The Evolution of Paul Thomas Anderson's Style
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ธ.ค. 2021
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// CREDITS:
Film's Referenced:
Hard Eight
Boogie Nights
Magnolia
Punch Drunk Love
There Will Be Blood
The Master
Inherent Vice
Phantom Thread
Goodfellas
Raging Bull
References:
The Master Interview LA Times: • THE MASTER - PT interv...
Hard Eight Director's Commentary
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// This video has no Licorice Pizza content or spoilers! // There are big spoilers for Phantom Thread and very mild spoilers for Inherent Vice, Boogie Nights, and Hard Eight.
squiggle pop babay
Thank you for doing this comment! I really appreciate the warnings/clearances. Good to know there is no spaoilers for Licorice Pizza and I can enjoy your video. It's excellent to hear your thoughts.
Again, I really am grateful for spoiler warnings.
thanks for this comment, I've only seen 4 of his films I so wasn't sure if I was prepared to watch this
Thanks for that! Licorice Pizza is coming out locally this week for me!
I wish I would've read this comment before I saw the Phantom Thread spoilers but I'll take responsibility for that since I probably should've seen the movie by now
For me, its the empathy Anderson has for every character. Every character feels loved and appreciated, and sympathized for. No one is used solely as a punch line, and if they are humiliated, we spend time with them after. We don't leave them alone.
Well, Eli was humiliated savagely at the very end of There would be blood and there was no redemption for him
I never thought I would ever feel empathy for an Adam Sandler character. Or the other ‘pathetic’ individuals, especially in his earlier films. I think of the arc of a character like Quiz-Kid Donnie Smith - we laugh with at the stupid decisions and absurd mindset but can’t help but recognise and empathise with the humanity there. Poor Eli would be another, even the wormlike Mattress Man is just a human in plain view.
In licorice pizza the Asian racism doesn’t get sympathized for after
Eli would like to have a word with you
One of my favourite moments of boogie nights is when Phillip Seymour Hoffman character tried to kiss marky mark.
He could of cut it earlier and it would of been a good comedic moment, but instead he stays with Phillip. As he's crying and saying he's a fucking idiot over and over again. I really feel for him, and even tho that character got used fro comedy a lot, the fact he stayed with that character to the point you almost feel uncomfortable is truly incredible.
I love his work
The fact that we got a PTA film with Philip Seymor Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix together was a real treat.
Yes, a strong combination. But I found both those characters loathsome. One was deranged, the other cruelly exploitative. They both drank a toxic propellant for a torpedo, and found it to be a good cocktail. No thanks to spending time with those guys.
I fell asleep from that movie. Was it supposed to be based on the life of LRon Hubbard? I didn't enjoy that a bit. You got two of the best actors on the planet and waste it on a shitscript like that? Com on. Give me a BRK!
@@jmp01a24It is a brilliant film.
When I saw the master for the first time. Alone in a small theatre in Germany. I think I felt something I had never felt before
@@ARIZJOEmay have missed the point. Their love for each other redeems them both
I’m convinced Phantom Thread is a vampire movie without the biting.
This is hilarious.
Phantom Thread falls under the genre of "Gothic Romance", which does include vampire type romances so actually you are correct.
@@fweshdude Have you seen Let the Right One In? Does that fit within the Gothic Romance category?
No it's a Ghost Movie, Day-Lewis plays Fred
I LOVE the respect you gave to Hard Eight. Its typically neglected and falls at the bottom of most people's favorite PTA films. But as you point out, the first shot shows us how Paul was always an incredible filmmaker from the beginning. The entire film is a great example of how much you can achieve with proper blocking techniques.
I think his writing has improved massively since that film, but the core of what makes him an interesting filmmaker was already there!
I guess I better give it a look!
If you happen to bump into PTA, don't say "Hard Eight" but Sydney and he'll love you forever.
To me, that first scene at the diner is perfect; the dialogue, the delivery, the close ups to the things on the table, Phillip Baker Hall. Great start to a great career as a filmmaker.
Absolutely LOVE Hard Eight.
