Poll
Question:
Is Plainview drinking water or vodka?
Option 1: Water
votes: 18
Option 2: Vodka
votes: 8
Option 3: Other
votes: 1
is it vodka or water tho? he drinx from his flask when he stands up and then goes for the jug. the way he chugs it appears more like a hungover thirst quencher.
yea, i thought the same thing. At first it seemed like vodka but the length of the chug led me to believe it was water, like he was trying to sober up for a battle of wits
I still think it's vodka. Why couldn't they just put a little "XXX" on the bottle?
no, i still think its water. daniel drinks whiskey the whole film. why would he suddenly start CHUGGING vodka? i think its water because he also swigs from his whiskey flask.
Isn't there a reaction shot of Eli, and he seems a little shocked/horrified by the chugging?
Can someone find this in the script?
it's water. what modge said.
sorry i just jumped into the debate now.. didn't even hear the interview yet but.. common sense says that would be water.
It's in a plastic bottle too, isn't it? I'm not aware of Vodka that comes in plastic bottles. Still, there's a reaction shot of Eli being shock/horrified during the water chugging. Doesn't make complete sense.
Quote from: Jeremy Blackman on February 02, 2008, 02:12:28 PM
I'm not aware of Vodka that comes in plastic bottles.
obviously you've never had McCormick's out of a big plastic bottle http://www.mccormickdistilling.com/vodka/ageverify.php?accesscheck=%2Fvodka%2Findex.php (http://www.mccormickdistilling.com/vodka/ageverify.php?accesscheck=%2Fvodka%2Findex.php)
and in turn...you haven't lived!!
Get a Handle!!!
Quote from: squints on February 02, 2008, 04:12:51 PM
Quote from: Jeremy Blackman on February 02, 2008, 02:12:28 PM
I'm not aware of Vodka that comes in plastic bottles.
obviously you've never had McCormick's out of a big plastic bottle http://www.mccormickdistilling.com/vodka/ageverify.php?accesscheck=%2Fvodka%2Findex.php (http://www.mccormickdistilling.com/vodka/ageverify.php?accesscheck=%2Fvodka%2Findex.php)
and in turn...you haven't lived!!
Get a Handle!!!
I don't drink, so I'm pretty ignorant about these things. :doh:
the script mentions a lot of empty bottles lying around at the beginning of the scene and never mentions the massive swig directly but it does say "Daniel pours himself a drink." i'm pretty sure the bottle isn't plastic. it's a used glass liquor bottle. the label has been taken off but you can still see bumps of a brand name on it if i remember right. why would he pour new liquor into an old bottle? my gut said it was vodka on my first view because it's such a shocking image/progression of his drinking, but i'm beginning to believe water. help me, journalists!
no, its vodka.
oh okay.
why couldn't it be gin?
its glass and you do see bumps of a brand name on it. i still think its water.
I have this image of Plainview half-crushing the bottle while drinking it, like it's plastic, so maybe that's where that memory comes from. Could it be hard plastic, like a Nalgene material, or is it defnitely glass?
I really can't wait for the DVD so we can litter our discussion with screenshots.
It's a bottle of Vodka, you can even hear the cork pop when he takes it off. I've never heard of anyone using a cork for a bottle that wasn't alcohol.
Also, while I'm here, my favorite shot: When they first hit oil and they pull the metal rod out of the ground, Daniel touches it and raises his hand skyward. Good stuff!
Quote from: jonas on February 12, 2008, 03:27:19 PM
It's a bottle of Vodka, you can even hear the cork pop when he takes it off. I've never heard of anyone using a cork for a bottle that wasn't alcohol.
it's water-- corking a bottle in 1927 more common than it is today.
and although it doesn't really suit plainview, it was wildly popular among very rich people in the 20's and 30's to drink special spring water from around the world. a bottle of good water back then would run the equivalent of about 20 bucks or more today. historically much of that was distributed in recycled glass bottles.
an argument for why it might be alcohol in a used bottle, though-- it was during prohibition.
i think most people assume it's alcoholic in nature as i think it's gotten chuckles both times i've seen it.
i stayed through the credits the second time and was surprised to see a thank you to the East Texas Oil Museum in Kilgore, Texas. i went to Kilgore College for my first two years. i'm wondering if PT and/or Daniel actually visited it.
i'll take Paul's word for it
as he alluded to eating "steak and vodka" while editing the film in the December screening in Chelsea, NYC.
yeah paul said thats what he ate when they were editing but not anything about daniel drinking vodka in the film.
it is water!
look at the way he reacts to drinking from the flask and then chugging from the bottle.
done.
I thought it was obviously water. Before Eli looks at him, he drinks secretly from the flask. He feels he has to conceal his alcohol drinking because he must be aware how he looks to Eli. Then right before him and Eli begin talking, he starts to chug the water. He was doing it to get back his senses after being woken up from a stupor.
i can't believe we're still debating this but yeah i agree, it's water.
good. now we can move on.
I'm pretty sure it's flat sprite, guys
definitely flat sprite.
it's fun to speculate on these kinds of things, but i don't think there can ever be a right or wrong answer. i've come to the conclusion that Paul likes to put these types of things in there to purposely get the viewer to wonder. i'm not exactly sure if there's a reason for this; maybe he just gets a kick out of it, but i'm sure it's intentional. same goes for the whole "Eli/Paul twins" scenario... Paul's a brilliant dude. there's no way these things just got by him.
hell, i've even done the same thing with short films of mine. purely as a homage to Paul. without making it too obvious.
Crystal Pepsi.
When i raised this question to my friend he immediately said it was moonshine. Since it was the prohibition era it seems like that would make more since than vodka although the water argument is still a pretty good one too. But then again Paul's comments about "steak and vodka" seem like a reference to that scene.
its probly the leftover holy water from his baptism. daniel probly saves everything.
wait, i'm changing my answer to vinegar.
liquid awesome.
healthy man's urine
Quote from: idk on February 23, 2008, 01:30:05 AM
When i raised this question to my friend he immediately said it was moonshine. Since it was the prohibition era it seems like that would make more since than vodka although the water argument is still a pretty good one too.
no one can chug moonshine like that.
It's his own tears of sadness.
Rubbing Alcohol
Saw it a third time. Definitely, absolutely, no question it's water. And I was vodka voter at first. It's water in a glass jug, and Eli does not react to it in any way.
Ether. No man hops around like that without it.
A new revelation from the script:
Plainview takes a prolonged swig from a glass jug.DANIEL PLAINVIEW
That's some good water.