Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writer (WGA):

Steven Soderbergh (written by)

Release Date:

18 August 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A sexually repressed woman's husband is having an affair with her sister. The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything.

Plot Keywords:

Affair | Videotape | Interview | Sex | Sexual Denial

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 18 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

James Spader	...	Graham Dalton
Andie MacDowell	...	Ann Bishop Mullany
Peter Gallagher	...	John Mullany
Laura San Giacomo	...	Cynthia Patrice Bishop
Ron Vawter	...	Therapist
Steven Brill	...	Barfly
Alexandra Root	...	Girl on Tape
Earl T. Taylor	...	Landlord
David Foil	...	John's Colleague

Directed by
Steven Soderbergh

Writing credits (WGA)
Steven Soderbergh		(written by)

Produced by
John Hardy	....	producer
Morgan Mason	....	executive producer
Robert F. Newmyer	....	producer (as Robert Newmyer)
Nancy Tenenbaum	....	executive producer
Nick Wechsler	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Cliff Martinez

Cinematography by
Walt Lloyd

Film Editing by
Steven Soderbergh

Casting by
Deborah Aquila

Art Direction by
Joanne Schmidt

Set Decoration by
Victoria Spader

Makeup Department
Sabrina Lopez	....	hair stylist
James Ryder	....	makeup artist
Amanda Schuler	....	hair stylist

Production Management
John Hardy	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mike Dempsey	....	first assistant director (as Michael Dempsey)
Alexandra Root	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Bonnie Amos	....	artwork
Amy Archinal	....	artwork
Bill Cancienne	....	swing crew chief
Aaron Glascock	....	property master

Sound Department
Vanessa Theme Ament	....	foley artist (as Vanessa Ament)
Larry Blake	....	sound editor
Larry Blake	....	sound re-recordist
Scott Chandler	....	foley recordist
David W. Gray	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Paul Ledford	....	production sound mixer
David E. Stone	....	foley editor (as Dave Stone)
Stephen Tyler	....	boom operator
Ben Williams	....	sound assistant
Ron Bartlett	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Matthew C. Beville	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Oscar Mitt	....	sound (uncredited)
Dave Moreno	....	weddington recordist (uncredited)
Steven Soderbergh	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Steven Soderbergh	....	sound re-recordist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Phil Beard	....	gaffer
Tony Brignac	....	second assistant camera
Buddy Carr	....	electrician
Gilly Charbonnet	....	grip
Michael Charbonnet	....	first assistant camera
Jonathan Coney	....	grip
Diana Gary	....	still photographer
David Jensen	....	best boy
Bennie Robertson	....	generator operator
J.D. Streett	....	key grip

Casting Department
Philip Jostrom	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Amanda Moore	....	wardrober
James Ryder	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Scott Hill	....	negative cutter
Dan Muscarella	....	color timer
Steve New	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Larry Blake	....	music recordist
Mark A. Mangini	....	musician: acoustic guitar (as Mark Mangini)
Sharal Churchill	....	soundtrack consultant (uncredited)
Ezra Dweck	....	original music recordist (uncredited)
Stephen Hunter Flick	....	original music recordist (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Susan Bonfils	....	driver
Ross Neill	....	driver

Other crew
Howard Behar	....	legal services
Melissa Benedetto	....	production assistant
Jim Brannon	....	caterer
Billy Collins Jr.	....	production accountant
Davis Guggenheim	....	production coordinator: Los Angeles
John Kao	....	production executive
Louis Koerner	....	production assistant
Elizabeth Lambert	....	script supervisor
Nancy Mcintosh	....	production coordinator: Los Angeles
Harris M. Miller II	....	legal services (as Harris Miller)
Robert Mintz	....	completion bond
Rusty Smith	....	caterer
Harold Welb	....	production consultant

Thanks
Anne Dollard	....	dedicatee (as Ann Dollard)
John Dunn	....	special thanks
Mark A. Mangini	....	special thanks (as Mark Mangini)

Production Companies

• Outlaw Productions (I)
• Virgin

Distributors

• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)
• Sandrew Film & Teater (1989) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Transmundo Films (1989) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• AMLF (France)
• BDM Distribution (1990) (Belgium) (VHS)
• Concorde Filmverleih (Germany)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• Miramar Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Miramax Films
• Pathé (France) (video)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2004) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Transmundo Home Video (THV) (1990) (Argentina) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Completion Bond Company  completion guarantee
• Precision Film Cutting  negative cutting
• Sprocket Systems  foley recording
• Telecine Tech  film-to-tape transfer
• Ten Twenty Catering  catering
• Truman Van Dyke Company  production insurance
• Virgin Records  soundtrack (as Virgin Movie Music)
• Weddington Productions  post-production sound services
• Weiman Baucher Kuchel & Silber  legal services

Also Known As:

"Sex, Lies..." - USA (short title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:10 (1989) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:7 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Belgium:16 (video rating) | Brazil:14 | Peru:18

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Outlaw Productions (I)

Trivia:

The script was written in about two weeks.

Goofs:

Continuity: The view from John's office window is different at the end of the film

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ann:Garbage. All I've been thinking about all week is garbage. I mean, I just can't stop thinking about it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Dallas: Sex, Lies and Videotape (#13.12)" (1989)

Soundtrack:

Garbage

Iced-Tea, Anyone?

Why does Graham prefer iced tea so much? He offers it to Ann when she visits him for the first time at his apartment. Does the same when Cynthia pays him a visit. When he and Ann are having their first real conversation in the restaurant there's a glass of iced tea next to him, while Ann has a glass of white wine. Besides being a probable leitmotif, it's something that, seems to me is a part of Graham's character. He comes to live in that town to get away, to find a closure to his past. He ends up providing closure to the lives of these three characters. Let's imagine a scenario sans Graham - a phase in the life of a woman whose husband is having an extra-marital affair with her sister. She's suspicious but he denies. She finds evidence to prove that he's having an affair with her sister and decides she's had it, she's leaving her husband. Do you think this might have been the conclusion of this scenario? I think not. As Ann rightly says to Graham, that she would have left her husband anyway, but the reason she's doing it now, is because of him. She thinks sex is overrated, her sister seems to believe in the opposite and here comes a man whose profession, for all practical purposes is having women talk about sex. Ann's therapist is a foil to Graham. While he dispenses his advice and listens patiently to Ann, Graham is the all important catalyst that helps her make a practical decision in her life. He also aids in her real sexual awakening. Before Graham, sex, for Ann was incidental. Now it takes on a different perspective.

One might say that in making women talk so intimately to him about sex, he sort of breaks the ice on a topic that is more or less socially tabooed. His is a presence that evokes trust in the most introverted of women, making them confide in him and by doing so have an almost cathartic experience. I think the iced tea motif of Graham's character fits in here. Beyond his trademark black-shirt, blue denim attire, it is the only other element related to him that is conspicuously stated. That's my conjecture anyway!

Needless to say, James Spader is superb as Graham. He manages to evoke many of the nuances of Graham's character by subtle, volatile facial expressions. Andie McDowell is also great as Ann. Hers is a really sensitive and touching performance. Peter Gallagher and Laura San Giacomo are both equally good. The music for this film is appropriately minimal and poignant. Great effort by Soderbergh, who I'm glad to hear has come back to his experimental film roots with his recent film 'Full Frontal'.