There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Bloodis a 2007 Americanepicperiod drama filmwritten and directed byPaul Thomas Anderson, loosely based on the 1927 novelOil!byUpton Sinclair.It starsDaniel Day-Lewis,Paul Dano,Kevin J. O'Connor,Ciarán Hinds, andDillon Freasier. The film followssilver minerturnedoilmanDaniel Plainview (Day-Lewis) as he embarks on a ruthless quest for wealth during theCalifornian oil boombetween the late19thand early20thcenturies.
Development onThere Will Be Bloodbegan after writerEric Schlosserpurchased the film rights to Sinclair's novel in 2004: it was acquired byGhoulardi Film Company,Paramount VantageandMiramaxafter Anderson completed the first draft of the film's screenplay. Day-Lewis immediately joined the project while Dano, who initially signed on for a smaller role, took on a starring role after replacingKel O'Neillduring filming.Principal photographybegan in June 2006 and lasted until that September, with filming locations includingLos AngelesandMarfa, Texas. The film's music was composed byRadioheadguitaristJonny Greenwood.
There Will Be Bloodpremiered atFantastic FestinAustinon September 29, 2007: it was first theatrically released inNew York Cityand Los Angeles on December 26 and in selected international markets on January 25, 2008. It grossed $76.1 million worldwide and received acclaim from critics, with praise for the cinematography, Anderson's direction, screenplay, music, and performances of Day-Lewis and Dano. TheNational Board of Review, theAmerican Film Instituteand theNational Society of Film CriticsnamedThere Will Be Bloodone of the top-ten films of 2007. The film was nominated for eight awards at the80th Academy Awards, winning two (Best Actorfor Day-Lewis andBest Cinematography) and received numerousother accolades. It has since been widely regarded as one of the greatest films of the21st century.
In 1898, Daniel Plainview finds silver while prospecting inNew Mexicobut breaks his leg. Dragging himself from the pit, he takes a sample to an assay office and receives a silver and goldclaim. In 1902,he discovers oil in California. Following the death of a worker in an accident, Daniel adopts the man's orphaned son, H.W. The boy becomes his partner, allowing Daniel to present himself as a family man.
In 1911, Daniel is approached by Paul Sunday, a young man who tells him of an oil deposit in Little Boston. Daniel visits the Sundays' property in Little Boston and meets Paul'sidentical twinbrother Eli, a preacher. Daniel attempts to purchase the farm from the Sundays at a bargain price under the ruse of using it to hunt quail, but his motives are questioned by Eli, who knows the land has oil. In exchange for the property, Eli demands $10,000 for his church. An agreement is made and Daniel acquires all the available land in and around the Sunday property, save for the land owned by one holdout, William Bandy.
After Daniel reneges on an agreement to let Eli bless the well before drilling begins, a series of misfortunes occur: an accident kills one worker and agas blowoutdeafens H.W. and destroys the drilling infrastructure. When Eli publicly demands the money still owed to him, Daniel beats him. At the dinner table that night, Eli attacks and berates his father for having trusted Daniel. A man arrives at Daniel's doorstep claiming to be his half-brother, Henry. Later that night H.W. sets fire to their house, intending to kill Henry. Daniel sends H.W. to a school for the deaf inSan Francisco.Standard Oiloffers to buy out Daniel's local interests, but Daniel refuses and instead strikes a deal withUnion Oilto build a pipeline. However, Bandy's ranch remains an impediment.
Daniel becomes suspicious of Henry after he fails to recognize a joke and confronts him one night at gunpoint. "Henry" confesses that he was a friend of the real Henry, who died oftuberculosis, and that he had impersonated Henry in the hope that Daniel could give him a job. An enraged Daniel murders him and buries his body. Daniel drinks and weeps. The next morning, Daniel is awakened by Bandy, who knows of Daniel's crime and wants him to publicly repent in Eli's church in exchange for aneasementto run his pipeline across the ranch. As part of hisbaptism, Eli humiliates Daniel and coerces him into confessing that he abandoned his child. Later, while the pipeline is being built, H.W. reunites with Daniel and Eli becomes a missionary.
In 1927, H.W. marries Paul and Eli's sister Mary. Daniel, now extremely wealthy but analcoholic, lives alone in a large mansion. H.W. asks his father to dissolve their partnership so that he can move toMexicowith Mary and start his own drilling company. Daniel angrily mocks H.W.'s deafness before revealing his true origins and disowning him as his son. H.W. finally leaves after thanking God he is not related to Daniel. Eli, now a radio preacher, visits a drunken Daniel in thebowling alleyof his mansion. With Little Boston suffering in theGreat Depression, Eli asks Daniel to partner with the church in drilling Bandy's property. Daniel agrees on the condition that Eli denounce his faith. Once Eli acquiesces, Daniel says that he already drained the property of oil bycaptureand taunts Eli for his misfortune. He chases Eli around the alley and bludgeons him to death with a bowling pin. When his butler appears to ask about the commotion, Daniel announces, "I'm finished."
