'There Will Be Blood' Excitement Thread! (1 Viewer)

[Unicron]

I would say that's exactly it.
Plainview representing greed/avarice/capitalism and Sunday as faith/religion.

It's just a movie guys, movies don't have meanings.

 

[Mitchum]

I would say that's exactly it.
Plainview representing greed/avarice/capitalism and Sunday as faith/religion.

The Iraq context does not work for me; in the movie, if you wish to see religion and greed/capitalism as the two big themes these two are at absolute loggerheads; in the real world the twin heads of religion and oil/capitalism in America feed and compliment each other.

 

[potlatch]

The Iraq context does not work for me; in the movie, if you wish to see religion and greed/capitalism as the two big themes these two are at absolute loggerheads; in the real world the twin heads of religion and oil/capitalism in America feed and compliment each other.

Nah, I don't think that's necessarily it. I think the film takes a longer-term view.

Historically, the drive for valuable commodities was part of the underlying logic of colonialism. The rise of American power is tied to coal and oil, but also to the strange accomodation between raw avarice and extreme religion as it developed into an early industrialiser, which you see in the film as the mining technology develops. So, you ended up with the Manifest Destiny as America's ideology of exceptionalism and expansionism.

This accelerated after WWI with America 'buying up' (conquering) large swathes of oil-rich Latin America and Arabia. Cut to the 1960s and you have Henry Kissinger-style realpolitik that accepted that you have to lie about appealing to higher values to get the job done. The only difference between Plainview and Ely were they were at either end of the same pole. Without any real perspective beyond greed, the well runs dry and they destroy everyone around them and themselves.

I don't think this is literally the 'well' in Iraq running dry, it's more the natural exhaustion of an empire. All that's left is a desperate charlatan and a broken industrialist, drunk and exposed for the husks they are. And the point at which heads said the American empire began to die was around 1978 - end of the Vietnam war, the oil crisis and America leaving the gold standard. They started getting really desperate.

I should probably make some deadly joke here. Anyway, that's what's going on in my head.

 

[snakybus]

yeah it's nothing new - Citizen Kane etc

the whople tragic hero thing is something that appeals to me

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

Nah, I don't think that's necessarily it. I think the film takes a longer-term view.

Historically, the drive for valuable commodities was part of the underlying logic of colonialism. The rise of American power is tied to coal and oil, but also to the strange accomodation between raw avarice and extreme religion as it developed into an early industrialiser, which you see in the film as the mining technology develops. So, you ended up with the Manifest Destiny as America's ideology of exceptionalism and expansionism.

This accelerated after WWI with America 'buying up' (conquering) large swathes of oil-rich Latin America and Arabia. Cut to the 1960s and you have Henry Kissinger-style realpolitik that accepted that you have to lie about appealing to higher values to get the job done. The only difference between Plainview and Ely were they were at either end of the same pole. Without any real perspective beyond greed, the well runs dry and they destroy everyone around them and themselves.

I don't think this is literally the 'well' in Iraq running dry, it's more the natural exhaustion of an empire. All that's left is a desperate charlatan and a broken industrialist, drunk and exposed for the husks they are. And the point at which heads said the American empire began to die was around 1978 - end of the Vietnam war, the oil crisis and America leaving the gold standard. They started getting really desperate.

I should probably make some deadly joke here. Anyway, that's what's going on in my head.

What he said.

 

[Yurn!]

It's just a movie guys, movies don't have meanings.

Oh yeah, well then how do you explain House Party 2: The Pajama Jam?

 

[Mitchum]

Nah, I don't think that's necessarily it. I think the film takes a longer-term view.

Historically, the drive for valuable commodities was part of the underlying logic of colonialism. The rise of American power is tied to coal and oil, but also to the strange accomodation between raw avarice and extreme religion as it developed into an early industrialiser, which you see in the film as the mining technology develops. So, you ended up with the Manifest Destiny as America's ideology of exceptionalism and expansionism.

This accelerated after WWI with America 'buying up' (conquering) large swathes of oil-rich Latin America and Arabia. Cut to the 1960s and you have Henry Kissinger-style realpolitik that accepted that you have to lie about appealing to higher values to get the job done. The only difference between Plainview and Ely were they were at either end of the same pole. Without any real perspective beyond greed, the well runs dry and they destroy everyone around them and themselves.

