There Will Be Blood

This movie is as good as it gets in modern moviemaking. Daniel Day-Lewis, our greatest living actor, adds his greatest character portrayal yet to a seemingly unlimited range of characters past. He plays Daniel Plainview an oil wildcatter during the age of the post-Reconstruction "Robber Barons." Not all of the Robber Barons were financial wizards like Jay Gould or conniving accounting monopolists like John D. Rockefeller, unethically stealing the profits of the hard working entrepreneurs who made the great oil and mineral discoveries of the time. Daniel represents the driven, rugged individualist who resisted and defeated Rockefeller and the railroads' attempts to reap the fortune of his almost literally back-breaking efforts. But in his quest, struggle and ultimate financial success Plainview pays a heavy price. The brutal, ruthless life he leads to attain his ambition for wealth leaves him resembling more a denizen of nature than a resident of the human race. Whether he lost his soul in his childhood, in his quest, or never had one in the first place, is for the viewer to decide. The scene with his "brother", Henry, is truly chilling when Daniel first reveals his brutal, misanthropic nature. Only Daniel Day-Lewis could deliver such blood curdling dialogue in that scene; slowly, in a philosophical manner explaining to Henry his hateful feelings toward all others with a fatalistic smile on his face. He is a man comfortable in a skin in which many others would not be. Kevin J. O'Connor's portrayal of Henry is outstanding as a desperate soul who never betrays Daniel, and is as loyal as a brother, but dies at Daniel's hand. Daniel, as is shown throughout the movie, has a very perverse view of family and loyalty. The development of his relationship with his adoptive son, H.W., is the clearest view into Daniel's character and ultimately renders the final verdict on Daniel's lifelong quest for wealth. Daniel's hardened and embittered nature is never shown more pointedly, and brutally, than in his final scene with H.W. ("a [...]in a basket!"). It is the savagely destructive psychological counterpart to the physical destruction Daniel wreaks in the final scene with Eli Sunday, the "false prophet". Paul Dano as Eli Sunday, the greedy charismatic preacher, has received many accolades for his performance. It is good, though not as good as O'Connor's "Henry" or the young H.W. (Dillon Freasier). The main problem is not so much Dano's performance as his character's physical appearance. Day-Lewis ages slowly but markedly through the thirty-five year period of the movie. Dano, however, looks exactly the same age in the final confrontation in the bowling alley as he does when he first encounters Daniel at Eli's family dinner table. There is also a scene later in the movie, some time after the scene at the family dinner table, in which Daniel beats and humiliates Eli in front of others. It is almost a cinematic non-sequitur since the tension and rivalry between the two has not built to the point to justify the scene. Regardless, those two items of criticism are slight in the context of a truly great movie. The cinematography and the musical score lend greatly to its dark atmospherics. It is encouraging to see that it was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson whose previous undistinguished work includes the voyeuristically juvenile "Boogie Nights" and the embarrassing attempt at romantic comedy, "Punch Drunk Love". It does shows that an artist can grow beyond the exploitative and immature sides of Hollywood cinema as he matures. It undoubtedly helped Thomas to have Daniel Day-Lewis as the star, rather than an Adam Sandler. This is Day-Lewis's movie and he is the best. I have used the word "brutal" on a number of occasions in this review. The era of the Robber Barons was just that. This movie effectively conveys the history you may read about the era and the unforgiving state of nature that produced men like Daniel Plainview. As has been mentioned by other reviewers, the Plainview character is "loosely" based on a character named Vern Roscoe in the novel "Oil," written by Upton Sinclair. Sinclair's fictional character, in turn, was "loosely" based on a real person, named Edward L. Doheny. He is profiled in Wikipedia if you would like more information about him. All such "loose" associations are irrelevant in a great movie. Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis have produced a cinematic masterpiece. It will be considered a classic in due time because of the timelessness of its theme and the greatness of its performances. I'm finished.

Pure classic, a must own if you collect Blu-rays!

