DVD REVIEW: THERE WILL BE BLOOD 2 DISC SPECIAL EDITION

04/04/08

SYNOPSIS: A sprawling epic of family, faith, power and oil, THERE WILL BE BLOOD is set on the incendiary frontier of California’s turn-of-the-century petroleum boom. The story chronicles the life and times of one Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), who transforms himself from a down-and-out silver miner raising a son on his own into a self-made oil tycoon.

REVIEW: In the midst of the countless “political” movies that have been released in recent times dealing with the various conflicts that exist still today, it is only fitting that a movie dealing with the advent of oil production also be released. But wow, what a movie and what performances. From the very beginning, the eerie music sets the tone for a masterpiece of human ambition, determination, and greed. Not a single word is uttered in the first 15 or so minutes and not a single word is needed. Digging relentlessly in search of whatever can help him make a living, Mr. Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) eventually stumbles upon black gold right around the turn of the century. He is determined to succeed at any cost and stepping on anybody’s back. “I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people.” Spoken like a true successful businessman. Or is it more like a true successful liar, sneaky negotiator, oil hunting con artist? Priscilla best describes him as cold-hearted. You can decide for yourselves. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, he’s also a filthy rich crazy man who is a genius when it comes to the business of oil.

This was a powerful film with powerful performances, as I mentioned before. Starting with the first honorable mention, Dillon Freasier who played Mr. Plainview’s young son and business associate, H.W., the bar is set pretty high up. I’ll tell you again and again, I just don’t understand where they get these incredibly talented super young actors from . . . it’s overwhelming. Paul Dano with a double role as twin brothers Paul and Eli Sunday had another ground-breaking performance, his first being his role in Little Miss Sunshine. The role of Paul Sunday was small but important. Now the role of Eli is where Mr. Dano really let it all loose. He reminded me of a young Edward Norton. He was quite impressive. As far as Mr. Daniel Day-Lewis, what can you say. Watching him at work in this movie is like not watching a movie at all. It is like looking through a time machine into the past and watching the events as they would have actually taken place. He makes the role that real. And the Oscar goes to . . .

This film was a bit long and might draw a brief yawn from the viewers, but all in all the storyline is captivating just enough to hold your attention and coupled with the acting, well you’re in for a treat if you can appreciate those kinds of things. The movie that kept coming into mind in comparison is The Aviator. I do find this one to be a little more intense than Aviator. In both cases, the performances by the lead actors are truly top notch, but where I find The Aviator to seem more historical, I see more plot in this one. The cinematography in this production was also very well done. You can tell that a lot of effort was put in to showing the turn of the century look as seen through the wardrobe, construction, transportation, scenery, and overall technology. Even the dialogue was well written to fit the time. Writer/Director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love) continues to demonstrate his talent. Of course, working with Daniel Day-Lewis makes it a little easier to accomplish.

Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com

VIDEO:
Anamorphic Widescreen 16x9

AUDIO:
English, Spanish and French 5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English Spanish - Optional

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Story of Petroleum: This is very interesting and beautiful black and white silent film chronicling the oil business in the 1920's. (25:33)

15—a slideshow of vintage photos selected by Paul Thomas Anderson and set to the unforgettable musical score created by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood. (19:23)

Deleted Scenes: The DVD includes a total of 3 deleted scenes; "Fishing" Sequence (6:15), Haircut/ Interrupted Hymn (3:15) and Dailies Gone (2:47). These scenes are more value to these master pieces are all three are worth watching.

Theatrical Trailer

RATING BREAK DOWN:

FILM REVIEW
VIDEO
AUDIO
BONUS FEATURES

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DVD REVIEW: THERE WILL BE BLOOD 2 DISC SPECIAL EDITION 04/04/08

DVD REVIEW: THERE WILL BE BLOOD 2 DISC SPECIAL EDITION

04/04/08