Paul Thomas Anderson. Anderson’s four films in the top 100 (work from 2009 or newer not yet eligible) puts him tied with Welles for second place behind only Kubrick (5) and that’s his case—and what a case. Sarris (after Boogie Nights) “Not since the mysteriously reclusive Terrence Malick has there been such an explosion of sheer talent on the American movie.” There are only two living directors ahead of PT right now on my all-time director’s list and that’s Scorsese and Coppola and those two giants are 28 and 32 years older respectively—this basically means Anderson is peerless in his generation.
pink/blue dye experimental watercolor splashes repeated throughout the film and the color composition throughout in Punch-Drunk Love
Best film: There Will Be Blood. By 2007 we’ve seen PT do Altman and Scorsese but I think this tends more towards Kubrick and Welles—but at the same time it’s his entirely—especially with The Master backing it up as a companion piece in 2012. That film makes it ever stronger. Another critic says “Kubrick directing Kane” and yet another says Malick directing Kane– I definitely lean Kubrick. Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood’s first score pairing with PT and it’s miraculous—there’s crescendo’ing and synthesized orchestra—it echoes 2001’s opening- we’re watching early man here slowly, piece by piece, put things together like the apes in 2001– and all done without words (15 minutes here to open)—it is a magnificent short film opening. Determination. Elliptically edited. Confident. Medication on capitalism, greed, and monomania. It’s a behemoth as I said, the silent opening, the landscape architecture as character and metaphor, it’s physical and violent. Complex relationship with son and brother (faux brother it turns out) as son surrogate—multiple layers of PT’s father/mentor obsession as an auteur. DDL’s achievement here can’t be overstated. It’s the greatest performance of the century to date. He was always going to be a great actor but this puts it on a different plane. It’s his Raging Bull performance. On top of all this there are a ton of black comedy moments with DDL and not just the perfect ending which absolutely smashes the viewer. At separate points both Dano and DDL make each other bow to one another—they have different paths and things they follow (like the master like PSH with his religion and Phoenix with sex/drinking) but are looking for meaning. “I’m finished” with strings. Large. Bold. Brilliant.
total archiveable films: 8
top 100 films: 4 (There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, Boogie Nights)
top 500 films: 4 (There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, Boogie Nights)
top 100 films of the decade: 6 (There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, Boogie Nights, The Master, Phantom Thread)
most overrated: Inherent Vice, There are two ways to view and evaluate this movie. One, in comparison with every other movie out there, in fact, more than have of the film in my archives, it’s a superior work. I’ve got it as roughly the 12thbest film of 2014 so that’s really good for almost any other director. However, as a P.T. Anderson film it can’t be viewed as anything but a failure. It is neither the formal masterwork his previous 3 films had been nor the stylistic high-wire act his 2 masterpieces from the 90’s were. There were 5 years off before both There Will Be Blood and The Master. Two years only here so maybe he’s an artist that needs more time. He only needed 3 years for Punch Drunk Love after Magnolia but PDL is only 93 minutes— this is 148. I think the flashbacks to Waterston and their time together (or just their face) is his formal trigger here- one of the best is the sequence in the rain to one of the two great Neil Young songs—the Young songs are clearly triggers to melancholy over the past.
most underrated : There isn’t really one. Critics love PT Anderson. The 4 films in my top 100 are in the TSPDT top 1000 and climbing fast- they actually have it in the same order as me.