If you ever explore threads asking people to list the movies they find the most boring, you'll see that There Will Be Blood is often mentioned. I can understand why. The opening 14-and-a-half minutes doesn't contain any dialogue unless you count the occasional grunt or cry of pain. The score is often unsettling and unlike anything you would expect to hear. The pacing is slow and the film has plenty of painful scenes. The opening scene is set in 1898 and gives us immediate insight into the character of Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis). We see him working alone, prospecting for oil. It's a physically demanding occupation which is full of danger. One small lapse can cause a severe injury or even death. Plainview falls down a well shaft and breaks his leg, but discovers oil in the process. We then see him crawl backwards as he slowly makes his way into town to register the find. He's one of the most stubborn and driven characters you will ever see portrayed on film. In 1902, he's working with a group of men, and we are reminded again how dangerous the work is. A tiny mistake results in the death of a man and Plainview adopts his orphaned baby boy. The story jumps forward several years and we see Plainview and his adopted son, HW, attending a town meeting. Plainview has discovered that the region contains oil and we see him making an offer to extract the oil. His argument is calm, reasonable, and logical. He's quite a salesman. He talks of other offers the town may receive and why his own proposal is the best solution for everyone. We are given the impression that he knows what he's talking about and it's difficult to resist his offer. When Plainview is visited by Paul Sunday (Dano), the main part of the film begins. Paul offers to reveal the location of land rich in oil and he negotiates a price for the information. Plainview visits the town and finds that the information is accurate. He begins buying up all the available land. The film contains a power struggle between Plainview and Eli Sunday (also played by Dano). Eli becomes Plainview's enemy immediately by negotiating a higher price for his father's ranch than Plainview expected to pay. Eli is also the town's priest and he seeks power and recognition at every available opportunity. Plainview sees him as a fake and doesn't seem to have any religious beliefs of his own, but he's forced to bow to Eli's wishes on several occasions. I've barely touched on the plot, but I won't reveal any more. This is a sprawling story spanning several decades. It's one of the most intense character studies that I've ever seen. You'll see how Plainview relates to other people and his adopted son. He's a ruthless businessman and it's dangerous to cross him. In one scene, we hear his honest thoughts on society: "I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people." That last sentence is spoken with irony, but Plainview makes it clear that he understands his own true character. As the story progresses, we see what obsession and hatred can do to a man when it's maintained over a long period of time. My knowledge of film isn't as deep as you would expect for someone of my age. It's a relatively new obsession in my life. However, I believe that Daniel Day-Lewis delivers the best acting performance I have ever seen. I didn't doubt for a moment that he was a bitter, obsessed, driven man, capable of doing anything to bring him closer to his goals. Day-Lewis is in every scene and the film wouldn't have had the same impact without his astonishing performance. The technical aspects of the film are also superb. Jonny Greenwood's unusual score is particularly effective. One of my favorite moments happens during a drilling accident when the percussion increases in tempo as the scene unfolds. The cinematography is breathtaking at times. There's an early scene in which Plainview and HW approach the crest of a hill and the distant landscape is revealed. It's one of several moments of extreme beauty in the film. If the film has a fault, I would say that the final 20 minutes don't quite match the quality of the rest of the story. This closing sequence still works, and contains a few memorable moments, but the first two hours are close to perfect. If you enjoy character studies that aren't afraid to take the time to tell a story, There Will Be Blood might be your kind of film. If you need action and an upbeat conclusion, then it's probably not for you.

There is a reason that Daniel Day Lewis wins awards for his acting. This is one of them. His ability to 'become' the individual he portrays goes far beyond the job of being just an actor. He is an amazing actor, a true artist of his craft, and the films that grow out of his involvement become internationally recognized for good reason. This film is but one example.

