There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood

 

 

 

Plainview’s obsession with money is certainly not the main theme of the film, it’s everyone’s obsession with money. While not wanting to give much away, you find out that money truly is the root of evil when people, who are suppose to be good at heart, have an ugly underbelly when it comes to making money. It seems as if everyone flocks to Plainview when they’re in need of money and when he’s making the most. It’s a very sad story about the human element of ‘greed’ that makes us all terrible people in the end.

 

Again, this film should have won for ‘Best Picture’, hands down. It deserved a lot more than it got and it’s a shame that critics/movie goers didn’t take it in like they should have. It’s almost sad. So, if you haven’t seen this wonderful film, then you’re just robbing yourself… much like Plainview robbed the folks in California (not in a literal sense).

The simple life is probably the best life

 

I teach at the University of Kentucky, DVD Production, and when I saw the menus pop up for this DVD, I cringed. It took about two days for me to actually understand why they were done the way they were done. The menus are simple, they are a still picture with old-fashion font. I thought maybe that Paramount lazied out on the DVD, but in fact they took the theme/look of the film and transferred it to the DVD menus. It’s now perfect in my mind. It was an excellent decision by the studio, one that I won’t ever second guess.

 

Anyway, that’s neither here nor there, the visuals and audio from this DVD are simply spectacular. They really convey how tough life was, not only as a driller, but as a resident of pretty less than hospitable territory. And the very creepy music in the film sounds beautiful in 5.1. It certainly helps to support the visuals of the film, which are breathtaking. I can’t wait to see this on Blu-ray.

 

As for the special features, here’s what you get:

• Featurette: 15
• Trailers: Teaser
• Trailers: Trailer
• Additional Scenes: Fishing
• Additional Scenes: Haircut/Interrupted Hymn
• Featurette: Dailies Gone Wild
• Featurette: The Story of Petroleum

 

The featurettes are excellent and interesting. They deserved a second disc, as did most of what you get in the special features. Not only is this one of the best films of last year, but one of the best DVDs of ’08.

 

You’ll strike gold with this DVD

 

As funny as it sounds, you will strike gold if you purchase this DVD. I highly recommend it, not only for the performance of Daniel Day-Lewis (who is brilliant and unique as usual), but also because of the storyline, the visuals, the audio, just about everything. To boot, you get spectacular features, which again, makes this worth your time and money.

So if you’re drilling for a good piece of entertainment, look no further than There Will Be Blood, it’s truly a sure thing.