being a little shocking shouldn't be enough to earn you critical applause.

| Comment
03/25/03 08:50 PM
Oz
Hollywood Bitchslap
Ratings Image

I was somewhat let down by the film as a whole, which seems to feign more than it actually achieves.

Full Review | Comment
12/23/02 03:14 PM
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
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