PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON
(1970 - ), American



While there may appear a sharp divide between the writer-director's Scorsese and Altman indebted ensemble pieces of the 90s and his metaphorical character studies of the 00s, Anderson's films are united not just by their consistent flair for the combination of bombastic music, visuals, and operatically emotional performances, but also by their chief thematic concerns of loneliness, family, and the weight of past mistakes. Where the humor of his contemporaries tends to be snarky and ironic, Anderson's (when it does exist) tends towards the sentimentally goofy and earnest, consistent with his sympathy for all of his major characters.

Filmography
1996 Hard Eight (Sydney)
1997 Boogie Nights
1999 Magnolia
2002 Punch-Drunk Love
2007 There Will Be Blood
201? The Master

1. Magnolia
2. Punch-Drunk Love
3. There Will Be Blood
4. Boogie Nights
5. Sydney

rankings are pointless in the long run. but i just wanted to bump this thread to the front.

Recommended first watch?

I say Boogie

TWBB and PDL are both very alienating to a lot of people (even if they may be the most rewarding to others). mainly because both, in very different ways, have an isolated quality about them. Boogie Nights is the most accessible, although i dont know that we want to get into a habit of making first watch simply equal accessibility. but i do think Boogie Nights or Magnolia would be my personal rec to someone who has never seen his films before. i rec'd PDL to some people and they came back with a "wtf was that?" response.

Yeah grandma watched TWBB with me, I could tell she didn't like it.

Next to It's A Wonderful Life, TWBB was my Grandma's favorite movie.

Anyway:
1. TWBB = 8 (use to be 10, then Safe screwed it all up)
2. PDL = 8
3. BN = 8
4. Magnolia = 5

Haven't seen Sydney.

i don't see how Safe has anything to do with TWBB

I'm used to you saying mind blowingly stupid things but now they don't even make any sense.

They're basically the same thing except the exact opposite. Very similar in their film style (incredibly neat and atmospheric) and themes (our social habits and responsibilities), but are polar opposite (Safe is more about how we convince ourselves of things in order to fit in (safe) while TWBB is how some of us strive to separate ourselves). Their directing style (along with movies like Crash (Cronenberg) and sex, lies, and videotape) are in the same vein as well. A sort of hyper-realism that slowly and subtly distorts itself. So they are very similar films, in my mind, and after I saw Safe, TWBB seemed like a lesser film. Still need to rewatch Crash and s,l,v to see if I feel the same affect. Course, I could be missing the entire point of both films, but whatever.

Btw, Boogie Nights for first watch.

lost me

1. there will be blood
2. punch drunk love/magnolia

no boogie nights yet. love all three.

Boogie Nights for first watch

1. Boogie Nights
2. There Will Be Blood
3. Punch-Drunk Love
4. Sydney/Magnolia

1997 Boogie Nights 9
1999 Magnolia 9
2002 Punch-Drunk Love 8
2007 There Will Be Blood 9

Hard eight? More like hard nine.

1997 Boogie Nights 7
1999 Magnolia 6
2002 Punch-Drunk Love 7
2007 There Will Be Blood 9

Boogie nights 6
Magnolia 8
Punch drunk love 6
There will be blood 9/10??