There Will Be Blood (2007)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Writers (WGA):

Paul Thomas Anderson (screenplay)
Upton Sinclair (novel)

Release Date:

11 January 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

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:

Oil | Land | Prospector | California | Money

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 54 wins & 51 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 H.W. Plainview
Stockton Taylor	...	Baby H.W. Plainview
Paul F. Tompkins	...	Prescott
Dillon Freasier	...	Young H.W. Plainview
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)
Petróleo sangriento (Argentina) (Mexico) [es]
Нефть (Russia) [ru]
Az na krev (Czech Republic) [cs]
Az poleje sie krew (Poland) [pl]
Bice krvi (Serbia) [sr]
Bit ce krvi (Croatia) [hr]
Cierna krv (Slovakia) [sk]
Haverá Sangue (Portugal) (literal title) [pt]
Il petroliere (Italy) [it]
Il y aura du sang (Canada: French title) [fr]
Kan dökülecek (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Pozos de ambición (Spain) [es]
Sangue Negro (Brazil) [pt]
Tha hythei aima (Greece) [el]
There Will Be Blood (France) [fr]
There Will Be Blood (Germany) [de]
Vérzö olaj (Hungary) [hu]
Veri hakkab voolama (Estonia) [et]

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 | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

El Mirage Dry Lake, California, USA

Company:

Ghoulardi Film Company

Trivia:

Director Paul Thomas Anderson owns a vintage 1910 Pathe camera which contains a special 43mm lens. The lens was specially modified to be used in the film as it has very low resolution and can shift colors at corners. Only certain shots of the film used this lens; for example a shot of Plainview sleeping in the train with an infant H.W.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the final scene in the bowling alley, Eli pours drinks for himself and Daniel Plainview. Daniel however refuses the drink so Eli sets Daniel's drink and an empty glass behind him. As they converse, Eli drinks from his glass until Daniel orders him to stand up so that he can yell that he is a false prophet. As he stands, Eli takes one last sip of his drink without finishing it and sets it down about a quarter full besides the other two glasses. On the next shot when the glasses are visible over Eli's shoulder, we can see Daniel's untouched drink and two empty glasses whereas Eli's drink was still about a quarter full when he put it down.

Quotes:

Eli Sunday: How is all the work coming?
Plainview: Everything's good.
Eli Sunday: All the men are provided for?
Plainview: Of course.
Eli Sunday: Spirit's seem high. Is there... anything that you need from me? Anything the church can do for you?
Plainview: I don't believe so, no. Thank you.
Eli Sunday: I understand you've asked the people to gather round and watch the well begin tomorrow, is that right?
Plainview: That's right.
Eli Sunday: I will bless the well. Before you begin, you should introduce me. You'll see me walk up towards the oil well, and...
Plainview: The derrick.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Soundtrack:

There Is Power in the Blood

Stunning

This film raises the game for everyone out there. I have loved all of Paul Thomas Anderson's work, including his greatly underrated Punch-Drunk Love, but this is a huge leap from any of the previous movies into a realm, as others have said, inhabited by classics such as Treasure of the Sierra Madre - and then some. Every element of this film is astonishing, from the opening twenty minutes, which feature virtually no dialog, to Jonny Greenwood's score, which I have heard criticized as too imposing but which seems just about perfect to me (and brings to mind the non-Blue Danube elements of 2001 at its most experimental). Daniel Day-Lewis' performance is in a league of its own: his voice, his mannerisms, his physical movement, his stunted emotions, are flesh and blood, and hauntingly so, in a way that even Tommy Lee Jones in In The Valley of Elah (which I thought was a pretty staggering performance) can't quite attain. I will watch this film again and again simply to see something so raw and so moving and so gut-wrenching. This is why I love movies; this is what made me want to make movies when I was fourteen years old.