gem I want to spotlight: Punch-Drunk Love. I’m not convinced it isn’t his best. PT’s stated goal was to “make an art-house Adam Sandler movie” and it was purposefully anti-ensemble multi-character epic like Boogie and Magnolia. Jon Brion’s brilliant and experimental score (this is the pre-Greenwood PT era which makes me think PT is the genius here on the music (not to say Greenwood and Brion aren’t both brilliant and possible geniuses as well) but there are such commonalities here with how segments of this sound (especially in scenes he’s ratchetting it up (think forklift accident here, oil rig explosion in There Will Be Blood) match shots from TWBB and the master (opening silent montage))—apparently Brion had the score played on set to inspire and set rhythm with the actors. The “He Needs Me” song is from Altman’s movie Popeye and sung by Shelley Duvall—not as many Altman connections here as his previous work but this is a big one clearly. Like his previous films Anderson allows for errors in the performance and script—“business is very business” and “hello this is back” (combination of real name “Barry” and fake name “jack”- this feeds into character as Barry is an awkward character but also it’s connected to scenes like William H. Macy’s “a$$ in her c___” flub in boogie nights. It is, strangely, still an Adam Sandler movie and accomplishes what PT set out to do. He’s not trying to change Cruise and Sandler- these are talented actors and megastars. He’s tapping into their talents for something different (better). Barry has all the sweetness and rage here he displays at different times in say Waterboy or Happy Gilmore– clearly he can both beat up a bathroom and have tender love for Watson, the excitement in the Chaplinesque dance in the grocery store and have that sweetness you see in the harmonium. PT is such a formal/visual freak/master- how many grocery stores have color coded aisles? The opening is perfection—we have a blue suit, blue lines on the wall and he shoots at an angle to make Barry, at the desk, look very very alone. Lens flares galore—but all with a blue tint or a blue/pink tint to match both the normal film décor and the pink/blue dye experimental watercolor splashes (3 times in the film— 4 if you count the end credits). The film is so formally rigid- I adore it. He’s bullied on the phone and then he goes and plays the music. The music and Watson are tied throughout the movie. The shot of Barry/Sandler running away from the brothers from Utah mirrors the shot of Phoenix running from the farmers in the master. I had to read it in a review to notice it but there is a red figure in the background the first time Barry/Sandler goes to the grocery store and sure enough—it’s Watson (who is always wearing red or pink). The Windex on Barry’s table in his sad apartment is blue. The claustrophobic scene I mention above with the escalating score (phone ringing, loud sister, forklift) is magnificent. I see 500-1000 movies a year and I’ve never seen anything like this. Watson has a storied history of playing the odd duck looking for love which is a little out of the norm (breaking the waves). The entire film is a dichotomy—formal point/count—we have the rage (car crash, breaking sliding glass door, beating up bathroom) and the adoration (Watson, harmonium, Chaplin dance). Blue atlas van lines truck- no mistake- blue lights when driving from the street, blue phone both. The silhouette kiss in Hawaii when they meet there is an absolutely masterful stunner of a shot/scene. Pink sky to open at dawn— blue/pink sky to close in Hawaii. Pink pant pajamas for Watson. Barry is difficult and obsessive (could tie into There will be blood). Beautiful Zoom-in on PSHI think it’s the best film of 2002, I think it’s a giant masterpiece, I think it changes how I feel about PT Anderson.
stylistic innovations/traits: He’s a stylistic chameleon. The mentor/mentee/protégé/father is in 5 of his 8 films—7 of the 8 set in California. We have Kubrickian dark-comedy moments and formal mastery. His visual style ranges from Goodfellas (Boogie Nights), Nashville (Magnolia) to a formally/visually impressive odd romance (PDL) to his “great American novel on film” (The Master and There Will Be Blood) which leans more Kubrick. Though it’s not P.T. Anderson’s true debut (Hard Eight), Boogie Nights marks the inauguration of a nearly unrivaled cinematic talent and would start a 20 year run where Anderson is the best director on the planet. The opening shot (a tour of the dance club) of Boogie Nights borrows from the Copacabana shot from Goodfellas, we also have shots (at least 3 scenes) of Dirk talking to himself in the mirror (from Raging Bull), and we have the I Am Cuba scene of the camera jumping into the pool in a long take (more so than The Graduate). Magnolia is Altman but with Charles Fort, exodus and the masonic, prophecy. The “Wise Up” Sing-a-long is a transcendently brilliant form-breaking moment. It’s ballsy but I love it. It’s one of the best filmmaking sequences in the decade. Equally ballsy is the choice to do the frogs—absolutely love it. I wrote about PDL and There Will Be Blood above then we go into The Master. In my studies I’ve rarely found another film that so rewards multiple viewings. I’m still working it out but Anderson’s films have an almost unparalleled penchant (maybe Kubrick… Tarkovsky) for cinematic layering—or formal layering or formal unpacking. I think I’m getting better and better as evaluator but clearly, as of 2012 I wasn’t getting it and I mainly praised this film for the performances (which are probably the best of the 2010’s decade). The formal rigor of the shot of the water… with the white wake from the boat… these are men adrift (a seaman/sailor—Freddie/phoenix), meets PSH on a boat, sings “slow boat to china” (about escaping—perhaps there’s some homosexual undercurrent here (AA seems to be holding PSH prisoner at this point)). The wake is the past. It’s one of the great formal openings in cinema history- we have PTA building Phoenix’s character just like DDL in There Will Be Blood and Sandler in PDL with the crash and the harmonium. Phoenix’s Freddie is primitive man. lost- the void. Shot of the helmet could be from Malick’s thin red line. He makes drinks (he does this at least 6 times in the movie), humps the sand lady, masturbates—women– (dream of everyone naked about half way through the film, the ending), hangs off the ship (stunning shot in 70mm).
