Steven Soderbergh

sex, lies, and videotape

sex, lies, and videotape

With his provocative feature debut, twenty-six-year-old Steven Soderbergh trained his focus on the complexities of human intimacy and deception in the modern age. Housewife Ann (Andie MacDowell) feels distant from her lawyer husband, John (Peter Gallagher), who is sleeping with her sister, Cynthia (Laura San Giacomo). When John’s old friend Graham (a magnetic, Cannes-award-winning James Spader) comes to town, Ann is drawn to the soft-spoken outsider, eventually uncovering his startling private obsession: videotaping women as they confess their deepest desires. A piercingly intelligent and flawlessly performed chamber piece, in which the video camera becomes a charged metaphor for the characters’ isolation, the Palme d’Or–winning sex, lies, and videotape changed the landscape of American film, helping pave the way for the thriving independent scene of the 1990s.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 1989
  • 100 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.85:1
  • English
  • Spine #938

Director-Approved Special Edition Features

  • New, restored 4K digital transfer, with new 5.1 surround mix from the original sound elements, supervised by director Steven Soderbergh
  • Audio commentary from 1998 featuring Soderbergh in conversation with filmmaker Neil LaBute
  • New introduction by Soderbergh
  • Interviews with Soderbergh from 1990 and 1992
  • New documentary about the making of the film, featuring actors Peter Gallagher, Andie MacDowell, and Laura San Giacomo
  • Interview from 1989 with actor James Spader
  • New conversation between sound editor/re-recording mixer Larry Blake and composer Cliff Martinez
  • Deleted scene with commentary by Soderbergh
  • Demonstration of sound restorations through the years
  • Trailers
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Amy Taubin and (Blu-ray only) excerpts from Soderbergh’s 1990 book about the film

New cover by Neil Kellerhouse

Purchase Options

Director-Approved Special Edition Features

  • New, restored 4K digital transfer, with new 5.1 surround mix from the original sound elements, supervised by director Steven Soderbergh
  • Audio commentary from 1998 featuring Soderbergh in conversation with filmmaker Neil LaBute
  • New introduction by Soderbergh
  • Interviews with Soderbergh from 1990 and 1992
  • New documentary about the making of the film, featuring actors Peter Gallagher, Andie MacDowell, and Laura San Giacomo
  • Interview from 1989 with actor James Spader
  • New conversation between sound editor/re-recording mixer Larry Blake and composer Cliff Martinez
  • Deleted scene with commentary by Soderbergh
  • Demonstration of sound restorations through the years
  • Trailers
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Amy Taubin and (Blu-ray only) excerpts from Soderbergh’s 1990 book about the film

New cover by Neil Kellerhouse

sex, lies, and videotape
Cast
James Spader
Graham
Andie MacDowell
Ann
Peter Gallagher
John
Laura San Giacomo
Cynthia
Ron Vawter
Therapist
Steven Brill
Barfly
Alexandra Root
Woman on tape
Earl T. Taylor
Landlord
David Foil
John’s colleague
Credits
Director
Steven Soderbergh
Writer
Steven Soderbergh
Producers
Robert Newmyer
Producers
John Hardy
Executive producers
Nancy Tenenbaum
Executive producers
Nick Wechsler
Executive producers
Morgan Mason
Cinematographer
Walt Lloyd
Music by
Cliff Martinez
Casting by
Deborah Aquila
Editor
Steven Soderbergh
Sound editing, rerecording, and music recording
Larry Blake
Production sound mixer
Paul Ledford

Current

Getting into Character for sex, lies, and videotape
Getting into Character for sex, lies, and videotape

Sex, shame, and sibling rivalry: actors Andie MacDowell and Laura San Giacomo talk about capturing the layers of conflict and taboo in Steven Soderbergh’s debut feature.

sex, lies, and videotape: Some Kind of Skin Flick
sex, lies, and videotape: Some Kind of Skin Flick

Flesh has rarely been as alive on-screen as it is in Steven Soderbergh’s feature debut, an intimate drama that changed the face of American independent film.

By Amy Taubin

The Movie Miranda July Knows by Heart

Under the Influence

The Movie Miranda July Knows by Heart

When the Kajillionaire director saw sex, lies, and videotape as a teenager, she was transfixed by its exploration of desire mediated by technology, a theme that would later emerge in her own boundary-pushing work.