Steven Soderbergh is one of the most innovative and critically revered directors in modern times. He started out as an arthouse filmmaker but worked his way up to creating some of the most iconic blockbusters in the world. We’ve taken a closer look at some of the landmark films of his career, spanning across five different decades and multiple different genres.
Ocean’s 11
This had to be one of the movies that we took a closer look at. It’s an iconic casino heist film that put together one of the most stacked casts ever seen. With Clooney and Pitt leading the way, it’s no surprise that this movie was a resounding success. Based in The Bellagio, it really shows off everything that the legendary casino has to offer. It manages to drag viewers into the luxurious world from the moment you see the casino floor. Of course, casinos can be confusing to some people, so you can find out more here if you want to brush up on your casino knowledge.
The movie was the second mainstream success that Soderbergh achieved, and it was a big departure from his early art house work. This is the best of the three Ocean’s movies that Soderbergh directed and is well worth watching. This movie combines the slickness of big budget movies with the first instance of him using a hyperlink cinema style, which resulted in a number of narratives converging to provide the final answer at the end.
Kafka
Before Soderbergh went onto success with Ocean’s 11, he worked on a mystery thriller that combined elements of Franz Kafka’s life. It was an art house biopic and was the first movie he did after his breakout release “Sex, Lies and Videotape”. Although this was a commercial disappointment at the time, it’s actually gone on to be thought of as a cult classic.
It follows an insurance clerk who becomes involved with a shady group carrying out a range of different crimes. It is interspersed with scenes that attempt to recreate the surreal atmosphere that underpinned the work of Kafka. If you want to trace the work of Soderbergh, then this is one of the best places to start, especially as it rejects a number of the mainstream filmmaking ideals that he himself speaks out against.
Full Frontal
Full Frontal came after Traffic and Ocean’s 11, two crime dramas, and was a complete genre shift for Soderbergh. The comedy actually had a very polarising impact on critics at the time, with some loving it and some hating it. However, it has had a much improved reputation in the intervening years due to the meta aspect of it. Positioned as a film within a film, it captures a single day in the lives of a number of characters. It’s a movie that has to be watched more than once to fully appreciate what it has to say.
The cast is fantastic, as it features: David Duchovny, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, David Hyde Pierce and more. It truly is an impressive cast list, although not surprising as it came just a year after Ocean’s 11. If you like comedies with a little bit of attitude and something to make you think at the same time, then this movie is definitely one for you to check out.
Contagion
Contagion is yet another genre switch for Soderbergh. This film focuses on a pandemic breaking out around the world and the attempts to deal with it. As is expected from a Soderbergh movie at this point, the cast is fantastic. It uses the hyperlink style that Soderbergh first utilised in Ocean’s 11, and it works perfectly for this tense thriller.
It is perfectly paced, and as the puzzle pieces fall into place, it will blow your mind. Contagion is arguably one of Soderbergh’s best films. If you check out just a single movie on this list, make it this one.
Magic Mike
Yet again, Soderbergh shifts his genres. This is a comedy/drama/biopic all mashed into one. While many people look at this film as nothing but a vehicle for titillation, it’s actually an extremely smart and funny film. It wasn’t just a critical success, it was also a box office success, making back more than 20 times its budget.
It has a more understated cast than some of Soderbergh’s other blockbusters, but everyone who is involved here is fantastic. Maybe the biggest surprise is the acting ability of Kevin Nash, the former wrestling star. Magic Mike is perhaps the best example of how well Soderbergh can switch between genres flawlessly.
