I didn't get a chance to see the film while it was in theatres. I'll buy it reguardless of how good or bad it is compared to the others, but I was just curious. Help me out.
It's his worst film but amazing nonetheless.
Quote from: Pedro the WombatIt's his worst film but amazing nonetheless.
couldn't have said it better myself -- true dat.
His absolute best film by far. In his previous films, he was working in pure talent, but bordering on homage to the point where you wondering how far you could go in really appreciating his filmmaking. Yes, he was a much different filmmaker than the men who made Goodfellas and Short Cuts - but the story were still in the realms of those two films to such a point I could never go over the edge in complementing him solely because I couldn't think of Magnolia without thinking of Short Cuts and same with Boogie Nights to Goodfellas as well. I'm not speaking of his personal command while he films, because that was apparent to be very much his own, but the stories bothered me, though I love both films. But with Punch-Drunk Love, he is in his own realm and instead of borrowing a specific story and seeming to remake it his way, he is just taking bits and pieces from other filmmakers to make something that feels like his own world finally. The most acclaimed directors are known for this, because it is use of style, instead of just shooting to tell the story, which most do, but the acclaim goes to the ones with style and when style is at hand, you feel most are playing the film like a jazz musician in a jam session would, complementing many different people and styles in various ways without really trying to just copy. Punch-Drunk Love will keep on growing and has room to do so because it is completely unkown type of film in presentation and structure and it is short where an entire evening doesn't have to be planned around its viewing, like Magnolia. People will feel able to just put this movie in whenever they want to. It's really an exciting movie with exciting possibilities to what Paul Thomas Anderson can do next.
~rougerum
It's very very different...that's all I can say for sure, you could say it's as good as his previous films but in such a very very different way. It's hard to explain this movie on its own much less compare it to others...your not gonna wanna hear this but, you just have to see it.
There's a lot of truth in GT's post above...PTA himself has said it's his most personal film and he makes it obvious...it's the first one that is really and truly all his...and that's what makes it so beautiful.
It's hard for me to call any of his films his best or his worst as I'm sure you can tell...I love them all way too much, it's too fucking hard.
Quote from: cowboykurtisQuote from: Pedro the WombatIt's his worst film but amazing nonetheless.
couldn't have said it better myself -- true dat.
I agree with both you guys.
Quote from: EL__SCORCHOQuote from: cowboykurtisQuote from: Pedro the WombatIt's his worst film but amazing nonetheless.
couldn't have said it better myself -- true dat.
I agree with both you guys.
I concur.
I think Hard Eight is his worst. Not that its shit (its fucking cool and gets cooler with each viewing) but it just doesn't do it for me as much as Boogie Nights and Magnolia.
Punch-Drunk Love is excellent. Its so different to his others I don't even think it should be compared to them. Its virtually half the length of Magnolia.
I honestly feel that 'PDL' is his best picture yet. It was really different to his previous, only when Hoffman's character/the Utah brothers were introduced did I feel like I was watching a PTA flick (it had that 'look' of his others). It was really arty (hell, art even merged onto the screen) but I loved its originality and difference to other films out there. And 'PDL' is the first film of his that I didn't think of another directors work, his style has really come on its own.
All of his films are flat-out brilliant, but I just think 'PDL' is the superior picture.
I think it's his best, but I won't say why because Gold Trumpet already did.
I like Boogie Nights better and Magnolia is right up there, but as GT said, they were kind of different variations on Goodfellas and Short Cuts. This is hopefully the begining of PTA branching out into his own themes and stories in a way. I think PTA will always be borrowing from his favorite films, and that is just his style and he does it well. It is a great movie, but I have an attachment to Boogie Nights like you wouldnt believe. I guess you could maybe say his best, but not my favorite.
I thought that Puch Drunk love was p t andersons second best. I though Magnolia was just awesome and like nothing i have ever seen. Puch Drunk love was awesome in its own unique way and is so damn original. I also love how the the hero is sort of an ordinary warehouse owner and the villian is just another no body.
I think Duck Sauce said it the most succinctly: Boogie Nights and Magnolia were derivative of Scorsese and Altman, respectively; I will always love Boogie Nights, Magnolia was an excellent film, and Punch Drunk Love was his worst, though still fucking great to watch.
Hard Eight, however, is still my favorite.
