There Will Be Blood (2007)

A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.

Director:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Writers:

Paul Thomas Anderson (written for the screen by), Upton Sinclair (novel)

Stars:

Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciarán Hinds

Top Rated Movies #159 | Won 2 Oscars. Another 106 wins & 136 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

The intersecting life stories of Daniel Plainview and Eli Sunday in early twentieth century California presents miner-turned-oilman Daniel Plainview, a driven man who will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. He works hard but also takes advantage of those around him at their expense if need be. His business partner/son (H.W.) is, in reality, an "acquired" child whose true biological single-parent father (working on one of Daniel's rigs) died in a workplace accident. Daniel is deeply protective of H.W. if only for what H.W. brings to the partnership. Eli Sunday is one in a pair of twins whose family farm Daniel purchases for the major oil deposit located on it. Eli, a local preacher and a self-proclaimed faith healer, wants the money from the sale of the property to finance his own church. The lives of the two competitive men often clash as Daniel pumps oil off the property and tries to acquire all the surrounding land at bargain prices to be able to build a pipeline to the ...

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Plot Keywords:

oil | misanthrope | loss of hearing | false prophet | alcoholic | 

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Taglines:

There Will Be Greed. There Will Be Vengeance.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English American Sign Language

Release Date:

25 January 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Oil!

Filming Locations:

Shafter, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$302,845, 30 December 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$40,222,514

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$77,208,711

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Vantage,Miramax,Ghoulardi Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

158 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Daniel Day-Lewis based his voice for and characterization of Daniel Plainview in part on old recordings of the director, writer, and actor John Huston. An article by Christopher Goodwin in the Sunday Times (of London) revealed Paul Thomas Anderson sent Day-Lewis documentaries about Huston while Day-Lewis was preparing to play the role.

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Goofs

When H.W. shoots his double-barrel shotgun twice at some quail, there is no apparent recoil. Even the smaller-gauge shotguns will visibly "kick", especially if fired by a small child.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Plainview: I'm finished.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits, except for the title

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Connections

Referenced in Making 'Badlands' (2013)

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Soundtracks

Violin Concerto in D Major Op.77:3. Vivace Non Troppo
Composed by Johannes Brahms
Performed by Berliner Philharmoniker
Conducted by Herbert von Karajan
Solos by Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin) & Antonio Meneses (as António Meneses) (cello)
Courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

A Powerful Blow

Who is Paul Thomas Anderson? There is something about him that does't belong to this earth. That could be a compliment or not, it's all up to us. That's what make his cinema so damn unique. At the end of the day it's all up to us. But the abrasive way in which he visits universes and throws his views to us is so powerful, so arrogant, so enthralling, so infuriating that the experience leaves you baffled and suspicious. but also enchanted, transformed. Here, Daniel's saga could very well be the saga of a Hollywood maverick. So little time for sentimentality. Daniel Day Lewis seems to understand it all and he adds his unmistakable humanity to another monster, after his butcher in Gangs Of New York. His performance goes beyond anything we've seen recently anywhere. From Upton Sinclair to Paul Thomas Anderson via Daniel Day Lewis an unmissable work of art.