I agree with your analysis, and I kind of wish you'd dwell a bit more on Punch Drunk Love, because it really is the defining film where PTA found his style. There's some remnants of his earlier flashy camera work, but they all serve the scenes perfectly instead of existing to show off (such as all those zoom and rotating dolly shots when the anxiety level picks up). On the other hand, composition has clearly come to the forefront of his concerns, right from the first shot all the way to the last. It's also worth noting that his musical style made a complete graduation in PDL too. In his first 3 films, the music is very reminiscent of Scorsese and Altman, basically just simple pop/jazz tracks layered underneath a scene to convey some ambiance. In PDL it has taken center stage to the point of driving the narrative, and since then he has unashamedly done it almost to the point of invoking Kubrick (but far more subtly done than in most Kubrick films).
For a long time before Phantom Thread my favorite film was PDL, and I always had a hard time explaining to myself and others why. But now I see why. It marks the arrival of the individual and maturity from his influences. PTA is one of the rare examples of someone debuting at a very high watermark, but then managed to surpass himself and realize more of his potential with every subsequent film. We're blessed that he's still a fairly young person and likely has decades of fantastic creations left in him.
Phantom Thread is one of the few films I consider to be perfect. Even when actively looking for flaws I'll only find more to love about it. The way the camera moves from one beautifully composed shot to the next at times is simply mind blowing and not only highlights the incredible cinematography but the production design as well. Add to that my favourite film score of all time and three unbelievably strong performances that compliment the excellent writing in all the best ways and you've got yourself a modern masterpiece of filmmaking.
It’s one of my favorite films probably of all time.
It's so beautiful that's incredible
@@ThomasFlight it’s so underrated
@@greggs12315 no it isn’t it’s considered to be one of the best films of the 2010s
What other films do you consider perfect?
It's fascinating honestly. When PTA first stepped into the scene his style was derived from Scorsese and Altman, but developed a style of his own as his career went on.
@@Nonesovile96 Love the Ophuls comparison you're spot on
Literally just watched The Master and Phantom Thread, then you uploaded this. Really apreciate what you do in TH-cam. Hope you do more on director analysis
Planning to but boy are they a lot of work.
@@ThomasFlight already started with one of the most difficult i guess
@@ThomasFlight Take your time, as long as you enjoy making them, it's a for sure worth to watch
@@00HoODBoy The most difficult would probably be Scorsese
@@fatha2092 Hi Marvin 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….
These films feel like they simulate meeting people in real life. Suddenly someone pops into your life and then everything that happens with them is now you're story of them and how you perceive them.
It's really valuable that you managed to succinctly distinguish between the different effects that composition and camera movement have on a film and what exactly sets the two concepts apart as filmmaking techniques.
It's important to realize that cinematography isn't some all-encompassing one-size-fits-all concept that you can throw at an analysis and say, "The cinematography was dynamic," or, "The cinematography was static." That's a little reductive to say the least.
PTA is my favorite director ever! He’s so criminally underrated. He really makes you feel for the characters and makes them just so human and makes the viewer understand that you shouldn’t judge as you don’t know someone’s story. No one is flawless, no one is perfect, we all have our own faults.
Except that none of them behave like humans, but like kids and psychopaths.
Phantom Thread is undoubtedly one of the greatest cinematic achievements. From the get-go, the opening sequence leaves me in tears every time from how magnificent it is. On my first viewing I didn't know why I was crying but I quickly realised it was due to the utter perfection of every frame alongside one of the most beautiful scores. With every viewing now I find myself sighing of relieve with those first tears because I feel hugged by the wonder unfolding on screen, it feels like I am coming home to live in my favourite place in the world.
I watched it twice on film on the big screen and I can only recommend it, one of the most breathtaking experiences there is.
Most promising writer/director of our time.
I think Dennis V. will have a higher ceiling. PTA pretty much only makes music videos and shorts now. Dennis V is just getting started and he has some really heavy hitters.
@@EricHamm Licorice Pizza is incredible - but agree Denis has potentially higher ceiling
@@bigwilly528 If he's the most promising then Lynch was the best there ever was because his Dune was 10 times more interesting. You guys don't know shit.
If he starts to find good screenwriters for his movies, sure.
most promising? jesus, what else could we expect after TWBB, The Master, Inherent Vice and Phantom Thread? Let the man be at peace for fucks sake haha
It took multiple viewings for the brilliance of Phantom Thread to reveal itself to me. Honestly I watch There Will Be Blood once every 4 or 5 months and it's STILL revealing its brilliance and beauty to me. I think it's the greatest American film of all time.
