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DVD Review: There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood was one of the more surprising movies of last year. What initially struck me as a boring, pointless film thats only saving grace was Daniel Day-Lewis playing a character he already played later turned into one of my favorite movies. It's something you need to watch more than once to appreciate, as all of the magnificence of the movie comes in the form of all the little, unheralded aspects.

The movie tells the tale of an oil man named Daniel Plainview in early 20th century America as he thirsts for more money and power, received in the form of controlling oil. There are many characters in the film who are important to the work as a whole, but the entire movie is very clearly placed in the (obviously) capable hands of Daniel Day-Lewis.

Over the course of the American epic, Plainview meets and loses people, finds and loses things, and ultimately begins to question the very essence of humanity. No single moment in the film stands out as the pinnacle of Plainview's realization; rather the entire movie slowly works in a crescendo until you understand what he's seeing and going through.

The main conflict comes in the form of Plainview and a holy man named Eli. Eli's twin brother sells Plainview the location of an oil rich area of California, and Eli convinces the town and church to allow Plainview to dig on the condition that he donates a portion to the church. (But are his motives truly that honorable? You'll have to watch and see.) The two continue to fight as Plainview refuses to pay, and it leads to one of the best confrontations between two characters I've seen in quite a while.

The last third of the movie does struggle at times, but in my mind the ending portion is much, much better than what No Country left us with. Some will say There Will be Blood has no real ending and cops out, and to them I say: watch the movie again. Buy it on DVD, pay attention to the characters and their body language, and pay special attention to Plainview through the course of the movie. The end may not be the greatest end ever, but it is there, and the slow breakdown of Plainview from a giant among men to an emotionally crippled, instable, lonely man is brilliant to watch.

CONTENT: 5/5

There Will Be Blood was my choice for the best (American) movie of 2007, and after my fourth time watching it it still is. Daniel Day-Lewis gives the performance of the decade as Daniel Plainview, and even if the rest of the film hadn't been this fantastic, it would still be a movie worth watching and owning just to see him do his thing. Amazingly, we get a movie that supports Day-Lewis in his larger than life role, and which was completely robbed by the Coens at the Oscars.

VIDEO: 4/5

You get the widescreen presentation of the film enhanced for 16:9 TVs, and there's almost no color loss from the theater. While it would have been awesome to have in HD, it looks great for a standard DVD. Blacks are dark, and there's no real issues with darker scenes on tube TVs.

AUDIO: 3.5/5

The surround presentation could have been used to a greater extent, but it still sounds good. With English, French and Spanish 5.1 support, you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who can't appreciate the movie. Of course, hearing Daniel Plainview in French isn't quite the same, but still.

REPLAY: 4/5

Is it long? You bet. Can you watch it again? Definitely. The sign of a truly great picture is that you can view it repeatedly, and There Will Be Blood passes that test. The little interactions and often unseen things which pass between characters are picked up upon in succeeding viewings, and Daniel Plainview is amazing every time. 

EXTRAS: 3/5

Sadly, the second disc doesn't offer that much with There Will Be Blood. I was hoping for more given the nature of the film--and what we get is solid--but there's just not enough. There's a short historical documentary, "The Story of Petroleum," which is the meat and potatoes of the extras, but aside from that nice little view into America's past, the disc is lacking. There's no commentary from Paul Thomas Anderson--or anything including him in the special features--and that strikes me as incredibly odd. There is a nice bit which shows (briefly) how Day-Lewis created the Plainview persona over time, but again, too little for the epic they're supposed to supplement. 

OVERALL: 4.5/5

Is the special edition a little weak? Yup. Is the case a little odd? Yup. (It's a cardboard sleeve case, in case you were wondering.) Still, There Will Be Blood is one of the best movies of the century, and easily the best of 2007. Daniel Day-Lewis gives one of the most memorable performances in movie history, and the rest of the movie is much better than you initially think. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up so you don't miss out. If you have seen it and thought it was overrated, rent the DVD, give it a re-watch, and then make your conclusion. There Will Be Blood is an American epic in every sense of the word, and Paul Thomas Anderson seemingly did the impossible by outdoing himself. 

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