I think with Punch Drunk Love he's branching out on his own, which is why this particular movie seems to 'falter' a bit next to his other films; but I liken it to a baby taking his first steps, and even Jackie Joiner Kersey fell a couple of times before she learned how to run like a cheetah....:)
i think it's his best. i think its pta with a plan and concentrating on that plan instead of straying a little bit (even though his straying is great).
this is the film i will watch over and over.
magnolia is just hard to sit through. i say i'm going to watch it, but then i end up watching the beginning and end.
yes, pdl is 90 minutes of pure cinema. 90 minutes that are refreshing at no matter how many times you see it.
i have a prediction. after some of you have the dvd in hand, you will change your mind.
i saw the thing 4 times and i'm dying to see it again. it really is amazing. like everybody's been saying, magnolia is great, but you really do have to dedicate yourself to watching it. i can't remember when the last time i watched it uninterrupted was. i wish i could see pdl on the big screen again, but that's not happening... sigh.
where does one buy a projector, a screen, and prints of PDL, magnolia, and 2001?
i have yet to see anyone here bring up the fact that since the film was made in early 2001 and came out in late 2002 and for the majority of that time we didn't know dick about the film, hell the title was always up in the air, that the film could not live up to the anticipation we had.
and yes i think its his weakest film yet, and i pray it was just a experament and not a nod to what his future films will be like . ive said it already that this film has moments of brilliance , but it was done in by its " quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness" . I do not think the arty stuff served the story well and i did not see any chemistry between Emily Watson and adam sandler . There was not a scene in the movie that made me belive this
Barry- You are so beautiful. I love you so much I want to smash your face in with a sledgehammer.
Lena - I love you so much I want to scoop your eyeballs out of their sockets and chew and suck on them.
that love does exist but nothing in the movie leads you to think that.
i had another post on the topic of how this film was just a few tweaks away from being a pure masterpiece, but in the end its just a flawed masterpiece.
for one thing show him buying the suit, he is walking down the street and he sees this weird suit and for the first time in his life he says " fuck it im gonna stray from the flock and serve myself here and just not give a damn and buy this suit" show him with that goofy look we get when we try on clothes at the store, then that whole set up about his sisters goofing on the suit would be powerful, we would see how much it means to him, then in turn feel bad for the way they are making him feel about it .
another thing was im sorry find a actress that will have chemistry with your lead. They were not working as a couple. and beef up the love story , fuck that 90 minute rules kick in about ten more minutes of love scenes so we can buy lines like You are so beautiful. I love you so much I want to smash your face in with a sledgehammer.
this story is fucking great, the timid guy who was born into a controlling family who can give a fuck if he has a good job, all the want to do is push him around and rule his life, and then he finds love but it is almost done in by the fact that he found it through his worst enemy's/his family . But since this is the real one, real love she sees through this where as some other person would not , This is real love, god given if you will .see its a great fucking story , and that blue suit part could be great think back to all those times in your life when you have admited in public to enjoying a song or movie/tv show that the people around you do not get. Instead of being a sheep and saying " you guys are right" you stand by your opinions and bare the wrath .
It could be deeper then that, maybe you start to get atracted to someone who your friends deem non worthy , see my point here .
i really thought this film could of been great, but it wasnt, still it really could of been
hmm, interesting. so now everyone doesn't like PDL as much? how did it sweep the xixax awards then? i'm not sure I could rank pta's films, nor would I want to.
Quote from: Butterscotch Jonesfuck that 90 minute rules kick in about ten more minutes of love scenes so we can buy lines like You are so beautiful. I love you so much I want to smash your face in with a sledgehammer.
i really thought this film could of been great, but it wasnt, still it really could of been
Fuck that, kick in another 90 minutes and just let us feel the agony.
On my two viewings, I think that PDL can be great, if you suspend a little cynicism and just go in with an empty, open heart, but it can fall short if you read it as a story and want it to bring in all sorts of other considerations like motivations and consequences. That is, you get a great insight into what falling in love is like for PTA, where the events are meaningless but the feeling is everything. The way he does this, through form, is flawless, and that is where the film is consistently great, and so probably his best yet from an aesthetic point of view (doesn't surprise me that GT is a fan). If you look for narrative complexity, Magnolia is the thing, but for perfectly conveying an experience through form, PDL is the one. If you accept that, you can stop worrying about the narrative questions. The problem is that unless you are able to accept it it's not gonna work at all. Hence I loved it first time, but second time kept thinking yeah, but... Whereas Magnolia does it all for me, just maybe less intensely or with such aesthetic flair as PDL. I just prefer drawn out and exhausting to short and sweet, it's ultimately more satisfying. I can watch it anytime I have the time, but PDL will be matched more carefully to my mood.
heheheh, so much hate towards pdl. and it won the xixaxie for best picture. heheeheh. that means that there is more of us then there is of them
Perhaps if PTA shot a documentary on the various types of mayo used by Burger King, it would sweep the xixax awards as well?