This isn't a meant to be an insult by any means but how old are you? I did the same thing in college for some movies so I'm just curious if you still kept your passion after college (if that's the case)
@@EJD339 35
I also go back again and again to There Will Be Blood, The Master and Phantom Thread for Jonny Greenwood, a man as rich in his music as PTA is in his cinematography.
it might just be that i'm half drunk, but i've been watching PTA video essays over the past couple days from watching Phantom Thread, and this is the first one that seems to actually have something to say. some insight. it makes it obvious how much others tend to phone it in instead. good job
Even more excited to see Licorice Pizza now. Seems like it is going back to the kinetic style of his earlier films.
Great video, that short quote from PTA about letting the character tell the story rather than enforcing some writerly machinations reveals so much. The genius of his films is having an incredibly compelling protagonist and letting them lead the story.
PTA became my favorite filmmaker this past summer. I never connected to his movies before that. I remember seeing There Will Be Blood in a small theater 5 years ago when I was 16, being bored out of my mind. I rewatched it this past summer, and I rewatched it several times that said summer (with plentiful viewings of that dialogue-less intro)... I became obsessed with it.
I've since looked up lots of advice from him and interviews with him - and I'm much more excited by screenwriting itself now than I ever was.
I can't wait to watch Licorice Pizza, which honestly seems to be the best movie of this year...
Thank you for this video Thomas!
The Master is my favorite movie of all time. I was crying by the time the credits rolled, it was that beautiful.
This essay is absolutely outstanding! Seriously, you managed to shed so much light on what makes P.T. Anderson's films so special. The characters and their interactions make his films so unique. There is always an element of reality to these scenes and characters.
Part of it is Anderson's unbelievable knack for casting. Never once have I been watching a P.T. Anderson film and thought, "so and so would have been better in this role". His films are casted perfectly!
Your videos are incredible man. I would just never think of a lot of this stuff. Bravo 👏
Thomas, your ability to weave your analysis into a filmmaker's work is just incredible. It really says something that we all come away from your analysis feeling impacted in the same way we do when we enjoy these films. Thank you so much for your deep respect and overflowing passion for filmmaking.
Hi Brad 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….
Dude your video essays are astounding. My goal for this new year is to finally make one of my own. Just need to start small. Analyze one scene and it doesn’t have to be perfect. But yeah I love your essays man.
It was great to see some love for Phantom Thread. I keep telling everyone how good it is, but I can't convince anyone to watch it!
Same here!! I believe you need a certain level of sensitivity to really connect with Phantom Thread. If you have it, you will engage with the movie and have a delicious ride. Cheers!
true , not all movies connect with everyone
Oh wow. I'm blown away by this video. Thank you so much for making it and for sharing it with us. I'd love to see you do this with other directors!
Truly the greatest American filmmaker working today
i was literally looking for a paul thomas anderson video essay just yesterday and then you upload this, thank you!!
i commented the other day asking for a PTA video, i’m so glad you found the time to do it! wonderful!
One of my all-time favorite directors. Thanks you for this beautifully written analysis and homage.
I love how you divided his early and later films visually as Movement vs Composition (obviously an oversimplification but you get what I mean). I feel like that’s something I’ve always intuitively felt but you really put your finger on it. I also absolutely love that ending scene from Phantom Thread, especially the last line: “Kiss me before I’m sick.”
Hi Timothy 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….
Wake up babe new Thomas flight video
this was a great watch! thank you
Saw Licorice Pizza at The New Beverly in LA earlier this week. PTA fan for life and this video has clarified why his films have been influential to me. Thanks!
Hi Robert 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….
I love Hard Eight! No need to summarize. Appreciate that you take us so thoughtfully through his works. Excellent!
Very tender and- to the point- analyses. Special approach! Great work!
Coming back to this after watching a bunch of PTA films and I have to say love the breakdown you made me want to watch all his movies I’ve never seen. Amazing video
Interestingly, the comparison from the early films to the later films reminds me of a quote from the Origami documentary "Between the Folds", 'someone mentions that younger origami folders aspire for complex and intricate folds but older origami folders focus on expression and intent'. I feel the same thing is happening with PTA and his directing.
Awesome video. Come across your channel a couple months ago, and been binging ever since.
