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 | 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 | Greed

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 56 wins & 52 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 27	2:30 PM	SHOW
Sun. Dec. 6	11:15 PM	TMC

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)

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 | Sweden:15 | Denmark: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:

In the summer of '06, during filming, a photographer snapped an onset photo of a person they believed to be Daniel Day-Lewis, albeit with a great deal of physical alterations. The photo appeared used on various film websites and in magazines as an example of how drastically Day-Lewis had changed himself for the role. Upon viewing the film and applying common sense, it turns out, this person was NOT, in fact, Daniel Day-Lewis; it was instead actor Vince Froio, who portrayed Plainview's "closest associate" at the end of the film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the early scenes where the two miners are hauling buckets up the wells, a modern day "bow" shackle is used to hold the bucket to the rope.

Quotes:

Eli Sunday: Oh, Daniel, please... I'm in desperate times. I need a friend... I feel the walls closing in. I've sinned! I need help! I'm a sinner! I've let the Devil grab hold of me in ways I never imagined! I'm so full of sin.
Plainview: The Lord sometimes challenges us, doesn't he?
Eli Sunday: Oh yes he does! Yes he does! Oh! He's completely failed to alert me to the recent panic in our economy and this! I must have this! I've invested... my investments have... Oh, Daniel, I won't bore you, but I... If I could grab the Lord's hands for help I would, but he does these things all the time, these mysteries that he presents and while we wait, while we wait... wait for his word...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Henry Rollins Show: Paul Thomas Anderson/Aimee Mann (#1.7)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Violin Concerto in D Major Op.77:3. Vivace Non Troppo

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.