Tag Archives: Paul Thomas Anderson

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Song of the Day #4,865: ‘Future Markets’ – Jonny Greenwood

If one film in Paul Thomas Anderson’s body of work will go down in history as an undisputed masterpiece, it is 2007’s There Will Be Blood. The movie showed up on more decade-end “best of the 00s” list than any other title, cementing its legacy just a few years after its release. Ten years later, its reputation has only grown.

This is Anderson’s first adaptation (the film is loosely based on Upton Sinclair’s 1926 novel Oil!) and his first film to not tap into his typical stable of actors. There’s no John C. Reilly or Philip Baker Hall. No Philip Seymour Hoffman or Luis Guzman. Instead, he joined forces with the legendary Daniel Day Lewis and 23-year-old Paul Dano to craft a story about two men battling for the soul of America in the 1900s.

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Song of the Day #4,864: ‘He Needs Me’ – Shelly Duvall

Punch-Drunk Love (2002) marks a clear dividing line in the filmography of Paul Thomas Anderson. It is unlike anything he made before or after, and it seems to have broken him out of old habits and helped him forge a vision entirely his own.

On the three films before this one, Anderson wore his influences on his sleeve, delivering his spin on the styles of Scorsese, Tarantino, Altman and Demme. Punch-Drunk Love is his first film that feels in no way derivative.

That doesn’t make it a better movie than its predecessors, necessarily, but it makes it a key step in the maturation of one of our greatest auteurs.

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Song of the Day #4,863: ‘Save Me’ – Aimee Mann

Boogie Nights bought Paul Thomas Anderson enough creative capital to do whatever the hell he wanted on his next film, and he spent every penny of it. He delivered 1999’s Magnolia, a 3+ hour melodrama that follows a dozen main characters and culminates in a rain of frogs.

This is a glorious, full-hearted mess of a movie. It could easily lose 20-30 minutes (something Anderson himself now admits) and yet its grand ambition is one of its greatest charms. And as a time capsule of Anderson’s early development as an auteur, I’m glad it exists in its fascinating, imperfect original form.

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Song of the Day #4,862: ‘Mama Told Me (Not to Come)’ – Three Dog Night

A year after his debut, Paul Thomas Anderson made a major splash with 1997’s Boogie Nights, garnering critical accolades and year-end awards. His trajectory reminds me a lot of that of Wes Anderson, who followed the modest, low-budget Bottle Rocket with Rushmore, one of his most celebrated films.

Boogie Nights is a blast of creative energy so brazen it’s hard to believe Anderson was in his mid-20s when he made it. The sheer number of cinematic techniques on display here is dizzying, and it’s all stitched together with such confidence and bravado.

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Song of the Day #4,861: ‘Sydney’s Work Walk 1996’ – Jon Brion

Last month I posted about the filmography of Wes Anderson, one of my favorite filmmakers, in advance of his upcoming movie The French Dispatch.

This month, I turn my attention to another Anderson, and another of my favorite filmmakers — Mr. Paul Thomas Anderson, whose coming-of-age dramedy Licorice Pizza comes to theaters in late November.

Once again, I will write a bit about each film and then offer up my ranked list of Anderson’s films, noting how those rankings have shifted since I last ordered his filmography.

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