DANIEL-DAY LEWIS! DANIEL-DAY LEWIS!
There's your review, now go see in my honest opinion THE best performance of all time in cinema history. A pretty bold statement, but my goodness, the fearless acting in this superb movie is unmatched. I've never seen anything like it and I consider myself a movie buff who've seen quite a damn lot in my 40-odd years on this planet.
Yes, Bobby de Niro in Taxi Driver, Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, there are many brilliant performances out there, but this is positively acting of a satanic calibre.
The definite peak of his astonishing career (until now). He's like a king cobra who hypnotises the audience, you can't take your eyes off him.
The movie itself, by Paul Thomas Anderson, is undeniably awesome itself and goes places other movies won't even dare. The totally bonkers ending, which feels somewhat seperate in tone from the rest of the movie, and not everyone will like, blew me away and raised goosebumps on my goosebumps. Paul Dano does pretty darn well against the sound and fury of Lewis's presence and acts as counterpoint to his insanity.
To me personally, no matter in what category video outlets place the cover box, this is a HORROR movie, something Anderson possibly alludes to with the opening snatch of music before the mostly dialogue-less beginning which definitely sounds like it belongs in one.
A horror movie inspires horror and dread in a viewer, and my goodness, this movie does, in spades. No monsters, creatures, serial-killers or supernatural shenanigans, just good ol' nasty capitalism and greed personified by Daniel Day-Lewis who, in my interpretation, is playing the Devil himself.
A bona-fide masterpiece!

Fortunately I received the 2 disc edition as a present, otherwise I would have appreciated reading this first, since the 2 disc edition is still currently more expensive. It is a great film, but you do not get any insights into the making of the film whatsoever from the "bonus disc"

The second disc itself is only 1/2 hour long. Fifteen minutes is made up of a series of old photographs and film footage set to music. The rest consists of two trailers (why watch a trailer when you have seen the film?) and about 3 deleted scenes. There is also an old silent movie reel documentary about petroleum.

No directors commentary, no "making of", no insights into the actors, characters, sets, script. This was merely the studio stuffing a few spare feet of film onto the DVD in order to sell a 2 disc edition. Disappointing and taking advantage of the very fans who make the film a success.

I can see this being a Marmite film but I really enjoyed it. It has a classic clash between Mammon and God; and the ability of a man to use rage to build something great and then to find the cost of that building. Based on a novel by that great teller of social tales - Upton Sinclair - the plot is tight if depressing and the location and camera work at times brutal and at others lyrical. Day-Lewis is a hard act to go up against but the preacher Paul Dano makes a game fight in rounds five to eight. There is no happy ending and not a great deal of violence but there is a lot of passion.

A masterpiece of modern cinema, amazing acting from Day-Lewis. Incredible cinematography by Robert Elswit and brilliant direction by Paul Thomas-Anderson. The fact this has 3 & a half stars and transformers 4& a half is a tribute to the ignorance of broad audiences.

There have been many peaks, and a few troughs, in Daniel Day Lewis's career, but his portrayal of an intense, brooding cow-eyed oil prospector at the turn of the last century must rank as one of his finest. For three hours, he holds our attention through a complex tale of fatherhood, religion, greed and obsession. His lack of lust is a strange counterfoil to the deep passions he shows in other areas of his life - his protectiveness towards children, his loathing of religious hypocrisy, and his yearning for a real family. His inability to adapt to the changing world brought about by industrialistion, and his bitterness at the betrayals in his life, lead to his inevitable and painful ruin. Alcohol plays a part in this downfall, of course, but it is his fondness for milkshakes that this viewer will remember him by ...

Amazon and other reviewers have provided extended summaries of the storyline, so I'd just like to add my opinion that as as second disc of 'Extras', that inclusion is very disappointing and consists mostly of re-reun extracts from the film in association with historical resource material. The best element is probably the 'silent' movie made by the American Ministry of the Interior over 60 years ago to explain the story of petroleum. If you hope to see anything about how the film was actually made - there's absolutely nothing.

As everyone seems to agree, Daniel Day Lewis's performance is superb - there aren't really any adjectives strong enough to describe it. The final, brutally violent scene in the bowling alley - although weirdly unreal - is a triumph of acting. The final shot and line of dialogue, however, is oddly dissatisfying, but its very ambiguity does leave you considering its true meaning.

As for ambiguity - the title of the film is extremely clever and can be interpretted in very many ways ---- the blood of Christ and baptism - the blood of family ties - the blood of violence - the life-blood of oil in society etc.

The one thing that is very important to understand is that 'There will be blood' is essentially an extended character study and although there are highspots of activity and violence, these are infrequent and short. The film is the story of one man and the consequences of his over-arching self-belief in the face of a world and other people who don't agree with his methods, ethics and ambitions. In this respect, Daniel Plainview has certain similarities with that of Charles Foster Kane and the film as a whole is often reminiscent of the darkest work by the Coen Brothers.