Steven Soderbergh’s movies can be split into two columns, as there are the smaller passion projects like Bubble and The Girlfriend Experience, and then there are the bigger Hollywood movies like Haywire and Magic Mike. The director excels at both of them, and he has delivered tentpole movies that have changed the landscape of both independent cinema and major studio movies for the better.
Not only that, but Soderbergh is so prolific too, often directing two movies a year, and almost all of them are fascinating in their own way. But there are a handful of his movies that are true classics, and some of them have even started major franchises too.
No Sudden Move (2021) – 3.4
No Sudden Move is one of the most recent movies directed by Soderbergh, and like all of his most recent projects, it was exclusive to HBO Max. But of all those HBO exclusives, No Sudden Move is one that truly deserved a cinematic release. It’s one of the coolest-looking crime thrillers Soderbergh has directed, which is saying a lot considering that he’s the man behind the Ocean’s movies.
It also has more stakes than any of the filmmaker’s recent films, as it follows a heist that goes terribly wrong in a race-torn Detroit. The result is one of the best HBO Max exclusive movies, and it proves that the streamer having a director like Soderbergh in its back pocket is one of the platform’s biggest selling points.
Behind The Candelabra (2013) – 3.5
While Behind the Candelabra is an HBO original movie, it did get a limited theatrical release, and rightly so, as the Liberace biopic is one of the director’s best-looking films to date. The production of the 2013 film is just as colorful and over-the-top as the pianist himself, and it’s a wildly theatrical depiction of a fascinating man who was known for his theatricality and eccentricity.
However, the movie also isn’t afraid to get deeply personal, as it portrays the warts-and-all relationships in Liberace’s life, which often got rather toxic. Behind the Candelabra perfectly showcases Soderbergh’s glossy aesthetic and his ability to pull career-best performances out of his actors.
Logan Lucky (2017) – 3.5
Michael Corleone’s quote from The Godfather Part III, “just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in,” is endlessly used when somebody comes out of retirement. But it has never been more applicable than when Soderbergh returned to the movie industry to direct Logan Lucky.
Not only did the filmmaker come out of retirement to direct the 2017 movie, but the film is a heist caper, a type of movie that Soderbergh has found himself directing time and again. If fans can’t get an Ocean’s 14, Logan Lucky is the next best thing. The film sees the Logan family execute the perfect heist at a NASCAR track during a race, and it’s even better than the two Ocean’s sequels.
Che (2008) – 3.6
Che was released in two parts in 2008, with both being theatrically released at the same time. The two parts make up a four-hour-and-20-minute epic, with each half documenting a different part of Che Guevara’s life.
The first part follows his role in the Cuban Revolution, and the second centers on the leader attempting to revolt in Bolivia. On Letterboxd, Part One has a 3.7, and Part Two has a 3.5, as the second part was criticized for being much darker. But as it’s essentially about a warrior in decline, there’s no other way it could have been approached.
Traffic (2000) – 3.6
Traffic is an ambitious movie with a multi-stranded narrative with an ensemble cast. The film is about the drug trade, but it’s from the perspective of several different parties, including the traffickers, the users, and the politicians. While Soderbergh is best known for his more entertaining movies, Traffic is emotionally exhausting, and some scenes are hard for the faint-hearted to watch.
The movie earned Soderbergh the Academy Award for Best Director. It was a tremendous feat, as he had some tough competitors that year, beating out Ang Lee for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Ridley Scott for Gladiator, and even himself, as he was also nominated for Erin Brokovich.
Out Of Sight (1998) – 3.7
There are so many great actor-director working relationships in Hollywood, whether it’s Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese, David Lynch and Laura Dern, or Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan. But one that seems to have flown under the radar is Soderbergh and George Clooney.
The duo has worked together on numerous occasions, and the crime thriller Out of Sight marked the first of their collaborations. The 1998 release is one of the best Elmore Leonard adaptations, as it’s funny, thrilling, and suspenseful. And interestingly, it’s also set in the same universe as Jackie Brown.
Sex, Lies, And Videotape (1989) – 3.7
Sex, Lies, and Videotape was Soderbergh’s directorial debut, and it’s such a landmark movie for so many reasons. Impressively, for as wise and deep as the movie is, it was written and directed by Soderbergh when he was just 25 years old.
As a result, the filmmaker became the youngest ever director to win the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. And with a budget of barely over $1 million, the movie also revolutionized the way indie movies were made in Hollywood. With the 1989 movie, Soderbergh laid the groundwork for filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino to become successful.
King Of The Hill (1993) – 3.7
Though King of the Hill wasn’t anywhere near the success that Sex, Lies, and Videotape was, Soderbergh’s second movie based on his own screenplay is just as great. The movie was actually a box office bomb, despite getting rave reviews at the time.
It is set during the Great Depression, and it follows a creative adolescent who moves into a hotel after his mother is hospitalized and his younger brother is sent to live with his uncle. Considering how highly rated the 1993 movie is, it’s criminally overlooked, and more cinephiles should scout it out.
Erin Brokovich (2000) – 3.7
Erin Brokovich is a cinematic heroine, but she’s also based on the real-life lawyer of the same name. The film dramatizes the famous court case that Brockovich won in a David and Goliath-type situation, as she fought against the energy corporation Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and it remains one of Hollywood’s best dramatic biographies.
The movie goes to show how prolific Soderbergh is, as Erin Brokovich was one of two movies he directed in 2000 that were major awards contenders, with the other being Traffic. Both were nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Director at the Academy Awards, and while it was Traffic that won both awards, it’s Erin Brokovich that has better stood the test of time.
Ocean’s Eleven (2001) – 3.8
Ocean’s Eleven is the gold standard of heist movies, and it’s a wonder what the bar was and what people’s perception of the genre was before 2001. The film changed the game when it came to meticulously planned robberies in film, as it was exciting, thrilling, big-budget entertainment that was endlessly clever.
Not only that, but audiences had never wanted to live vicariously through criminals so much in their lives. Ocean’s Eleven is a prime example of Hollywood movies glamorizing criminal activity, especially as these criminals are so suave and suited up, but it’s impossible for any viewer to not be charmed and swept away by the rush of it all.