Many have seen the film as a commentary on the nature ofcapitalismand greed, and its inherent national presence in America.Daniel Plainview's "I have a competition in me" speech has been looked upon as important when analyzing the film from this angle.
David DenbyofThe New Yorkerdescribed the film as being about "the driving force of capitalism as it both creates and destroys the future" and goes on to say that "this movie is about the vanishing American frontier. The thrown-together buildings look scraggly and unkempt, the homesteaders are modest, stubborn, and reticent, but, in their undreamed-of future,Wal-Martis on the way."
Others have noted themes of faith, religion, and family.James Christopher ofThe Timesviewed the film as "a biblical parable about America's failure to square religion and greed."
AfterEric Schlosserfinished writingFast Food Nation, many reporters noted similarities to Upton Sinclair's bookThe Jungle. Although Schlosser had not read the book and was unfamiliar with Sinclair's other works, comparisons between the two books prompted Schlosser to read Sinclair's works, including the novelOil!. Schlosser, who found the book to be exciting and thought it would make an excellent film, sought out the Sinclair estate and purchased the film rights. Schlosser intended to find a director who was as passionate about the book as he was but directorPaul Thomas Andersonapproached him first.
Anderson had an existing screenplay about two fighting families. He struggled with the script and soon realized it was not working.Homesick while away inLondon, Anderson purchased a copy ofOil!, drawn to its cover illustration of a California oilfield.Inspired by the novel, Anderson contacted Schlosser and adapted the first 150 pages to a screenplay. Research trips to museums dedicated to early oilmen inBakersfieldassisted Anderson in the development of the screenplay.Anderson changed the title fromOil!toThere Will Be Bloodbecause he felt "there's not enough of the book to feel like it's a proper adaptation".
He said of writing the screenplay:
Anderson, who had said that he would like to work with Daniel Day-Lewis,wrote the screenplay with Day-Lewis in mind and approached Day-Lewis when the script was nearly complete. Anderson had heard that Day-Lewis liked his earlier filmPunch-Drunk Love, which gave him the confidence to hand Day-Lewis a copy of the incomplete script.According to Day-Lewis, being asked to do the film was enough to convince him.In an interview withThe New York Observer, he elaborated that what drew him to the project was "the understanding that [Anderson] had already entered into that world, [he] wasn't observing it – [he'd] entered into it – and indeed [he'd] populated it with characters who [he] felt had lives of their own".
Anderson said that the line in the final scene, "I drink yourmilkshake!", was paraphrased from a quote by former Secretary of the Interior andU.S. SenatorfromNew Mexico,Albert Fallspeaking before a Congressional investigation into the 1920s oil-relatedTeapot Dome scandal. Anderson said he was fascinated "to see that word [milkshake] among all this official testimony and terminology" to explain the complicated process of oil drainage.In 2014, an independent attempt to locate the statement in Fall's testimony proved unsuccessful—an article published in theCase Western Reserve Law Reviewsuggested that the actual source of the paraphrased quote may instead have been remarks in 2003 by Sen.Pete Domeniciof New Mexico during a debate over drilling in theArctic National Wildlife Refuge.In those remarks, Domenici stated:
According to Joanne Sellar, one of the film's producers, the film was difficult to finance because "the studios didn't think it had the scope of a major picture".It took two years to acquire financing for the film.For the role of Plainview's "son", Anderson looked at people inLos AngelesandNew York City, but he realized that they needed someone fromTexaswho knew how to shootshotgunsand "live in that world".The filmmakers asked around at a school and the principal recommendedDillon Freasier. They did not have him read any scenes and instead talked to him, realizing that he was the perfect person for the role.
To build his character, Day-Lewis started with the voice. Anderson sent him recordings from the late 19th century to 1927 and a copy of the 1948 filmThe Treasure of the Sierra Madre, including documentaries on its director,John Huston, an important influence on Anderson's film.According to Anderson, he was inspired by the fact thatSierra Madreis "about greed and ambition and paranoia and looking at the worst parts of yourself."While writing the script, he would put the film on before he went to bed at night. To research for the role, Day-Lewis read letters from laborers and studied photographs from the time period. He also read up on oil tycoonEdward Doheny, upon whom Sinclair's book is loosely based.