top 10
- There Will Be Blood
- Magnolia
- Punch-Drunk Love
- Boogie Nights
- The Master
- Phantom Thread
- Inherent Vice
- Hard Eight
By year and grades
| 1996- Hard Eight | R |
| 1997- Boogie Nights | MP |
| 1999- Magnolia | MP |
| 2002- Punch Drunk Love | MP |
| 2007- There Will Be Blood | MP |
| 2012- The Master | MP |
| 2014- Inherent Vice | R/HR |
| 2017- Phantom Thread | MS |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
Boogie Nights (1997)
Notes:
Starts with shot of neon lit sign outside of night club and camera panning counter clockwise followed by a phenomenon tracking shot of Burt Reynolds character Jack Warner exiting car and entering club with Juliana Moore character
2:46 camera 360 in red and blue lit nightclub
3:08 Heather Graham roller girl makes entrance
3:57 camera zooms in on Mark Wahlberg character, Eddie, locking eyes with Jack Warner, this leads to first close up shots used
8:54 nice splitting of frame as Jack makes a drink
10:42 William H Macy plays a pathetic sap better than just about anyone as walks in on wife having sex with another man in his own bed and is relegated to the couch
12 min camera captures Eddie’s room
14:15 Don Cheadle’s character Buck working in electronic store
19:51 one of best shots, low angle shot with roller girl’s legs in foreground and Eddie in background
25:43 dissolve edit from Jack (his new parental figure) to his mother (his old one)
28:34 silhouette image of Jack and Eddie captured with doorway frame
29 min John C Reilly as Reed Rothchild is brilliant, hilarious conversation between Reed and Eddie about working out
31 min party sequence heating
33:40 camera follows party girl into pool under water shot
34:38 Reed underwater shot
36:10 slow motion shot of Wahlberg
40 min PSH makes entrance as Scotty J
Poor William H Macy…between this Fargo this guy plays a loser better than anyone
43:58 blue neon sign “Dirk Diggler”
50:45 slow zoom in on characters reacting to seeing Dirk Diggler for the 1st time
55:35 montage following Dirk’s first performance, the good times with everything going right and everyone happy
1:03:17 nice shot with Dirk accepting award with camera behind the stage, blue lighting dispersed
1:03:25 Brock Landers and Chest Rockwell series
1:08:50 Jack reaches his goal here “it’s a real film Jack”, this scene will have a counterpoint in the 2nd half
1:14:10 “I really care about you” a minute before introducing Dirk to Cocaine
1:17:30 close up profile shots recording Jack Warner and Philip Baker Hall’s character Floyd having heated conversation
1:22:55 tracking shot of William H Macy character seeing wife in bathroom with another man for the 3rd or 4th time in the film, great shot of him retrieving gun from vehicle and killing wife and man off screen
1:24:30 William H Macy suicide at New Year’s Party at the end of the 1970’s and serves as the films dividing point
1:33:45 low angle shot with red lighting as Dirk meets a young guy named Johnny that Jack is looking to bring on, Dirk shows signs of jealousy almost like he’s being replaced
1:34:50 increasing drug use
1:38:00 Dirk intense falling out with Jack
1:39:45 Dirk trying out music
1:41:57 camera quick zoom past Jack to Floyd watching on
1:42:08 camera zooms and pan erratically during another cocaine scene
1:49:40 counter scene to the one at 1:08:50 as Jack’s previous enthusiasm
1:53:00 Julianna Moore is great actress; you feel for her character’s pain upon losing custody of her child even if it was deserved
1:55:30 dark and foreboding music with two storylines, Dirk jumped by gang and then Jack and Roller Coaster driving in limousine looking men to shoot in video