Quote from: MrBurgerKingPerhaps if PTA shot a documentary on the various types of mayo used by Burger King, it would sweep the xixax awards as well?
what the hell is with your obsession with burger king?
Quote from: cowboykurtisQuote from: MrBurgerKingPerhaps if PTA shot a documentary on the various types of mayo used by Burger King, it would sweep the xixax awards as well?
what the hell is with your obsession with burger king?
It's the only place where he can have things his way.
Quote from: budgieQuote from: Butterscotch Jonesfuck that 90 minute rules kick in about ten more minutes of love scenes so we can buy lines like You are so beautiful. I love you so much I want to smash your face in with a sledgehammer.
i really thought this film could of been great, but it wasnt, still it really could of been
Fuck that, kick in another 90 minutes and just let us feel the agony.
On my two viewings, I think that PDL can be great, if you suspend a little cynicism and just go in with an empty, open heart, but it can fall short if you read it as a story and want it to bring in all sorts of other considerations like motivations and consequences. That is, you get a great insight into what falling in love is like for PTA, where the events are meaningless but the feeling is everything. The way he does this, through form, is flawless, and that is where the film is consistently great, and so probably his best yet from an aesthetic point of view (doesn't surprise me that GT is a fan). If you look for narrative complexity, Magnolia is the thing, but for perfectly conveying an experience through form, PDL is the one. If you accept that, you can stop worrying about the narrative questions. The problem is that unless you are able to accept it it's not gonna work at all. Hence I loved it first time, but second time kept thinking yeah, but... Whereas Magnolia does it all for me, just maybe less intensely or with such aesthetic flair as PDL. I just prefer drawn out and exhausting to short and sweet, it's ultimately more satisfying. I can watch it anytime I have the time, but PDL will be matched more carefully to my mood.
i see what you mean and i would do the same, if it wasnt for the fact that the two leads do not work together .
if they had chemistry we could just go with it and forget about everything and just feel the love as it were . I really think emily watson was a mistake.
I think BJ's just not feelin' it.
I think Watson and Sandler were perfect for the feel of that film... there's this looming akwardness to everything, you can't really think about "would these people work in real life", you just have to go with it because it works in the film.
Budgie's pretty on spot here... though I think I like it more than her, this film is one that you just have to experience... analyzing it this way and that can only take you so far with this one.
Thanks guys. You're a lot of help.
i really think each paul thomas anderson picture has gotten better and better from SYDNEY (HARD EIGHT) to PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE. each film is better than the last. he's grown so much as a writer and a filmmaker judging from his body of work. PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE is (in my opinion) his best work to date, although it's not my favorite (MAGNOLIA is my favorite! cuz i've seen it more and i quite enjoy it!). but PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE is just so fuckin' beautiful and refreshing to watch. the last time i saw it was at an art school cinematheque and the audience was completely into it (probably becasue they were all art school kids). they were laughing at the right moments and just feeling the emotions of the film. seeing it the last time made me realize that this is a great film and time will definately tell whether it will be embraced by the mainstream or forgotten. i can't wait to buy the dvd!
ps
i had a thought recently, that if paul thomas anderson wants to win an oscar or get the recogintion we all know he deserves then he needs to make another film like BOOGIE NIGHTS. a film everyone (mainstream and film snobs) can enjoy. a film that won't go over a lot of people's head. a film with a lot of violence and sex. i dunno, it was just a thought.
Quote from: MrBurgerKingI think it kinda ruined P-DL for me knowing some of the surprises it had in store.
I definitely almost did the same man. I read every single review, read/watched every single interview, watched bravo's making of, looked at every available screen cap on the net, watched the clip montage on the cannes site...I almost knew the whole fucking movie before I even saw it. I'll never make that mistake again...especially with PTA's next film. I'll read a couple reviews of course and watch the trailer(s)...but nothing else. I definitely learned from my mistake.
What people are saying about PTA stepping in a new direction...I love that...I hope it's true.
Quote from: ebeaman69I almost knew the whole fucking movie before I even saw it. I'll never make that mistake again
Unless it's All the Real Girls...
ebeaman69 wrote:
I definitely almost did the same man. I read every single review, read/watched every single interview, watched bravo's making of, looked at every available screen cap on the net, watched the clip montage on the cannes site...I almost knew the whole fucking movie before I even saw it. I'll never make that mistake again...especially with PTA's next film. I'll read a couple reviews of course and watch the trailer(s)...but nothing else. I definitely learned from my mistake.
