When I came up with the idea of doing these run-throughs during the pandemic, I made a rough list in my head of the different ones I thought might be neat to do. Pixar and the Walt Disney Animated films were obvious choices. Miyazaki also came up pretty early, and with the release of HBO Max that a more feasible idea for a run-through. I was set with animated films, but I needed some live action filmmakers to run through as well. There’s a lot of directors I thought would be interesting for this, and several of them are still on my list for later on, but the first three were clear to me. The first two (The Coen Brothers and Wes Anderson) I’ve already written about. The third is Paul Thomas Anderson.
As of the time of this newsletter, P.T. Anderson (PTA) has only directed eight films, so it was a pretty quick run through. Even still, it was interesting to watch how his film-making developed across his filmography. His first film, Hard Eight, is often overlooked given the other films, but it’s a pretty good debut.
His second, Boogie Nights, is mostly known for a certain prosthetic appendage of Mark Wahlberg’s, but it’s also a very good film. It’s also overstuffed, wears its influences on its sleeves, and messy at times. But it also has scenes like this:
My favorite movie of his is Magnolia, a three hour long film with a sprawling cast and a lot of things going on. Now I love the movie, but I can understand if its just too much for other people. The feelings are big, the acting is big, and it’s full of scenes with so much tension. And that’s before the frogs show up. Here’s the main characters singing along to Aimee Mann’s “Wise Up”*, which is something that happens in the film. If that’s too much for you, you will not like this movie.
As he moved forward, however, he kept growing and changing as a director, and his films changed with him. He followed up Magnolia with Punch-Drunk Love, a kind of romantic comedy that gave Adam Sandler one of his best roles. Although not my favorite, it has its own charm, and a great turn by Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Mattress Man of Provo.
From there he moved on to There Will Be Blood, a film with a harsh and sparse look that fits a harsh man like Daniel Plainview and the sparse landscape that surrounds his oil wells. It’s also the film with that memorable final scene that everyone remembers for the line about drinking one’s milkshakes.
So how do you follow that up? By making The Master of course! It’s arguably his best film, and amongst other things is a showcase for acting, particularly Amy Adams, Joaquin Phoenix, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Look, I know I’m going out on a limb here, but the late Philip Seymour Hoffman was a great actor. He was in all but one of PTA’s films from Hard Eight through The Master. Some of the roles were small but memorable, others important supporting roles. But it was Lancaster Dodd in The Master that was his largest, and best role. Here’s one of the best scenes of the film, a scene where Dodd is giving Phoenix’ Freddie Quell “informal processing”.
Of all the films during this run-through, The Master is the one that moved the farthest up my list. Maybe it was because I was watching it with a friend, or maybe because I was giving it my full attention as opposed to previous efforts. But it’s a wonderful film, with so many beautiful shots. So many of them go very deep into the background, and nothing is out of place in them.
From there, PTA made Inherent Vice, a film based on Thomas Pynchon’s novel of the same name. It’s a great film, and is a rare film where I think the voiceover (in this case by Joanna Newsom) actually helps the film. Also, it’s the only film of his that his long time partner Maya Rudolph is in.
His most recent film was Phantom Thread, his second film starring Daniel Day Lewis, this time as a fussy dress maker in 1950s London. Now, that might sound pretty stuffy and not at all interesting, but its a great film that will make you think twice about asking for mushrooms with your omelettes. Now here’s a scene that has nothing to do with mushrooms, and everything to do with squirming at the awkwardness.
I know this has been a video clip heavy newsletter, but it’s hard not to with PTA’s films. If you haven’t watched any of his films, or still need to catch up on some of them, I highly recommend it. Although be warned that long, tense scenes that just keep building the tension are common, so if that’s not something you want to watch right now, I’d look elsewhere.
On to the list!
The Films of Paul Thomas Anderson, Ranked
There’s no categorization with these, the list is pretty short and all of them I’d rank at the least very good.
8. Hard Eight
7. Inherent Vice
6. Punch-Drunk Love
5. Boogie Nights
4. Phantom Thread
3. There Will Be Blood
2. The Master
1. Magnolia
* Obviously, there isn’t a pandemic going on in Magnolia and they aren’t practicing social distancing, but it would work really well as a scene from 2020 as it is.