[Editor’s Note: this list was originally published in August 2017. It has since been updated to include more of Soderbergh’s films, including “Black Bag.”] Steven Soderbergh’s directing career started with “Sex, Lies and Videotape,” a massive breakout that not only launched his career — it changed the industry of independent filmmaking in America.
While struggling to find his footing after becoming a household name at age 26, Soderbergh never let himself become frozen by his early success or some preconceived notion of what his career would be. Instead, he dogmatically followed any story that piqued his interest, regardless if it was building the slick “Ocean’s Eleven” franchise or an experimental film he shot in his hometown with friends (“Schizopolis”). He has been careful to build a career that was commercially viable so as to maximize his ability to be constantly creating and experimenting with films that were sometimes aggressively uncommercial.
Along the way, he has fought to be as efficient a filmmaker as possible — constantly trying different approaches and new technology to make and distribute his films — while skirting Hollywood excess. With Soderbergh’s latest “Black Bag” out in theaters now, we took a look back at his career and ranked all 37 feature films he’s directed. With editorial contributions from Chris O’Falt .
37. “Full Frontal” (2002) The only film on this list that doesn’t reward revisiting is this 2002 expe.