Same here. I read PLENTY of reviews, new all of the spoilers, watched all the footage available etc and still loved it. But lord knows I wont have learned from my mistake next time, I'll probably end up doing the same with PTA's next........
Quote from: RegularKarateI think BJ's just not feelin' it.
.
and i think you just like calling me BJ :x
Punch-Drunk-Love makes me feel happy in love.
Magnolia gives me the best cry, and then inspiration.
Hard 8 makes me appreciate my Dad.
And Boogie Nights is the most entertaining.
I think my favorite will continue to be.....whichever one I am watching right now..!!
P-DL is the most enjoyable....glad I saw it 15...or was it 16 times. Made me smile all the way though.
Magnolia may be the most powerful, but a bit too unhappy for my tastes.
Quote from: fulty
And Boogie Nights is the most entertaining.
Not to mention funniest.
The PTA should do a comedy
I can't believe so many of you didn't get PDL.
The charm of the movie is it's quirks and off beats and...oh fug it. you just didn't get it, man.
suuuucks.
What shocked me about 'PDL' was how funny it was, I wasn't expecting it to be that funny. It's not 'Ahahahahaha'-funny but real tongue-in-cheek wit. Its a really sharp comedy. Lots of reviewers have called it a 'comedic drama' but I'd probably call it a 'dramatic comedy' (among other things).
Quote from: Butterscotch Jones
i see what you mean and i would do the same, if it wasnt for the fact that the two leads do not work together .
if they had chemistry we could just go with it and forget about everything and just feel the love as it were . I really think emily watson was a mistake.
P'raps the fact that the film relies so heavily on us getting the chemistry, and does so little to persuade, means that it can never be called great, but when you think that falling in love is about this inexplicable chemistry that from the outside is invisible, and that only happens mysteriously, then not getting it is part of the intended effect. So you can still see it as great, you're just not in on the fuzziness.
This is where I wonder, though, to what extent you have to - and can - consciously open yourself up to it, to falling in love with it: hence everyone loving it first time round, full of desire to love it, but being more critical later, when the first flush has worn off. So PTA is making us feel his philosophy again, just as in Magnolia: unless you open yourself up, you're gonna never know the joy of PDL/human connection.
Hmm, says a lot about people who didn't go a bundle
Lena seemed a tad more like a motherly figure than maybe a girlfriend to me.
Quote from: Duck SauceLena seemed a tad more like a motherly figure than maybe a girlfriend to me.
Freudian.
Lena matronly? Hmm....maybe.
I thought they were a perfect pair. I sensed she had issues (as did Barry Egan), only PTA never really got into them....(although didn't she allude to her having lots of brothers? Or did she say that she didn't have alot of siblings....?)
Shit, brain fart.
Quote from: punchdrunk23(although didn't she allude to her having lots of brothers? Or did she say that she didn't have alot of siblings....?)
she has no siblings. she says she's the complete opposite.
either way, i like the mother thing, and PTA does too, it goes with the whole manchild deal.. reminds me of that UK nterview (ihttp://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/film/interviews/story.jsp?story=372282) where he freaked out about When The Cat's Away, there's clearly a conflict between the sweet & pure (beginnings) and the bitter reality of end(ing)s.
i mean, no one dies in PDL, that's cool.
most importantly, i think that boogie nights and magnolia presented a sort of journey through which a strong female presence could be discovered as redemptive, the sweetness came after several endings.. but PDL
begins with that lonely state of mind, the trip is shorter and it's intent is simply to GET CLOSER, to take the leap. it's the same jump but magnified and the energy to take off is sumthing u can bring.
the structure itself is all about fractured beginnings that in the end clear up when all the clutter is dealt with, hence the harmonium works.
2:15 is officially the best time to write shit that sounds good in ur head.
Quote from: P...but PDL begins with that lonely state of mind, the trip is shorter and it's intent is simply to GET CLOSER, to take the leap. it's the same jump but magnified and the energy to take off is sumthing u can bring.
I like that.
pdl was really pretty damn lame...
magnolia was too long...
boogie nights was just a rip off...
hard eight was hard to watch...
ranking:
fagnolia
heart ache
booger nights
punch stunk love
I thought the agreement thing to this board said you had to be over the age of 13 to join
that was just really lame and unfunny....sorry.
My post not yours...god I'm an ass.....I apologize again aaaand to bed I go.
Quote from: cowboykurtisQuote from: Pedro the WombatIt's his worst film but amazing nonetheless.
couldn't have said it better myself -- true dat.
