There Will Be Blood (2007)

Director:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Writers (WGA):

Paul Thomas Anderson (screenplay)
Upton Sinclair (novel)

Release Date:

11 January 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

When Ambition Meets Faith

Plot:

A story about family, greed, religion, and oil, centered around a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.

Plot Keywords:

Milkshake | Drunkard | California | Oil | No Opening Credits

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 47 wins & 41 nominations

Cast

Daniel Day-Lewis	...	Daniel Plainview
Martin Stringer	...	Silver Assay Worker
Matthew Braden Stringer	...	Silver Assay Worker
Jacob Stringer	...	Silver Assay Worker
Joseph Mussey	...	Silver Assay Worker
Barry Del Sherman	...	H.B. Ailman
Harrison Taylor	...	Baby HW
Stockton Taylor	...	Baby HW
Paul F. Tompkins	...	Prescott
Dillon Freasier	...	HW
Kevin Breznahan	...	Signal Hill Man
Jim Meskimen	...	Signal Hill Married Man
Erica Sullivan	...	Signal Hill Woman
Randall Carver	...	Mr. Bankside
Coco Leigh	...	Mrs. Bankside

Also Known As:

Oil! (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence.

Runtime:

158 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | American Sign Language

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:15A | USA:R (certificate #43414) | Czech Republic:15 | Norway:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | France:U (with warning) | Australia:M | Denmark:15 | South Africa:16LV | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:15 (re-rating on appeal) | Austria:16 | Malaysia:U | New Zealand:R13 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Sweden:15 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Finland:K-13 | South Korea:15 | Hong Kong:IIA | Brazil:14 | Germany:12 | Argentina:13 | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Taiwan:R-12 | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:16 | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Greece:K-13 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB)

Filming Locations:

El Mirage Dry Lake, California, USA

Company:

Ghoulardi Film Company

Trivia:

According to a 2007 interview with Paul Dano on the NPR radio show “Fresh Air with Terry Gross”, the scene where Plainview is baptized by Eli (where Eli slaps him several times) was shot the day after the scene in which Plainview threatens to bury Eli (and slaps him around).

Goofs:

Continuity: In the bowling alley scene, Eli is clearly visible placing Daniel's refused drink above the center panel on the paneled divider. After the cutaway to Daniel, the drink is not above the center panel, but above the panel adjacent to the center one.

Quotes:

Plainview: I'm going to bury you underground, Eli.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Saturday Night Live: Tina Fey/Carrie Underwood (#33.5)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

A film that will leave film-goers pondering for a long time

PT Anderson delivers perhaps his best work with "There Will Be Blood". Unlike "Magnolia", the film's daunting runtime is not very daunting whilst watching it. All acting in the film was solid, even the work of the child actors. Daniel Day-Lewis in particular delivered a truly phenomenal performance, capturing the power of greed, fear, insanity, and comedy simultaneously, at many points throughout the film. At no point does the time period distract from the power of the film. Sometimes period pieces cannot be appreciated because they delve too deep into historical details -- turning the experience into more of a documentary than a narrative set in the past. This is not the case for "There Will Be Blood", as human interactions are the focus of the film. Johnny Greenwood's chilling score is very strong, benefiting from the elegant minimalism that he show's in the band Radiohead. The cinematography is also spectacular. Robert Elswit beautifully captures the essence of the environment and the tension amongst the characters. All in all, this is truly a perfectly crafted film.