2:00:53 low angle shot of roller coaster stomping on ex classmate
2:04:44 chain reaction violence resulting in multiple deaths and Buck with bag of cash, this is Coen Brothers level of fate
2:05:30 camera moving 360 around table as they prepare for drug robbery with Todd Parker (Thomas Jane) as the “mastermind”
2:12:08 Alfred Molina is perfect as drug dealer
2:12:45 Jessie’s Girl is such a great song for this scene
2:15:38 another explosion of violence
2:18:30 Dirk emotional return to Jack, asking for forgiveness
2:21:00 epilogue of sorts though not quite over, set to Beach Boys classic “God Only Knows”
2:25:30 Raging Bull inspired ending with Dirk talking in front of mirror before the famous dropping pants
Thoughts:
The Goodfellas comparisons make sense with the high energy, pop/rock soundtrack present throughout the film plus you have the classic rise and fall structure used in Goodfellas and other films like Scarface
PT Anderson’s song selections are on par with Scorsese and Tarantino, I really love the Jessie’s Girl scene, what a great song to use
The high energy 1st half is appropriately tuned down a bit in the 2nd half as drug addiction and other personal issues impact the lives of the characters
The first party sequence with the camera following characters underwater is one of my favorite scenes in any movie, just incredible film making
The subject matter might be tough for some, but I think real Cinephiles are not concerned
The technical brilliance is undeniable, but I also was impressed that PT Anderson makes you care for these characters who have trouble fitting into mainstream society
Humor for sure, the ridiculous statements and historical inaccuracies during the montage of Brock Landers and Chest Rockwell answering question
Verdict: MP
Starting PT Anderson Study
Hard Eight (1996)
Notes:
2:10 Starts with nice framing as Philip Baker Hall’s character, Sydney, approaches John C Reilly’s character, John, who is sitting outside of a diner
6:20 heavy use of close ups on faces throughout diner sequence
8:53 John accepts Sydney’s offer to teach him how to win gambling in Vegas
13:33 shallow focus in casino
22 min skips ahead 2 years
23:18 low angle shots frequent
24:58 nice low angle shot of Sam Jackson in red suit matching red ceiling
30 min camera gliding through casino floor
36:30 score turns haunting (I think its same score used in late sequence in Boogie Nights)
44 min the first appearance of PSH, here playing obnoxious to the max
1:03:54 the hostel situation probably goes on a little too long, but it does built tension effectively
1:15:35 Sam Jackson’s character Jimmy in his car speaking with Sydney
1:17:12 close up on Sam Jackson’s face right as conversation shifts toward blackmail
1:20:28 nice foreground/background work with Sydney as silhouette
1:29:14 phone call with father/son dynamic is common theme for PT Anderson
1:33:50 nice low angle shot of Jimmy leaving Casino with bright lights in background
1:36:44 bookend with same Diner from opening
Thoughts:
The solid debut effort from PT Anderson, obvious this is nothing compared to what is coming but he seems to get into his rhythm here and much of this cast will appear in many of his later films. I actually considered skipping this one, I am glad I did not even if its minor PT Anderson
The pacing is slow but effective as it shifts from drama/character study toward a thriller
The father/son dynamic is common theme for PT Anderson
Verdict: R
Seriously?? And what about Magnolia? i know for a fact that there will be blood is his best film, but i prefer magnolia than The Master. If magnolia is not on your top 2 is it at least on your top 5??
