{"id":1933,"date":"2008-07-10T01:02:15","date_gmt":"2008-07-10T00:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/?p=1933"},"modified":"2008-07-12T01:46:29","modified_gmt":"2008-07-12T00:46:29","slug":"dvd-pick-there-will-be-blood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2008\/07\/10\/dvd-pick-there-will-be-blood\/","title":{"rendered":"DVD Pick: There Will Be Blood"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>There Will Be Blood<\/a><\/strong> was one of the finest films of last year – a bold and mesmerising drama charting the rise of an oil man in the early years of the 20th century.<\/p>\n Daniel Day Lewis<\/a> won the Best Actor Oscar<\/a> for his stunning central performance – the driven and obsessive Daniel Plainview, who starts off as a silver miner before slowly establishing himself as a hugely successful oil prospector.<\/p>\n For writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson<\/a> it was yet another marvellous addition to his already dazzling filmography (which now includes Hard Eight<\/a>, Boogie Nights<\/a>, Magnolia<\/a> and Punch-Drunk Love<\/a>).<\/p>\n But this was an unusual departure for him – unlike his last three films it is away from his usual San Fernando Valley<\/a> setting, eschews most of his favourite actors (such as John C Reilly<\/a>, Philip Seymour Hoffman<\/a>, Julianne Moore<\/a>) and has a haunting, other-worldly feel to it.<\/p>\n A lot of this mood is created by Jonny Greenwood<\/a>‘s unusual and innovative score, which was shamefully disqualified for Oscar recognition.<\/p>\n The film also saw Anderson re-team with cinematographer Robert Elswit<\/a>, who won the Oscar for his remarkable visuals<\/a> in a particularly strong year.<\/p>\n Technically, the film is quite astonishing with Jack Fisk<\/a>‘s meticulous production design, David Crank<\/a>‘s art direction and Dylan Tichenor<\/a>‘s clever editing all of the highest order.<\/p>\n Revisiting the film again on DVD is interesting, as the bold narrative jolts and intensity subside to deeper feelings about the themes of the film.<\/p>\n Although viewers may have theories on the film tied in with America’s current adventures in the Middle East, Anderson doesn’t deal in clumsy metaphors but instead creates a compelling take on America’s obsession with oil, money and business.<\/p>\n Given how outstanding the actual film is, it is a little disappointing that this 2-disc special edition is lacking a little in features.<\/p>\n For the third time running, Anderson has chosen not to record a commentary. Perhaps he feels it should ‘speak for itself’, but given the excellence of his commentary on the marvellous R1 Boogie Nights DVD<\/a> his audio absence is still sorely missed.<\/p>\n That said, what is here is still very good. The feature takes up the first disc and the transfer of the film is superb – the colours, lighting and sound are all wonderfully reproduced.<\/p>\n But the extras on the second disc – whilst interesting – are a little sparse given the importance of this film.<\/p>\n They include:<\/p>\n Strangely, Buena Vista Home Entertainment<\/a> (the UK distributor) have gone for a rather odd packaging which consists of folded card.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Although the design is nice, the way the discs slide out like an envelope doesn’t seem too practical in the long term.<\/p>\n Despite that, maybe we can hope for a beefed up special edition somewhere down the line. Until then, this remains an essential purchase for any true film lover.<\/p>\n To conclude, here is PTA discussing the film last September when it had a surprise world premiere at Fantastic Fest<\/a> in Austin, Texas<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n