I was quite surprised by this movie. It wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be about. Daniel Day Louis is excellent as the greedy and selfish Daniel Plainfield. The movie is different than I expect by the fact that there was such a rivalary between greed and religion. I don't know who the character of the young religious healer was but I hated him from the spot. He played an excellent roll because I could understand how he got under Daniel' skin. The realationship between Daniel and the boy and then his brother showed how he was nice to each one of them but when they did something against Daniel, Daniel got total revenge with no half measures. Daniel was never even interested in women because they were never as important as money. I like the fact that he was so independant and would not sell out to Standard Oil. I thought he was going represent a big oil conclomerate as opposed to an indivual. Which is why the movie worked so well because you had to wait and see who would get his sole. I like in the end that they showed who the charlaton really was and what he had to do to pay for it. Overall I think people who are independant will like this movie, it moves slow at first but it speeds up as it goes along. The extras on the DVD 2nd disk were interesting and stressed the conflict between religion and greed.

Fantastic, एपिक movie, Danielle de Luis as usual is great

Oh my goodness what a performance by Daniel Day-Lewis my god this guy is good with his acting skills hands bloody down.Wow you got to see this movie which is a true story by the way.i just can't believe there is only seventeen reviews of this movie man what ashamed.. "This is one epic American classic that should not be missed" Daniel Day-Lewis, gives the Academy Award Winning performance of his life, Daniel Plainview [Day-Lewis] and his son are independent oil men, prospecting through California at the turn of the 20th century, who was challenged by a young preacher, Eli Sunday played by [Paul Dano] which both men lives turn into an abyss, and a darkly-journey of madness, I have watched this movie So many Times, that the first time he meet the people to pitch his prospecting ideas, I think I can recite every word that was said, here's what was said,word for word, "Ladies and gentlemen, I traveled over Jist about half our state to get here this evenin'. I couldn't get away sooner, because my new well was a-comin' in at Lobos River, and I had to see about it.That well is now flowin' four thousand barrel, and payin' me an income of five thousand dollars a day, I got two others drilling', and I got sixteen producin' at Antelope. So, ladies and gentlemen if I say I'm an oil man, you got to agree, "You got a great chanct here, ladies and gentlemen; but bear in mind, you can lose it all if you ain't carful, out of all the fellers that beg you for a chanct to drill your land, maybe one in twenty will be oil men; the rest will be speculators, fellers tryin' to get between you and the oil men. to get some of the money that ought by rights come to you, Even if you find one that has money, and the means to drill, he'll maybe know nothin' about drillin', and have to hire out the job on contract- and then you're trying to rush the job through, so as to get to another contract jist as quick as he can. But, ladies and gentlemen, I do my own drillin', and the fellers that work for me are fellers I know, I make it my business to be there and to see to their work. I don't lose my tools in the hole, and spend months a-fishin'; I don't botch the cementin' off, and let water into the hole, and ruin the whole lease, And let me tell you, I'm fixed right now like no other man or company in this field, Because my Lobos River well has jist come in, I got a string of tools all ready to put to work, I can load a rig onto trucks, and have them here in a week, I've got business connections, so I can get the lumber for the derrick-- such things go by friendship,in a rush like this, That's why I can guarantee to start drillin'; and put up the cash to back my work, I assure you whatever the others promise to do, when it comes to the showdown, they won't be there. Runtime 158 Minutes. Widescreen 2.40:1 5.1 Surround Master Audio.

