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There Will Be Blood (2007) DVD Review
There Will Be Blood (2007) DVD Credits:
There Will Be Blood (2007) Directed by:
Paul Thomas Anderson
There Will Be Blood (2007) Written by:
Paul Thomas Anderson
There Will Be Blood (2007) Cast:
Mary Elizabeth Barrett, Daniel Day-Lewis, David Willis, Paul Dano
There Will Be Blood (2007) Released by:
Scott Rudin Productions
Region:
1
There Will Be Blood (2007) DVD Release Date:
7th April 2008
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There Will Be Blood (2007) Synopsis:

A story about family, greed, religion, and oil, centered around a turn-of-the-century Texas prospector (Daniel Day-Lewis) in the early days of the business.

There Will Be Blood (2007) DVD Review:

There is a great tension in the use of sound, especially when it is understood that the placement of sound is important, as is the absence of sound. This may seem a strange way to lead into a review of There Will Be Blood. Certainly there are more significant element of the film worth mentioning first, such as Daniel Day-Lewis in a career defining role or the remarkable photography by Robert Elswit, ASC, both of which earned Oscars for the film, but instead I feel it is important to look at the sound first. Certain types of film rely on sound a great deal more than others. In particular horror movies rely heavily on sound to convey mood and help with atmosphere and scares, and this is significantly helpful in understanding There Will Be Blood. As soon as audiences realized that this was not another sequel to the Saw franchise and found that it was actually a period film, the notions of horror left everyone’s mind, but in truth There Will Be Blood is a horror film, and Daniel Day-Lewis is the most engaging monster to grace the screens in the history of horror.

We join this monster, Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis), as he mines for silver at the turn of the 20th century. In a remarkable fifteen-minute opening sequence that follows Plainview’s exploits leading into success in the oil industry, there is absolutely no talking other than a few mutterings from Plainview. Instead we rely on the remarkable effective performances, direction, photography, and music. The music is done by Jonny Greenwood, known best for his contributions in the critically acclaimed and monumentally popular band, Radiohead, but this isn’t his first attempt at scoring a film. Using the deep experimental influence combined with an obvious appreciation of classical music, Greenwood is a key figure in the effectiveness of the opening sequence and the rest of the film.

During his climb in success Plainview sees men die in the oil wells when things go wrong. In one particular case the man dies beside Plainview and he leaves behind a baby without a mother. Plainview decides to adopt the child as his own, using him as a pawn in making himself seem like a family operation, therefore more likely to win work away from his competitors. Although Plainview’s motives may seem somewhat callous, he does sincerely appear to develop a strong relationship with the boy. Plainview and his boy are approached with a tip about a prospect in California that is completely untapped. Deciding that it isn’t enough just to make a killing on the oil, Plainview decides to build a pipeline to the ocean so that he can cut out shipping costs for more profit. This plan seems to keep the overly ambitious Plainview busy enough, but he must also appease a controlling young preacher from the town, Eli Sunday (Paul Dano) and is visited by a man claiming to be his brother.

The music in There Will Be Blood really should be mentioned more often, if only for the heavy reliance the narrative takes to the powerful score, but just as underappreciated is the remarkably matured direction from Paul Thomas Anderson. Words can’t describe how much this remarkable filmmaker has matured through the years, and the fact that he has made a small number of films makes it that much easier to trace the steps. The timing alone is remarkable, and despite the slow nature of the film I am not able to look away for one frame.

The single DVD is set in a cardboard thin sleeve, with only the film on the disc, whereas the two-disc improves the packaging while still remaining rather simple and compact. The second disc is also included, which has a few great special features, including a silent film from 1923 about the oil business in the 1920s. There are also a few deleted and extended scenes and sequences and trailers. It isn’t that the special features aren’t good, but it is somewhat lame that there isn’t more if a second disc was needed.

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There Will Be Blood (2007) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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