I don't think this is literally the 'well' in Iraq running dry, it's more the natural exhaustion of an empire. All that's left is a desperate charlatan and a broken industrialist, drunk and exposed for the husks they are. And the point at which heads said the American empire began to die was around 1978 - end of the Vietnam war, the oil crisis and America leaving the gold standard. They started getting really desperate.

I should probably make some deadly joke here. Anyway, that's what's going on in my head.

In that light the film makes more sense, for sure.

 

[snakybus]

"I'm finished"

take that, obese yanks!

 

[RSJ]

I thought this film was mutli-snoozey.
Reding about everyone's appreciation for all the scenery, Danny Day and tension being created by camera shots and awesome scenery and shit... it doesn't make up for the fact that it was generally quite boring and nothing happened that I particularly cared about.

I thought the priest dude was fucking cool but that was about it.

Word. I went back a second time about a week after the first time i'd seen it to see if i'd missed anything - not really. Great performances and all but overall a bit of a snoozefest.

 

[salsa]

thats cause toy story 2 would be more your sort of movie RSJ ya dimwitted fuck.

 

[coast to coast]

So I finally saw this, having avoided this thread, all but one trailer/soundclips (which I don't remember seeing but recognised in the film itself) and even the brilliantly named "There Will Be Blood In The Excrament Thread".

There were so many things I liked about this film but it still seemed strange, I think due to my expectations that it was some kind of epic, when really, as someone said above its really predominantly Plainview and Sunday throughout.

I'm already dying to see it again - first time viewing doesn't exactly lend itself to examination of subtext when there's the obvious story being told to follow, not to mention so much fucking beautiful work to look at, not to mention listen to - and also I drank too much tea beforehand and was bursting for a piss for about thirty minutes in the middle before relenting.

As for Plainview not being complicated - complicated is far too relative I think - well developed would be better. You do get a full sense of the man he is, more than you do of Chigurgh, because he's still not understandable at the end of No Country For Old Men. You can appreciate the logic of Chigurgh's "morality", but its far easier to understand the emotions and drives of Plainview and Sunday because they are both realistic in America but they also work as personifcations of BIG ideas. Chigurgh, scary, brilliantly done, but you can't understand a psychopath. At least I hope you can't.

Also, some of the colours and shots in the film, especially when he gets to the sea and before that when the silhouettes stand in front of the blazing pump are beautiful. And the score was excellent - was it all Jonny Greenwood? Deadly film. Deadly, deadly film.

 

[RSJ]

thats cause toy story 2 would be more your sort of movie RSJ ya dimwitted fuck.

Here, mark, you do know i'm not in H4H, right? Thanks for making me the subject of this month's anonymous attack all the same. I feel all special.

 

[Flux]

Maybe it's the projector in Dundrum, but half the time, it seemed this film was slightly out of focus.

Did anyone else notice this, or should I get myself down to Specsavers?

If it's not just me, Roger Deakins was robbed.

 

[Yurn!]

Maybe it's the projector in Dundrum, but half the time, it seemed this film was slightly out of focus.

Did anyone else notice this, or should I get myself down to Specsavers?

If it's not just me, Roger Deakins was robbed.

There was alot of deep focus shots in it alright. Plainview's face would be in close-up focus and you could have something literally a foot behind him in complete blur. all part of the grammar innit!

 

[Flux]

I guess. Just found it fairly distracting...

Apart from Eli not ageing a day in twenty years, I can't find ANYTHING else wrong with it though!

 

[Mitchum]

I'm looking forward to There Will Be Blood II.

I hear Brian Blessed is mooted for the Plainview role.

 

[Yurn!]

I guess. Just found it fairly distracting...

Apart from Eli not ageing a day in twenty years, I can't find ANYTHING else wrong with it though!

i was wondering why he got them THREE drinks as well.

 

[Mormon Nailer]

There was alot of deep focus shots in it alright. Plainview's face would be in close-up focus and you could have something literally a foot behind him in complete blur. all part of the grammar innit!

I dont know about Dublin but the cinemas in Limerick can be fairly sloppy when it comes to focus.

You really notice it when the certificate comes up - the thing is often illegible

 

[Mitchum]

i was wondering why he got them THREE drinks as well.

It's a McGuffin.

Good interview with PT Anderson at the Berlin Film Festival. Funny & revealing. I saw it at http://karagarga.net/ but it's up on Youtube as far as I know.

 

[snakybus]

mitchum, I can't sign up for that, how does it work? it's not on youtube