@Tozoco – I am not sure if your asking about the scores or the film overall so here are my rankings of his Films overall:
My ranking of PT Anderson Films
1. There Will Be Blood
2. The Master
3. Magnolia
4. Boogie Nights
5. Punch Drunk Love
6. Phantom Thread
7. Licorice Pizza
8. Inherent Vice
9. Hard Eight
The ones in bunches are really close in my opinion, I am fully confident in There Will Be Blood (2007) as much as I respect the others. Its his best film, best score, best single performance, best best best
The Master, Magnolia, and Boogie Nights are all really close though I was close to adding Punch Drunk Love as well. I am hoping to do a complete Study of his work after Kurosawa. But for now I am okay with this
* slight correction,
5. Punch Drunk Love
6. Phantom Thread
7. Licorice Pizza, is not really close to #5 and #6 here
8. Inherent Vice
9. Hard Eight
nice list! i personally would put the master lower but its debatable
@Tozoco – There Will Be Blood and Magnolia I was amazed with after my first viewing. If I were ranking these strictly by what I thought of them after a single viewing The Master (2012) would be near the bottom, it has skyrocketed from multiple viewings. Excited for rewatches for all of these soon.
Which pta’s movie , you guys think, has the best score? i personally prefer punch drunk love’s score
@Tozoco – that opening shot of the desert landscape in There Will Be Blood (2007) and the accompanying Jonny Greenwood score is my favorite opening music of any film aside from Raging Bull. There Will Be Blood and The Master would be my 2 picks, probably not coincidentally they are my 2 favorite PT Anderson films.
Seriously?? And what about Magnolia? i know for a fact that there will be blood is his best film, but i prefer magnolia than The Master. If magnolia is not on your top 2 is it at least on your top 5??
https://youtu.be/l86anOz0HCE
Only one acceptable answer for me
Hey, Drake! What is your opinion on Licorice Pizza? I know for a fact that it is not as good as There will be blood or Magnolia, but in your opinion is a HR or a R??
@Tozoco – Have it here on the 2021 page as a R/HR border https://thecinemaarchives.com/2022/04/01/2021/
Oh sorry, thank you! and one other question, why do you think boogie nights is better than The Master? i personally dont really have an opinion about it, but what about boogie nights makes you put it higher on your list, than The Master?
@Tozoco- They’re very close in quality. I have a page for Boogie Nights if you haven’t already had a chance to catch it that would explain the strengths of Boogie Nights. https://thecinemaarchives.com/2017/12/28/boogie-nights-1997-p-t-anderson/
Thank you very much, Drake!
Hard Eight HR
Boogie Nights MS
Magnolia MS
Punch Drunk Love MP
There Will Be Blood MP
The Master MP
Inherent Vice HR
Phantom Thread MP
@James Trapp- appreciate your help here
[…] 15. Paul Thomas Anderson […]
With a 2nd viewing and further time to let it sink in I think Licorice Pizza is quite an achievement for PTA.
It is not have the earth shattering impact of Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, or The Master. It is not as idiosyncratic as Punch Drunk Love.
I feel like this is PT Anderson’s Amarcord (1973) aka I remember. I am not saying this is necessarily autobiographical, I do not actually know that much of PT Anderson’s personal life growing up. But I don’t know that Amarcord was necessarily all that accurate to Fellini’s life growing up. I think what is more important is that Licorice Pizza like Amarcord, is created by or at the very least heavily influenced by nostalgia. The lead performances are terrific with some great supporting performances (loved Bradley Cooper’s character). By the films mood carries it more than anything else. It is about relatable experiences and feelings and different from anything else from PT Anderson; and I think this adds to PTA already amazing legacy.
Licorice Pizza – 1st viewing
After watching I felt the same day I felt watching Once Upon a Time in Hollywood; I kept waiting for something to happen to no avail. But once it ended I realized I really enjoyed it but didn’t know why I liked it. And to be clear this is not a criticism but rather an observation. The 1st time I saw Once Upon a Time, I liked but did not love it. I now love it and consider it one of Tarantino’s top 3 or 4 films. I am sure I will enjoy Licorice Pizza even more the 2nd time since that is usually how it goes for me with films from top level auteurs.