Principal photographybegan in June 2006 on a ranch inMarfa, Texas,and took three months.Other location shooting took place in Los Angeles. The film was shot usingPanavisionXL35 mmcameras outfitted primarily with Panavision C series and high-speedanamorphiclenses.Anderson tried to shoot the script in sequence with most of the sets on the ranch.
Two weeks in, Anderson replaced the actor playing Eli Sunday withPaul Dano, who had originally been cast only in the much smaller role of Paul Sunday, the brother who tipped off Plainview about the oil on the Sunday ranch. A profile of Day-Lewis inThe New York Times Magazinesuggested that the original actor,Kel O'Neill, had been intimidated by Day-Lewis's intensity and habit of staying in character on and off the set.Anderson, Day-Lewis, and O'Neill all denied this claim,and Day-Lewis stated, "I absolutely don't believe that it was because he was intimidated by me. I happen to believe that—and I hope I'm right."O'Neill ascribed his dismissal to a poor working relationship with Anderson and his diminished interest in acting.
Anderson first saw Dano inThe Ballad of Jack and Roseand thought that he would be perfect to play Paul Sunday, a role he originally envisioned to be a 12 or 14-year-old boy. Dano only had four days to prepare for the much larger role of Eli Sunday,but he researched the time period that the film is set in as well asevangelicalpreachers.The previous two weeks of scenes with Sunday and Plainview had to be re-shot with Dano instead of O'Neill.
The interior mansion scenes were filmed at theGreystone MansioninBeverly Hills, the former real-life home of Edward Doheny Jr., a gift from his father,Edward Doheny. Scenes filmed at Greystone involved the careful renovation of the basement's two-lane bowling alley.Anderson said it was "a particular situation, because it was so narrow that there could only be a very limited number of people at any given time, maybe five or six behind the camera and then the two boys."Day-Lewis later broke a rib in a fall during filming.
Anderson dedicated the film toRobert Altman, who died during editing.
Anderson had been a fan ofRadiohead's music and was impressed withJonny Greenwood's scoring of the filmBodysong. While writing the script forThere Will Be Blood, Anderson heard Greenwood's orchestral piece "Popcorn Superhet Receiver", which prompted him to ask Greenwood to work with him. After initially agreeing to score the film, Greenwood had doubts and thought about backing out, but Anderson's reassurance and enthusiasm for the film convinced him to continue.Anderson gave Greenwood a copy of the film and three weeks later he came back with two hours of music recorded atAbbey Road Studiosin London.Concerning his approach to composing the soundtrack, Greenwood said toEntertainment Weekly:
In December 2008, Greenwood's score was nominated for a Grammy in the category of "Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media" for the51st Grammy Awards.It features classical music, such as the third movement ("Vivace Non Troppo") ofJohannes Brahms'sViolin Concerto in D MajorandArvo Pärt's "Fratres" for cello and piano.
Greenwood's score was awarded theSilver Bearfor outstanding artistic contribution (music) at the58th Berlin International Film Festivalin 2008.
The first public screening ofThere Will Be Bloodwas on September 29, 2007, atFantastic FestinAustin, Texas. The film was released on December 26, 2007, inNew York CityandLos Angeleswhere it grossedUS$190,739 on its opening weekend. The film then opened in 885 theaters in selected markets on January 25, 2008, grossing $4.8 million on its opening weekend. The film went on to make $40.2 million in North America and $35.9 million in the rest of the world, with a worldwide total of $76.1 million, well above its $25 million budget;however, the prints and advertising cost for the film'sUnited Statesrelease cost about $40 million.
The film was released onDVDon April 8, 2008.AnHD DVDrelease was announced, but later canceled due to the discontinuation of the format. ABlu-rayedition was released on June 3, 2008.
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes,There Will Be Bloodhas an approval rating of 91% based on 245 reviews, with an average rating of 8.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Widely touted as a masterpiece, this sparse and sprawling epic about the underhanded 'heroes' of capitalism boasts incredible performances by leads Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano, and is director Paul Thomas Anderson's best work to date."OnMetacritic, the film has aweighted averagescore of 93 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Andrew Sarriscalled the film "an impressive achievement in its confident expertness in rendering the simulated realities of a bygone time and place, largely with an inspired use of regional amateur actors and extras with all the right moves and sounds."InPremiere,Glenn Kennypraised Day-Lewis's performance: "Once his Plainview takes wing, the relentless focus of the performance makes the character unique."Manohla Dargiswrote, in her review forThe New York Times, "the film is above all a consummate work of art, one that transcends the historically fraught context of its making, and its pleasures are unapologetically aesthetic."
