that Punch-Drunk Love is PTA's best film. Its so funny and romantic, very original, and beautiful to look at. Hard Eight was good, but nothing special. I liked Boogie Nights a lot, but, i don't know, i felt it was too long, my ass was numb for the last 45 minutes. Again, I enjoyed Magnolia, but it reminded me too much of Altman and through the whole thing I kept holding it up to my 2 favourite Altman's Nashville and Short Cuts, both movies that are nearly impossible to top (I will say that Magnolia was better than Popeye). Punch-Drunk Love is almost a perfect movie. I get lost in it like I do with the best of Lynch. I'm really excited to see what PTA will do next.

P.S. I'm sorry if you already discussed this. I'm new here

Lebowski121, I wholeheartedly agree.  Boogie and Magnolia are obviously more epic in scope, but ultimately the Altman / Scorcese influences are too obvious and overwhelming.  PDL felt like PT's first film where he found his own voice.

He agrees, too.  I read in an interview that he feels it is his first film that is truly all from him, and not a pastiche of influences and homages.  

I think, with any artist starting out, he / she is going to try to do his / her version of someone else's work they really admire.  Only through this process does the artist stumble onto his / her own voice.  

I am very excited for his next film, whatever it may be.  I have a feeling he may turn back to something more epic in scope, but it'll be tighter and more unique than his first three.  PDL feels like a transition piece, albeit an astounding one that stands on its own.

Not to devalue Hard Eight, Boogie Nights and Magnolia: I love these films, but I agree, PDL is his best.  And it just gets better the more I watch.

i agree

well i think u too easily dismiss boogie/magnolia, and for the wrong reasons, but hey thats me.

style-wise i think u may be right about pdl, that being pta is establishing his own trademarks, but if we're talking about content here, give credit where credit is due. i doubt pta could make another film more personal than magnolia. how r the influences too overwhelming, b/c its an ensemble piece w/ whip pans and fast zoom-ins?

PDL is definetly a great film... but only my second favorite PTA flick... Boogie Nights has got to be my first... something about the porn element... just kidding... no, but seriously, I love Boogie Nights way more... I think many of us are just hyped up on PDL stuff right now... its too fresh in our minds to make an unbiased choice... like when a new album comes out by a favorite artist and you think its their best work... its just new... wait a few years and you might change your mind about PDL (and I might too... who knows).

Nick

P-DL is my favorite because of the comedy, but saying its better than Magnolia and Boogie Nights is comparing apples to oranges.  Altho the themes seem to be the same, BN's and Mag's were bigger films with a large number of stories going on at the same time, with Paul's touch of intertwining them, while P-DL is more or less a single story about Barry.
I assume after Magnolia, with the criticism of it being too long and a bit too complicated for the average movie goer to grasp, Paul decided to simplify to one story per movie.  My 2 cents.

i like PDL a bit more than magnolia simply cuz i can fit it into my schedule easier

i like it, but not best.  i actually wish it were longer.  at 90 minutes it feels to brisk.  i think at 100 there would be more room to breathe.  also, i feel that all the movies have their influences, (and personally dont have a problem with any of them.  i feel like they all stand on their own), but pdls influences are just more obscure.  does that actually give it any more merit though?

Quote from: ©bradwell i think u too easily dismiss boogie/magnolia, and for the wrong reasons, but hey thats me.

Quote

Hey, I'm not dismissing Magnolia and Boogie Nights. I'd be the first to admit that they were both really good movies, I just find them more problamatic than Punch-Drunk Love (which is understandable because a 3 hour movie has more room for problems than a 90-min movie) Boogie Nights, in my opinion, was too long. And I'm not saying that Magnolia is an Altman rip-off. I'm just saying that when you make a certain type of movie (this one being a long multi-character story) it lives in the shadow of the great movies like it that came before. PTA is a great filmmaker who's made three good films and an excellent one. That's more you can say for most directors.

I think Magnolia is his best, myself.  I don't hold the Altman link in as much esteem as most do, because except for some of the structure, the two films aren't too similar.  For what PTA does that's Altman-esque, he always takes it to the next level, and makes it exponentially more interesting.  And this is true for any cinematic technique he borrows from any of the numerous masters you'd think of (Scorsese, Kubrick, Tati, Altman, etc.).  This is one of the reasons why he's so good at what he does.

PDL is great, and it shows incredible promise of what's to come, but it's too condensed to compete with Magnolia.  Magnolia is the only picture I've ever seen that's three-plus hours long and truly needed every minute.  It's the only three-plus hour movie I can watch and not ever finding myself wanting it to be over.

Boogie Nights is so colorful, and I think that's what I love about it so much.  Its energy which was transferred to Magnolia is something that filmmakers should strive for.

Hard Eight is great because it's a first effort, and it's a good one.  It's a movie that gets better and better every time I watch it, and it gets bonus points because it has two of the best commentaries I've ever heard, especially for wannabe filmmakers.

to think...Phil Hoffman is the common link....

I am torn between Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love. I'm going to watch them both next week [seeing Punch-Drunk Love on the big screen again: I saw it months ago, but it's only just reached my hick town's "art house" club roster], and then I'll judge.

Very, very close race though.

Definitely Magnolia. But that will probably always be my favorite movie, cause I have a personal attachment. PDL was still an evolution, though.

Maybe it's a cop out, but I have difficulty picking my favorite PTA movie. I love them all for very different reasons, not to mention they're all very different films so I find it hard to compare.
I thought Hard Eight and Magnolia were amazing dramatic movies. Boogie Nights, I just find it fun to watch. PDL is certainly easier to fit into the schedule, as said before, and a great love story movie thing....

meh, just my two cents...

Quote from: adolfwolfli

....  PDL felt like PT's first film where he found his own voice.

no way...if Sydney got mamet influences,  Boogie got scorsese and Magnolia got Altman ..then PDL is a PTA's travel to France....clear Truffaut, Godard and Tati ones...

Magnolia is still his best...PDL is an advance on Cinemathography for him (with Robert Elswit).