Personally, I prefer the style of his earlier movies. The energy of the camera movements and the storytelling feels much more exciting to watch for me (I do count There Will Be Blood among those, worth pointing out). That's part of the reason I'm so excited for Licorice Pizza, it looks like a return to the manic yet confidently controlled energy of a Magnolia or Punch-Drunk Love
@@Nonesovile96 I kinda agree, but I don't think it's something to be outgrown necessarily. All depends on the type of film, and just has to be balanced effectively. Uncut Gems is amazingly good at making you feel completely stressed out and overwhelmed, and then giving you a chance to exhale occasionally. I love that movie.
But yeah, there is some truth to your point that it takes a certain amount of age and experience before you can really appreciate the slower moments. When I was 18, I probably never would have sat through The Master. Now that I'm twice that age it's one of my favorites.
Agreed. I like that you use words like confidence, control, and energy. Those are some of the most important qualities any good director must possess and balance.Tarantino for example never lacks confidence and energy. But after Jackie Brown he sort of gave up trying to control himself and became an almost completely different director. I also include There Will Be Blood in PTA's "earlier movies" category because I see it as a natural extension of his previous work. It was a clear indication that PTA was maturing as a filmmaker and felt like a logical next step. But since then I haven't really seen him make a properly balanced movie. There's some great stuff in The Master, Inherent Vice, and Phantom Thread. They aren't bad films, but they are almost aggressive in their lack of purpose. Boogie Nights plays its narrative loose but PTA makes that one of its best strengths. The current keeps flowing because it radiates an exuberance and sense of urgency. Lack of focus can work for a film but PTA can't pull it off very well. He's gotten too hands off and his films have a bad habit of just sitting there. They look great but I find myself asking: "Yeah well, so what?"
@@BULL.173 Great comment! I would say now having seen Licorice Pizza, that film works as an amalgamation of both styles. It has that lack of focus in it's storytelling but the exuberance you mentioned about Boogie Nights to keep it very engaging, so I really enjoyed it.
@@Gnator8t4 Thanks man, it was a bit of a rant lol. But that's really great to hear! I'm excited to see it.
@@BULL.173 exactly! thank you! it's tough to be a reasonable PTA critic in a world where his fanboys think everything he touches turns to gold
Magnolia is my favorite of PTA and you described my love for it perfectly. I haven’t yet seen Phantom Thread, but looking forward to it
Great watch! He's become one of my favorite writers and directors. I'm so excited for Licorice Pizza that I've been rewatching a lot of his work and this was a nice taster.
Such a beautiful and well crafted reading of PTA's body of work. I greatly admire your dedication to the artform and your sense for articulating it. Thank you.
Thomas, one of your finest works. Brilliant analysis. Thank you.
Great job on this analysis of PTA, subscribed.
brilliant, thanks for putting this together!
The quality of your analysis is unmatched. This ist content which elevates TH-cam over all other forms of media. Thank you.
Too good for youtube
This is an utterly fascinating subject, not only when it comes to PTA, but every other director whose style and type of film they make is of a certain kind in their early career, only to drastically change in many ways as that career goes on.
I'm so happy that you made this video.
I just finished watching Phantom Thread, and this video came up just wonderfully. I loved it!
What a great video. Thank you so much Thomas.
One of my favorite filmmakers who’s style is a huge inspiration for my own work. I love all his work but my favorite will always be There Will be Blood. I do really love Phantom Thread as well.
Hi Michael 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….
A VERY astute summation! He's my favorite director and always liked how he recasts a lot of the same actors in his films. I would guess Phillip Seymour Hoffman has been in his most and it's heartbreaking we won't see him in another.
I really loved this video. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your channel. It's amazing.
I truly appreciate your channel. Your videos are nice guid to understand Masterpieces of cinema. ❤
I just saw Phantom Thread- what an incredible film. Thanks so much for this excellent analysis of PTA's work. You just have to look at the calibre of performers that work with PTA (some multiple times) to realise how he is respected as a film maker.
I love you so much Thomas, thanks for all your amazing videos
Great video! I've always felt something about PTA film and this explains it so good!
Great video! Thanks
Great essay Thomas, Keep up the good work.
Phenomenal.
Absolutely phenomenal video.
I have strongly appreciated this video.
Amazing video!
Love your work bro
The hard 8 is not only a film but also a very informative documentary. So awesome.
