Traffik Details

Traffik

TRAFFIK is the 5 1/2 hour miniseries that provided the basis for Stephen Soderbergh's Oscar-winning film TRAFFIC, and its length provides the production with an opportunity to delve more deeply into the drug trade and addiction, making it a more complete film than its Hollywood incarnation. TRAFFIK tells three stories; one is an exceptional look at the poppy fields and heroin cartels of Pakistan, where the beauty of the poppy fields is juxtaposed with the squalor of the slums inhabited by the workers who harvest the crop. Another takes place in England and stars Julia Ormond as the drug addicted 16-year-old daughter of British cabinet minister Jack Lithgow (Bill Paterson) and depicts the depths of heroin addiction. The third stars Lindsay Duncan as the wife of a rich German drug smuggler who has just been busted, shattering the pretenses of her upper class life and driving her to continue her husband's trade. Finally, these three disparate stories are tied together by two German narcotics agents named Dieter and Ulli, who, along with a host of couriers, provide a very unnerving look at how heroin travels from Pakistan to Europe. Intricately detailed and emotionally devastating, TRAFFIK is a thoroughly engrossing miniseries that, at times, surpasses the excellence of its American cousin. This release contains additional material not shown in the PBS Masterpiece Theatre broadcast.

Starring	Bill Paterson, Lindsay Duncan, Julia Ormond
Director	Alastair Reid
Studio	CINEMA CLUB
Run time	DVD: 5 hrs 50 mins
Certificate
Genres	Drama
Language	DVD: English
Hearing-impaired	English
Released	DVD: not available Production year: 1989