*felt the same way
Would you call me crazy if I say that I do consider The Master to be PTA’s best film? I think it is.
I’m not Drake, but I wouldn’t call you crazy at all. For me it’s a three-horse race between PDL, TWBB and The Master – and the latter could easily end up on top; it’s absolutely brilliant.
I agree with you completely. That’s my top 3 right there.
1. The master
2. TWBB
3. PDL
The reason I think the master is the best is that with this film he masters controlling time and space. Not a lot of directors are capable of doing this (WKW does it in in the mood for love).
Totally. And I think that, the more films I watch, the more I appreciate film form, and The Master excels at that – more so, in my opinion, than TWBB or PDL.
@M*A*S*H- Haha. I would not call you crazy
I know you haven’t yet made a decision yet Drake, but judging off the first viewing, leaning more towards HR, MS or MP?
@John – I think closest to HR here- anxious to see it again (hoping to before I do the 2021 page). And I have struggled with first viewings of PTA films in the past (from The Master to Punch-Drunk Love). I will admit I have several films from 2021 ahead of it.
What are your thoughts on Licorice Pizza, Mr. Drake?
@Jeff No. 2- I think I need to see it again– make of that what you will. What are your thoughts Jeff?
One of my favorite things about PTA’s movies is that: a lot of his movies are interpretations of some other movies that PTA clearly had as an inspiration, for example: There Will Be Blood is an interpretation of The Treasure of Sierra Madre, Boogie Nights Goodfellas, Magnolia Short Cuts, Inherent Vice The Big Lebowski…
It’s always fun to have more perspectives on a theme (greed, fame, interconnectivity…).
Quite some time to comment here but after studying PTA once again I believe his three latest films (The Master, Inherent Vice and Phantom Thread, haven’t seen Licorice Pizza) to be his strongest and he’s 90’s trilogy of features the weakest.
@Cinephile – you are saying that you consider the following 3
1996- Hard Eight
1997- Boogie Nights
1999- Magnolia
to be weaker than these 3?
2012- The Master
2014- Inherent Vice
2017- Phantom Thread
Hard 8 and Inherent Vice are the only 2 PTA films I don’t think much of, they have their moments for sure but overall I see them both as simple Recommends.
For the other 4 I would rank:
1. The Master, MP
2. Magnolia, MP
3. Boogie Nights, MP
4. Phantom Thread, MS/MP
Where do you rank There Will Be Blood and Punch Drunk Love
@James Trapp – Yes. I’d put Hard Eight at the bottom, followed by Magnolia and then Boogie Nights, my favorite of his 90’s features. I do believe that he became a big auteur when he arrived with Punch-Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood still remains his most epic masterpiece. But I think that, with The Master he perfected his style, and Inherent Vice and Phantom Thread fully justified this.
I’d probably rank them like this:
8. Hard Eight
7. Magnolia
6. Boogie Nights
5. Punch Drunk Love
4. There Will Be Blood
3-2-1. Can’t decide the order between The Master, Inherent Vice and Phantom Thread.
But if someone wants to put Punch Drunk Love or There Will Be Blood at the top, I wouldn’t argue, the top 5 films here are all exceptional.
@Cinephile – interesting, I have
1. There Will Be Blood (my # 5 all time so clear cut for me that this is his best)
2. The Master
3. Magnolia
4. Boogie Nights
5. Punch Drunk Love
all top 5 are MPs and #3-5 are very close
6. Phantom Thread a border line MP and while I don’t have it as high as you I like that its getting its due I think it gets overlooked by some people. It’s a gorgeous film and features 2 of the best performances in any PTA film (which is saying something)
7. Inherent Vice, R
8. Hard Eight, R
I should point out that I have only seen Inherent Vice and Hard Eight once each so I may do a rewatch soon before I check out Licorice Pizza.