I'd hate to say that I agree, but I do. To be honest, I never really sat down to watch "Boogie Nights" or "Magnolia", until I rented "Punch Drunk Love". A friend of mine wanted to see it because she loved Adam Sander, but the movie didn't make her laugh, she thought it was dumb and hated it. I loved it and after buying it, so I could watch it over and over again... I talked myself into buying "Magnolia" too.
Why did I wait so long? Because everybody told me about the frogs at the end, and that it was long, and stupid. Then again, everybody tried to tell me that the panio was dumb in "Punch Drunk Love", but I loved it anyway. So I got "Magnolia", and loved it. I ended up getting "Boogie Nights" a few weeks after and fell in love with it too. I had seen parts of "Boogie Nights' but so many tried to tell me that it was just a porn film... all that changed, when I dugged up an old review by Rogert Ebert who praised the movie as much more then a "porn film".
Now, after watching his first two movies... I have to agree. "Punch Drunk Love" was the worst. Mainly because it's not as long, and doesn't come across as an epic. That is not to say it isn't a great movie... it's just that "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia" were one in a million.
Punch-Drunk Love is, without a doubt in my mind, PTA's best film. It combines the best of his other 3 films; Hard Eight's complex characters, Boogie Nights tightness, and Magnolia's ambition and creates something fresh, new and entirely his own. Repeat viewings really exhibit this. It's the most complete PTA film.
I don't know if PDL is his best, but it gets better with each viewing, definitely. I've seen it five times, and each time is such a new, wonderful experience. I've only seen Magnolia three times, come to think of it. Heh, I've watched the That Moment diary more than that. Point being, though, I feel that Magnolia is the best film ever. But PDL grows with me more and more, and it's getting damn close to "best ever" status for me. It does have some rough spots, but so does Magnolia. PTA is still learning though. Where Magnolia had a little fat here and there, PDL could've used a little more fat. But still, they're both great, as are Boogie Nights and Hard Eight.
.in order from worst to gooder....
hard eight.
resident evil.
punch drunk love.
boogie nights.
magnolia.
I read about Paul's work on "Resident Evil".
What did he do?
It may have do with, what your in... at the time.
For now, "Magnolia" and "Boogie Nights" are my favorites.
I'm probably just desperate for anything new by PTA! :lol:
Quote from: ckad79I read about Paul's work on "Resident Evil".
What did he do?
Remember the part when Milla was battling the zombie frogs? That was Paul.
Quote from: ckad79I read about Paul's work on "Resident Evil".
What did he do?
Wrote and directed.
Just saw "PDL" again and now I definately think it's his second best film.
It's some kind of a strange movie but great. Adam Sandler is hilarious in this.
I loved the scene when he's talking the first time to the phone sex-girl.
"I want her to call me Jack." (couple of minutes later) "Hi, this is Back."
:-D
My order:
1) Magnolia
2) Punch-Drunk Love
3) Boogie Nights
4) Sydney
In 3 Weeks I am going to get to see punch-drunk love again...on 35 mm. yay!
I watched PDL love again, and I have to say: "it's his best!". It's not for everyone, extremely limited, and with that... I think "Magnolia" was the most solid project of his. PDL loses your average viewer with the panio, the pudding, the romance... but this film has so much depth.
I used to knock it, compared to the others (by Paul) because their longer and more of an epic (thinking they deserve more respect). But PDL is beyond amazing. Boogie Nights was a great story, Magnolia was a great story with that little extra, but PDL is great story filled with tons of little extras.
A few other things that I felt made it very orginal and special (although not *landmarks*). Showing NO credits at the start of the film (really different these days), although short... giving Robert Smigel a serious role (ha ha), not just in key moments but music in EVERY scene, Jeremy Blake's art intertwined, and the photography that was done (even notice how the boxes in the grocery store were stacked by color to have a visual appeal).
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ptanderson.com%2Ffeaturefilms%2Fimages%2Flove%2Fblake%2Fgursky.jpg&hash=2f70f5dddab7281adb958f8707c3751c37da879a)
** I know. I know. It's not from the movie (it's a PAINTING). I'm too lazy to make vidcaps, but we all seen the movie, you know what I'm picturing**
Plus he took Adam Sandler, and didn't change him, but used the same Adam Sandler that everybody knows and merely adapted him to work with this film. It's also great because it brought so many new fans into PTA's world. I rented the movie, had never seen PTA pictures, with a friend who was a huge Sandler fan. She hated it, it wasn't funny as she expected, but I loved it... and I am sure many Sandler fans had mixed reactions too.
People like me, found out about Paul through that film, and for it... I had a new found respect for his other movies. To me, that is the reason why it's tops, in my book. I had to counterract my last statement. 8)