Esquirepraised Day-Lewis' performance: "what's most fun, albeit in a frightening way, is watching this greedmeister become more and more unhinged as he locks horns with Eli Sunday ... both Anderson and Day-Lewis go for broke. But it's a pleasure to be reminded, if only once every four years, that subtlety can be overrated."Richard SchickelinTimepraisedThere Will Be Bloodas "one of the most wholly original American movies ever made."Critic Tom Charity, writing aboutCNN's ten-best films list, calls the film the only "flat-out masterpiece" of 2007.
Schickel also named the film one of the Top 10 Movies of 2007, ranking it at #9, calling Daniel Day-Lewis' performance "astonishing", and calling the film "a mesmerizing meditation on the American spirit in all its maddening ambiguities: mean and noble, angry and secretive, hypocritical and more than a little insane in its aspirations."James Christopher, chief film critic forThe Times, published a list in April 2008 of his top 100 films, placingThere Will Be Bloodin second place, behind onlyCasablanca.
Some critics were positive toward the work but less laudatory, often criticizing its ending.Mick LaSalleof theSan Francisco Chronicle, challenged the film's high praise by saying "there should be no need to pretendThere Will Be Bloodis a masterpiece just because Anderson sincerely tried to make it one" and noting that "the scenes between Day-Lewis and Dano ultimately degenerate into a ridiculousburlesque".
Roger Ebertassigned the film three and a half out of four stars and wrote, "There Will Be Bloodis the kind of film that is easily called great. I am not sure of its greatness. It was filmed in the same area of Texas used byNo Country for Old Men, and that is a great film, and a perfect one. ButThere Will Be Bloodis not perfect, and in its imperfections (its unbending characters, its lack of women or any reflection of ordinary society, its ending, its relentlessness) we may see its reach exceeding its grasp."
Carla Meyer of theSacramento Bee, who gave the film the same star rating as Ebert, opined that the final confrontation between Daniel and Eli marked when the work "stops being a masterpiece and becomes a really good movie. What was grand becomes petty, then overwrought."In 2014, Peter Walker ofThe Guardianlikewise argued that the scene "might not be the very worst scene in the history of recent Oscar-garlanded cinema ... but it's perhaps the one most inflated with its own delusional self-importance."
Several months after LaSalle's initial review of the film, he reiterated that while he still did not considerThere Will Be Bloodto be a masterpiece, he wondered if its "style, an approach, an attitude... might become important in the future."Since 2008, the film has been included in the book1001 Movies You Must See Before You Dieand every revised edition released afterwards.Total Filmplaced it at number three in their list of the 50 best movies ofTotal Film'slifetime.InThe Guardian, journalist Steve Rose ranked it the 17th best arthouse film of all time, and in a separate 2019 ranking a panel of fourGuardianjournalists ranked it the best film of the 21st century.In 2024, filmmakerQuentin Tarantinonamed it one of the best films of the 21st century.
The film was on theAmerican Film Institute's 10 Movies of the Year; AFI's jury said:
The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.
Review aggregator siteMetacritic, when comparing over 40 'top ten of the decade' lists from various notable publications, foundThere Will Be Bloodto be the most mentioned, appearing on 46% of critics' lists and being ranked the decade's best film on five of them.
In December 2009, Peter Travers ofRolling Stonechose the film as the #1 film of the decade, saying:
Chicago TribuneandAt the MoviescriticMichael PhillipsnamedThere Will Be Bloodthe decade's best film. Phillips stated:
Entertainment Weeklycritic Lisa Schwarzbaum namedThere Will Be Bloodthe decade's best film as well. In her original review, Schwarzbaum stated:
In December 2009, the websiteGawker.comdetermined thatThere Will Be Bloodis film critics' consensus best film of the decade when aggregating all Best of the Decade lists, stating: "And when the votes were all in, by a nose,There Will Be Bloodstood alone at the top of the decade, its straw in the whole damn cinema's milkshake."
The list of critics who laudedThere Will Be Bloodin their assessments of films from the past decade include:
In 2016, it was voted the #3best film of the 21st centuryas picked by 177 film critics from around the world.
The February 2020 issue ofNew York MagazinelistsThere Will Be BloodalongsideCitizen Kane,Sunset Boulevard,Dr. Strangelove,Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,The Conversation,Nashville,Taxi Driver,The Elephant Man,Pulp Fiction,In the Bedroom, andRomaas "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars."