comment #1

MAGGA says ...

Man how I adore PTA. And no, Magnolia doesn't go on for two long, I've watched it up to three times in a day and find it one of the most perfectly paced films ever made, and atmopherically up there with Mulholland Drive and E.T. How long is it since you last saw it? Because we were all a lot more impatient with movies back in 99 (imagine Zodiac or Jesse james or Inland Empire or Blood released back then)

comment #2

actionman says ...

Five films. Five masterworks. I can't wait for the moment when PTA wins his best director statue at the Oscars; it'll happen...down the road.

comment #3

Geoff says ...

"Do you think the bass is taking away from the vocal?"

comment #4

jackfly11 says ...

This mash-up reminds me of two things:

1. How badly I need to rewatch Punch Drunk Love. I liked it a lot, but had forgotten what a knock-out it was visually.

2. How very unique TWBB is in the PTA filmography. It doesn't look or feel like anything else in this succession of clips, does it?

comment #5

Geoff says ...

Many, including me, often say BOOGIE NIGHTS has the best repeat value. You can quote the script all day long. But PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE improves on every single viewing. I've seen it alot.

And yes, TWBB does look different. That's why I was so proud of PTA for breaking out of his "bubble." Not that he needed to, but the guy is just going to continue to get better.

comment #6

rr3333 says ...

Sorry fellas. Cant take anything with Adam Sandler in the lead seriously.

There are thousands of better actors that PTA could have chosen instead of that chump.

comment #7

Geoff says ...

I don't like Sandler's stuff either. But he's perfect in PDL. It's crazy but true.

comment #8

actionman says ...

Sandler was a perfect choice for PDL and that film is easily the best thing he's ever associated himself with. The rest of his performances (and films) are more-or-less garbage, except for his fine turn in Reign Over Me. But PDL and ROM weren't "Adam Sandler films."

comment #9

Edward Havens says ...

PTA is just Wes Anderson with the ability to zoom his camera in and out as well as pan left and right.

A couple years ago, my wife made it a point of watching every movie that had been nominated for Best Picture, Director or Screenplay. One night as I came home from work, she was just about to sit down and watch her first PTA film, Magnolia. I told her I'd be in the bedroom working on a story, and how I expected her to come in around the two hour mark asking me if she could stop watching the film.

I was wrong.

It was around the one hour mark. I told her she must finish the film. She knocked on the door again around the 1:45 mark, begging me to allow her to let this one go. I said no, she must finish the film. She knocked again at the 2:15 mark, telling me she's blow me if I let her stop right now and delete this infernal film off the DVR. "Continue, you must," I said. She did finish the movie, and didn't speak to me for three days.

Every time I see a new PTA movie, I go in with the hopes that maybe this time I'll see what all these other film geeks see in his films. The best moments in his films are the scenes without dialogue. Maybe the next one will be from a screenwriter not named Paul Thomas Anderson, and maybe there'll finally be a chance for a truly worthy cinematic event. TWBB was a good first step towards a better PTA film.

comment #10

Joel says ...

Really? I don't know that I believe that story. I certainly wouldn't want to watch Magnolia, probably in full frame, on my DVR. But if I were your wife and I hated the movie, I would have just stopped watching it. The movie certainly isn't for all tastes, and if you don't like the first hour, you aren't going to like the rest. I'd say if you don't get energized by the first five minute "these things happen" montage, you might as well stop right there.

comment #11

Geoff says ...

"PTA is just Wes Anderson with the ability to zoom his camera in and out as well as pan left and right."

Ugh. So you notice the distortion due to some wide angle lenses. Panavision Anamorphic. That's so fucking lame.

comment #12

Edward Havens says ...

Sorry, Joel, the presentation wasn't in full frame. An HD presentation recorded on an HD-DVR and watched on a 16:9 HDTV with a 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound system.

comment #13

GKLondon says ...

Paul Thomas Anderson has an amazing ability to capture the exhilaration of experience. All of his films put you through it in some way (my sister had to turn off Punch Drunk Love twenty minutes in as she found the loneliness of Adam Sandler's character too distressing), and Magnolia's length is definitely part of that. And I couldn't agree less with Havens assessment that PT Anderson is Wes Anderson with control of the Z axis.

I enjoy W Anderson's films and the characters therein like one would enjoy looking at current humans in a museum in the future. I'm exhilarated, embarrassed, confused and filled with love and hatred for PT Anderson's characters like I am for the living, breathing humans around me.

comment #14

Mikey Filmmaker says ...

Not a bad look at P.T. Anderson's films.

comment #15

Jeffrey Kunze says ...

Like many here, I love Boogie Nights and Magnolia a great deal and have seen them both numerous times. And no Magnolia is not too long! There is not some fucking rule that states a movie must be 2 hours. Some movies are long, deal with it. Magnolia is a looks at the lives of how dozens of people connect one day and the meaning and feel of the experience would have been destroyed at 2 hours, even 2 1/2 wouldn't have worked. It's PTA's version of Altman's Short Cuts (which was really a Long Cut, and beautifully so).

That said, I enjoyed Punch Drunk Love a great deal but didn't necessarily love it. And obviously I loved TWBB.

However, I've only seen Hard Eight once, a few years ago, and was left pretty underwhelmed. The film did not stick with me at all. The characters seemed largely uninteresting and didn't make sense to me. Do I need to check this film out again or is Hard Eight really PTA's least accomplished work to date (it was only his first after all).

comment #16

Balthazar says ...

Well of course Hard Eight is his least accomplished film. But it's still a damn fine little character study. Full of great little moments, a knockout performance by Phillip Baker Hall and a solid performance by Paltrow. Can it compare to the other films, no. But I find it fun film to watch and it's a helluva first effort.

comment #17

Monument says ...

Come on Edward, Wes Anderson can zoom. Are you forgetting every single one of his films has some scene with a cute little seventies style shaky zoom-in? It's vintage Wes, right up there with his slow-motion accompanied by an obscure 60's pop song scenes and dead center framing on nearly every shot.

I'm sorry, I finally saw The Darjeeling Limited last night; what a turd. Can he possibly be any more self referential?

Oh right, PTA. I've always respected him as a great director but TWBB completely won me over, what a great film. I also agree about PDL, it does get better with successive viewings.

comment #18

D.Z. says ...

"Except, like Magnolia, it goes on too long."

Thank God I'm not the only one who feels that way. I was worried that it was just me and Kevin Smith who felt that way.

MAGGA: "Man how I adore PTA. And no, Magnolia doesn't go on for two long, I've watched it up to three times in a day and find it one of the most perfectly paced films ever made,"

It's perfectly paced if you only focus on the dying father story, since everything else is tacked on for no reason. But maybe I'll still catch There Will Be Blood for three dollah at the Fairfax place...

Also, that "Touch' song is not Anderson's, but from the Transformers movie which didn't suck. I loved Boogie Nights, but I hate the fact that casual viewers will assume that Anderson just made it up on the spot.

comment #19

Balthazar says ...

Why would the casual viewer think he just made it up (The Touch)? And why would that matter? He pulls references and resources from all over for his films. Whatever suits the story. Do you think the casual viewer thinks "He Needs Me" was done just for PDL? Half of the Aimee Mann songs for Magnolia were previously released (and some were original). But he wasn't out to make a soundtrack full of songs written expressly for the movie. He was out to find the right music for the moment, no matter the source. Same with TWBB. PTA and Greenwood wanted the best track for each scene. Some of it was original, some of it was classical and some of it was previously released by Greenwood (which is what cost him an Oscar nom).

comment #20

D.Z. says ...

Balthazar: "Why would the casual viewer think he just made it up (The Touch)?"

Because most people didn't see the cartoon film, and don't hear the song on the radio or in commercials the way they might the other music?

"And why would that matter?"

It matters, because it gives more credit to PTA than he deserves?

comment #21

lipranzer says ...

D.Z., you'd be surprised how many fans of the TRANSFORMERS movie there are out there. Admittedly, I wasn't one of them, but still.

The one thing this montage did for me was remind me just how good an actor Philip Baker Hall is. I agree HARD EIGHT isn't as good as the four films that followed, but it's still quite a movie, and a lot of that is due to Hall. He doesn't do anything obvious, but convinces you both the tenderness and guilt he feels towards John C. Reilly, and the fact that he's a man who knows how to get things done, both good and bad. And while I love all parts of MAGNOLIA, the movie wouldn't work as well without the authority he brings to the role.

Oh, and I dislike Sandler intensely as well, except for PUNCH DRUNK LOVE. Sandler made the child part of this manchild character believable - and crucially, a bit dangerous - while Anderson inched him towards being a man.

comment #22

DarthCorleone says ...

D.Z.>> Hell, dude, why don't we just deconstruct every single element of every single film and condemn each and every director for receiving too much credit for the elements that aren't common knowledge? Film is a collaborative process, and - as Balthazar mentions above - Anderson draws from all manner of sources for his artistic palette. Do you think he would claim that he wrote "The Touch" if you asked him? Or is it contingent on the viewer to determine what warrants "credit" and what doesn't? It's a savvy and hilarious music cue that fits the scene. Who cares if it was not original? The guy is an incredible filmmaker with great instincts. That's enough for me.

comment #23

DarthCorleone says ...

As for Hard Eight, I think it's a great character study and worth checking out or revisiting. Those first five minutes alone are one of the better hooks for a film I've ever seen, and the rest of it - with its music and camerawork - just flows like cinematic jazz.

comment #24

D.Z. says ...

lip: "D.Z., you'd be surprised how many fans of the TRANSFORMERS movie there are out there."

But they wouldn't be the ones watching Boogie Nights.

Corleone: "Do you think he would claim that he wrote "The Touch" if you asked him?"

No, he's not QT. But he might try to take credit for how the scene was shot, which would make people believe he had something to do with the song.

comment #25

ellenmiss says ...

He is cool. But I am very curious. Why did he post his profile on a celebrities and wealthy website named
" wealthydater. com". What is he looking for there?

comment #26

Reint says ...

"The beginning of this Paul Thomas Anderson mash-up is absolutely rancid, dreadful...I wanted to strangle the guy"

What the HELL are you talking about? "Rancid"? I really, really don't get it.

Here's some more by the same guy:

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=barringer82&p=r