Beautiful! Thanks, Thomas
Great video ! Let me add my two cents, as an old and early PTA fan.
I write this out of love cos above all, his mastery puts him way up there with the greats.
In the beginning, he was a coked up / insecure AND arrogant twat, and his film were nervous / style--biting AND too fucking long. Yet fun and moving. He made his first FILM (in the radically poetic sense) with Punch Drunk Love and from then on - he got married and had kids.
Him stopping cocaine changed him, his insecurity got dealt with when he realized that he ACTUALLY knows how to make a film, not copy. He then settled to put all his mastery into crafting a body of work stylistically respectable tailored for Cannes.
He stopped drawing influence from film and started drawing it from books. In simple terms : he stopped being a middle class filmaker and became a bourgeois artist - in all senses of the word.
He could have been the next Kubrick (someone who never lost touch with the large audience by channeling strong philosophical concepts through simple cinematic language). PTA was once tipped to be writing a horror film - that would have signaled the birth of the next Cinema mamoth. It never came to be.
His bourgeois mutation reached fever pitch with Phantom Thread. A totally out of touch, very cool, expertly crafted counterfeit european film. It is a loss. Cinema is a popular language, the middle class loudspeaker. Like many greats before him, he joined the enemy.
Beautiful video!
You are doing a very good job Thomas. Respect.
Great video! Love PTA!
I love PTA. Thanks for making this 🎄
So thoughtful, astute, and emotionally perceptive. PTA is an artist worthy of this kind of care and consideration.
there will be blood is a modern masterpiece
really well done thank you.
Fascinating insights. Thanks!
This opened my eyes so much on his style, amazing break down!
I love your work! Thank you. Really. Just thank you.
Outstanding video! 🙌
Spot on, fantastic video on the absolute master of modern cinema
one of the best videos ive ever seen
I woke up this morning and this is the first video of a filmmaking analysis that’ll lead me into a better journey. What I enjoyed most is that you gave nod to notion that Hard Eight established the character’s inhabiting their tone of their own atmosphere. Character’s that try to impress others in order to be influenced under their wings (that’s how I took it in understanding)
And in writing, PTA literally stands apart from not having a traditional three act structure, and I’m sitting watching Punch-Drunk Love; this was at the theaters in 35mm, and I’m just wondering, “how can you structure a story that’s only revolving around Adam Sandler?”
To me that just helps me understand what I can, and practice more if I don’t tell a conventional story - but a few that are about character’s making the decision for themselves and facing the consequences.
Thank you, Thomas!! Looking forward to your next videos that’ll educate and sit my ass down and write more!!
Fantastic assessment. Thank you for your hard work and astute perspectives.
Hi Damian 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….
brilliant analysis as always thomas!
Wonderful work, great vid
Before this week I had only seen Phantom Thread (when it came out in 2017). And I just watched Punch-Drunk Love the other night, and now I definitely want to see everything else that PTA has made! Thanks for this awesome video!
I love your videos bro excited to see the next one 💯
Phantom Thread is super underrated; glad it’s your favorite too!
thanks for this one
Great Video! I've always loved PTA's motivated camera work/movement he really uses camera and lighting as characters themselves. I can't wait to see Licorice Pizza.
A great video about my favorite director. Thanks!
Incredible video about an incredible filmmaker. Well done!
Excellent video!
great video!
Excellent analysis, beautifully done.
Hi Steve 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….
Bravo! Huge PTA fan here and I’ve never really understood Magnolia either, and also never felt like I needed to. I saw it when I was 16 and fell in love. I’ve been obsessed with his movies ever since, and the ways they’ve differed and matured felt like my own aging. I really loved your take on how the movement of the camera (or lack thereof) presents a similar intrigue. I feel that. Anyway. Again, bravo, well done!
I saw thomas flight, then saw pta was the video. Todays greatest working filmaker, brilliant video analysis
never clicked on a notification this fast
Loving your work 👌
For sure
The three lights on the building stand out to me in the opening shot. One is slanted, as if he’s saying - this isn’t a perfect world from the start.
“The Master” and “There will be blood”
Are my two favorite movies ever. At the end when Hoffmann character tells Joaquin’s character that he remembers they were comrades in their last life, crossed paths this life, but if he leaves….they will be sworn enemies for the rest of eternity in every life was gripping.