Wahnsinnig betörende, faszinierende aber auch ganz dreckige Kinobilder, die so nachhaltig wirken dürften, wie die unvergessenen Bilder in Malicks "Glut des Südens" : Der Oscarprämierte Kameramann Robert Elswitt zeigt dem Zuschauer ein noch unerschlossenes, weites und erhabenes Land nach dem Sieg gegen die Ureinwohner: Trockene Öde, steinige Prärie, herbstliche Wälder. Die zweite Teil der Eroberung wird eingeleitet. Inmitten dieser wunderbaren, teils sehr spröden Landschaft agiert der Ölmann Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day Lewis). Reiner Zufall, denn er hat 1898 nach Silber gegraben und stösst überraschend auf Öl. Er kann Geld damit machen und betätigt sich fortan mit seinem kleinen Sohn (Dillon Freasier) als kleines Familienunternehmen in Sachen Ölbohrungen. Als ein Farmerjunge ihm von einer noch unerschlossenen Ölquelle im Hinterland der USA berichtet, kauft er Grundstück um Gründstück zu Spottpreisen von den vielen armen und extrem religiösen Farmerfamilien auf und beginnt mit den Bohrungen. Dies wird der Sprung vom Unternehmen zum Grosskapitalisten....mit allen Begleiterscheinungen. Paul Thomas Andersons oscarprämierter Film ist eine gallige und morbide Abhandlung über diese erstrebenswerten Ziele des Menschen, Reichtum und Macht, der die Menschen auf diesem Weg dorthin natürlich verändert und sie gierig werden lässt. Demgegenüber stellt er den um 1900 bis heute ständig erstarkten christlichen Fundamentalismus im Land der unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten mit einem jungen, charsmatischen Prediger, Eli Sunday (Paul Franklin Dano, bekannt aus Little Miss Sunshine), der sich vom unscheinbaren, gottesfürchtigen Farmerjungen zum bigotten, demagogischen Hassprediger ebenso wie Plainview wandelt. Der Film spukt auf die Verklärung der Gründerjahre und lässt diese zwei amerikanischen Werte "Money and God" aufeinanderprallen, führt sie in Kombination als verlogene und unglückmachende Zweckgemeinschaft vor. Durch die heutigen Ereignisse um Öl, Terror, Wirtschaftskrisen, Börsencrash und dem Fehlen von wahrhaftigen moralischen Instanzen ein hochaktuelles und spannendes Thema. Andersons Film zeigt uns die Anfänge des Kapitalismus ab 1900. Als die Bodenschätze gierig erschlossen wurden und der Grundstein gelegt wurde, dass die USA zur grössten und reichsten Weltmacht mit "Gottes Segen" werden konnte. Einer der grossen Filme des Jahres, in der epischen und suggestiven Machart ein bisschen mit "die Ermordung des Jesse James" verwandt - lediglich einen Tick näher am Puls der Zeit. Nach "Last Exit Reno", "Boogie Nights" und "Magnolia" ein weiteres, grandioses Kino des jetzt schon legendären Directors. Vielleicht sogar sein Meisterwerk.

Una película ,que todavía no la he visto,pero la he chequeado capítulo a capítulo.y se ve y de olle de fábula .una copia muy buena sin grano aparente,ni siquiera en las sombras

More than an epic tale of an early 20th Century oilman, this is a fascinating study of the greed for power and what it does to a man. We meet Daniel Plainview down the bottom of a mine, exerting himself in mind-numbingly monotonous and backbreaking work, looking for gold or silver. He is a man willing to endure pain and humiliation to grasp more money, or more power. As he quickly moves from gold to black gold, he becomes more powerful, and his ruthlessness and underhandedness become more and more apparent, combined with the charisma required to persuade landowners to part with the mineral rights of their property. We learn about how he sees other people when he adopts a boy who he finds useful to put a kind face on his activities, and how he treats a man appears claiming to be his half brother. The movie kicks into gear though when he meets an equally power hungry man in the unlikely form of the young faith healer and preacher, to whom he takes a seemingly instant dislike. With the relationships with these three characters, we see his dilemna- his power is only something if he can pass it on, but when he sees only the worst in other people, how can he? Who will be worthy of the three to take on his mantle..? The style of the movie has some stunning direction which tells us much of the story through scenes and images, rather than words, yet this is married with an intelligent, absorbing and uncompromising script. The music is daringly inventive, although with me the jury is out whether it is a success or a distraction. Daniel Day-Lewis turns in yet another 100% authentic and believable performance, creating a chilling and yet at times charismatic character, and Paul Dano is remarkable as the young preacher. Sure, women are given little to no role in the story, and it is unremitting in its bleakness, at times feeling like it has been designed to within an inch of its cinematic life. It's not going to be to everyone's taste.. However the authenticity, stunning performances and script that demands the viewer engage in some thought, have created what might just be a bona fide masterpiece, even with its flaws.