THERE WILL BE BLOOD (adapted from the novel by Upton Sinclair) is very detailed. Just like how the ground sucks up oil, the film sucks in the details about the oil business in the early
20th century. Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis in another flawless performance)
is an independent oil man. He travels around with his adopted son. He clashes with a young preacher, Eli Sunday. He buys Sunday's
family land (where the oil is) in exchange for money and a new church for Eli. Their
clash is part of the core of this film. Daniel and Eli are obsessed lunatics-
each obsessed with one thing (Daniel and the oil business while Eli is totally consumed by his work for God). The cinematography is breathtaking while the music score by Jonny Greenwood is haunting (at times, it is
like a sense of dread). Eli Sunday is a creepy young fanatic that you feel glad
when Daniel undermines Eli every chance he gets in addition to slapping him around.
Also I'm captured by Daniel's ruthless business nature (he even takes a bite out of lawyers for an oil company that
wants to buy him out). THERE WILL BE BLOOD is a slow burn, but the details of
the period along with Daniel Day-Lewis makes this best picture to come from writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
All the extras are on disc 2.
15 MINUTES show how close the film was by the research pictures and the silent Peteoluem film
they watched.
The teaser and theatrical trailer are also included. The
first deleted scene (Fishing) is interesting to watch and either way it could have have been left in or deserved to be cut. The Haircut/Interrupted Hym is another deleted scene which I don't make much
out of. Dailies Gone Wild is Daniel Day Lewis really getting into character for
one scene.
Wrapping up the extras is THE STORY OF PETROLEUM (ca. 1923)- a silent film (with a new score by
the composer of THERE WILL BE BLOOD) which looks at the oild business and was produced by the US Department Of Mines with
cooperation by Sinclair Oil. It is a fascinating 16 minute film.
FINAL ANALYSIS: THERE WILL BE BLOOD is a fascinating
film with a nightmarish tone and a great perfomance by Daniel Day-Lewis. It is
a slow burn. I wish the 2-disc had some behind-the-scenes production extras.
This DVD Review is (c)4-4-2008 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.
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