Rating:

There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest, is a film that I felt belonged almost instantaneously in the category of masterpiece upon first viewing. Based on Upton Sinclair’s novel, Oil!, Anderson has changed the focus from corporate and political injustice to the study of the psychology and sheer will of one man who was willing to risk everything for an empire. But quite frankly, I have a feeling we wouldn’t still be marveling at TWBB if it had gone unchanged.

The approach Anderson took to creating his tale of greed, ambition and ego was a very interesting one to take for a director so early in his film making career. More specifically, I had no idea Kubrick was still alive and directing. As is made very evident by the 10+ minute opening scene, which is comprised of poker-faced shots accompanied by nerve-shredding music, Anderson wears his influences quite proudly on his sleeve.

TWBB that really makes it stand out as a film people will have endless discussions about. You see, the film itself is actually quite minimalistic, in that it basically revolves around one man and his view of civilization. But, this is a story that can’t exactly be described and contained so easily. Much like Daniel Day Lewis’ portrayal of Daniel Plainview, TWBB has a larger than life presence, bringing to light so many different topics and emotions, that you can’t possibly believe a film could so elegantly make it all relatable and relevant.

It’s a story about the beginning of corporate America (of which Plainview is the embodiment of) and its enemy, corporate Christianity. It’s about survival of the fittest (and how Plainview just happens to think he is the fittest). It’s about the American myth of the self-made man, who answers to know one and knows the certainty of his successful future.

But none of these views or this film could have been pulled off without a larger than life character such as Daniel Plainview. Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance is the stuff legends are made of (which when thinking of Plainview, is entirely appropriate). If unsubtle acting is wrong, I don’t ever want to be right. Lewis practically chews his way through oil lines and hymns to bring us this career defining film. From the opening line of “Ladies and Gentlemen” to the closing line of “I am finished”, his performance is so powerful and commanding, you will feel as thought Plainview is speaking directly to you. Hell, he even scared away the actor originally playing Eli Sunday because of his presence and Anderson changed the script to have the two Sunday brothers be twins so Paul Dano could play both.

Johnny Greenwood’s score and Robert Elswit’s cinematography really compliment the horrific and haunting aspects of Daniel’s outlook on life. He certainly isn’t remorseful about anything and does what is necessary for his and only his survival and both of these men’s work picks up on the subtext and tone of the film perfectly.

It’ll be interesting to see where Anderson goes from here. TWBB is a very loud stylistic change from his previous work. I just hope that Anderson’s willingness to try something drastically different doesn’t somehow turn into an excuse to try to constantly top himself, especially in the character-study department.

The Story of Petroleum (25:36): An B&W silent film about the oil business in the 1920s set to Greenwood’s score. I can see why it was included on the disc (you can tell they used this film as a basis for a lot of the terminology and historical accuracy in the film), though I will say I found it fairly uninteresting and would only recommend it if you’re really into the history of oil in the U.S.

15 Minutes (15:26): It’s production stills and archival photos (used to research the sets, costumes, etc.) set to Johnny Greenwood’s score… for 15 minutes.

Trailers (3:33): Self-explanatory.

“Fishing” Sequence (6:15): A deleted scene featuring a worker explaining what “fishing” is (as it pertains to oil drilling) and Daniel speaking to a member of Eli’s church. I can see why the first part was cut out with, as there were already plenty of other problem’s with Daniel’s oil rig in the town, but the second part is a really great moment of showing the lack of faith Daniel has in Eli and his church. OK, I’m going to say I’m a little biased with this scene because Lewis was pure gold in this whole film… so basically anything with him doing his thing should have been left in.

Haircut / Uninterrupted Hymn (3:15): Another deleted scene featuring HW giving Daniel a haircut and then a flashback. I’m not exactly sure where this scene was suppose to have taken place during in the film but no matter where I try to place it, it would break up the flow of the film. Hence, its status as a deleted scene.

Dailies Gone Wild (2:47): A uninterrupted take of Daniel and HW, with in the local restaurant, talking with the men from Standard. From the title of the extra, I was really hoping this was a collection of bloopers. It’s a rather unfocused improvised bit, which is interesting, if only to see what direction the film could have gone in.

I actually watched TWBB on standard definition so I do have something to compare it to and yes, it is outstanding. The video on the disc is probably the best transfer I’ve seen on a Blu-Ray so far (aside from Blade Runner). There were quite a few scenes on the standard definition release that were darker than they should have been and it is cleaned up quite nicely here. I could literally see every grain of sand and every drop of oil clearly defined.

Aside from the great difference in video quality, it isn’t in a paper case like the original releases, which is fantastic. I don’t care if its suppose to look like a Bible (or whatever it was they were going for), it looked weird on a shelf and wasn’t a very safe case for a DVD. Plus, paper cases break and show wear way too easily. So, there is that to be thankful for.

The extras, identical to those on the original two-disc release, are pretty lackluster. The extras seems to be placed on here randomly, with very little thought being put into them. There is no real insight into the making of the film present on the release and no commentary. The commentary is more understandable, since most truly great tracks are recorded years after the fact, when a filmmaker has enough time to deeply reflect on the film and reminisce (though I will be honest, Anderson has put commentaries on his other films and those releases seem to have had a lot of input from him and other creative talent working on said productions). But, the lack of a “making of” feature is really disappointing. For a film that was highly, highly praised during its theatrical run and got nominated for numerous awards, you’d figure we’d get something a little better than some production stills set to music and a silent film that isn’t all that interesting. Hopefully, a double dip 10 years down the line for the “anniversary” release will fix these problems.

Despite the problem I have with the extras, TWBB is an example of great film making (something we don’t see too often anymore) and even greater cinematography and for those reasons alone, I’d recommend picking up the Blu-Ray.