PT, to people who spill a lot: paper towels
PT, to people who get injured a lot: physical therapy
PT, to cool people: Paul Thomas
Cannot wait to see Licorice Pizza, the reviews indicate this may be yet another MP. Fascinating to see Paul Thomas Anderson make a semi autobiographical film at this stage of his career. This certainly distinguishes this former wunderkind from Kubrick who while making MP after MP never really attempted anything like this. I do wonder if PTA will become the new Kubrick, making MPs every 5 to 7 years.
@James Trapp- I’m with you here- most anticipated of all the 2021 films I’ve yet to see for sure. No guarantees in life but a PTA film with a 90 on Metacritic feels like about as much as you can ask for.
1 – The Master (MP)
2 – There Will Be Blood (MP)
3 – Magnolia (MP)
4 – Boogie Nights (MP)
5 – Licorice Pizza (MS)
6 – Punch-Drunk Love (MS)
7 – Phantom Thread (MS)
8 – Inherent Vice (HR)
9 – Hard Eight (R)
@KidCharlemagne – Love to see The Master at #1, but woah MS for Licorice Pizza? What makes you put it above PDL?
Has anyone been able to catch Licorice Pizza already? It seems like I’ll only be able to see it on Christmas, but reviews are already coming and I’m waay too excited! It seems warmer, more crowd-pleasing than his latest films, but if its warm like Punch-Drunk Love, I’m totally in for it.
Very excited for the new film
Just watched There Will Be Blood again, lost track how many times. I’m not sure what I can add that has not already been said many times. But for PTA in general I was just thinking how much of an “American” Director he is which may sound obvious, yes he’s an American director but like one of his key processors and influencers, Robert Altman, his films seems to really target a certain degree of Americana. With TWBB and The Master he is obviously focusing on ambitious American businessmen/Con Artists. Boogie Nights is similar in its focus on a rag to riches story which you could argue is a representation of the “American Dream”. Phantom Thread is obviously a little different as the story is set in London although even that one still has a similar focus to The Master and TWBB with the megalomania even if the character isn’t actually an American.
Magnolia obviously has much in common with Nashville although not even Magnolia is quite as “Americana” as Nashville but none the less I think you get my point.
@James Trapp- I think Phantom Thread is his first and only not set in California as well.
@Drake – look forward to revisiting Phantom Thread, I think it’s the only one I have not watched in the last 2 years
@Drake – still not sure what I think about that title but those reviews are hard to ignore, I already saw Altman’s name mentioned so I am thinking this is back to the roots PTA…very excited.
Raves so far for the new PTA https://www.metacritic.com/movie/licorice-pizza?ref=hp
One question I tend to have regarding PTA is will he ever direct another film with a contemporary setting. The last one I think was Punch-Drunk Love.
@Remy- Yeah you are right- very interesting. Period pieces- whether its earlier in the 20th century (TWBB, The Master) or his favorite sort of 1970s (Boogie Nights, Inherent Vice, Licorice Pizza)… No idea would be my answer if you’re looking for one.
@Drake and Remy – What’s interesting to me about PTA is that, as is often said about Kubrick, I feel like many PTA films could have been set in a completely different timeframe (such as the modern day) and not been any different. I could imagine The Master made in modern times with perhaps a conspiracy theorist in the PSH role or TWBB just as similarly but probably replacing the Paul Dano pastor character with like an environmentalist activist; all the same I think I can imagine Magnolia in like post-WW2 America instead of contemporary times and not being all that different either.
Guys… it’s here.
https://youtu.be/mdN3tA6sxFY
Since I’m first in line to see this movie, anybody who comes here to post “Just saw this in theater! It was amazing!” before I do so myself is lying.
@Pedro- looks marvelous. Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper in small roles https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xxm54x
@Pedro – a coming of age film from PTA, intriguing…
Personally I’ve always held a special place for coming of age films as I’m admittingly a sucker for nostalgia although I do not think all coming of age films are driven by nostalgia. If fact, the greatest coming of age film ever made, The 400 Blows, in a prime example of this.
I’m not sure how I feel about the title. Fingers crossed it’s closer in quality to Boogie Nights than Inherent Vice.
Or at least that’s the title that’s been making the rounds online.