Suggestion: Boogie Nights vs. There Will Be Blood

[j_scanlon 59]

1) To put it simply, it is insanity that Paul Thomas Anderson has not been put into the canon yet. I could say the same for Terrence Malick, but I can save that suggestion for later (Tree of Life Tree of Life). I know these are really basic Serious Film Person movies but really, we're nearly 70 films deep with no PTA.

 

2) Both of these films, as well as maybe 3 other PTA movies, are bonafide canon and there's little reason to believe they wouldn't be voted in if tackled on at a time. Thus it'd be kind of boring to tackle one or the other on its own. I think these films released exactly 10 years apart, have similarities and differences that could make for interesting discussion about Anderson's style and growth as a filmmaker, and why he's important (or sucks, if you're someone who thinks that.)

[JonHillman 40]

I don't see why this should be a versus episode. Both movies are so different, other than having the same director, that I think they could both warrant their own episodes.

[j_scanlon 59]

I don't see why this should be a versus episode. Both movies are so different, other than having the same director, that I think they could both warrant their own episodes.

 

I don't think they're too different. They're both about the dark sides of 'success', in a way. An individual episode for each would just be another obvious 'yes' episode.

[Llewellyn_Wells 47]

I desperately want a PTA episode (any film), but it would break my Canon heart if these two weren't in the Canon. I'd hate to choose (I guess that's the point, huh?).

[HoldenMartinson 221]

I think something like The Master vs. Boogie Nights would make more sense. Both are films about naïve, lost men taken under the wing of an older, moustachioed cult leader that brings them into the fold, and neither main character is ever able to really escape.

[WilliamJamesM 0]

I think Boogie Nights vs Magnolia is a better suggestion, since they are far more similar and there is no need for both of them in the canon.

 

If you want to make a vs with There will be Blood, I would suggest No Country for Old Men. Both of those films squared off at the Oscars and while one won, it might be the other that deserves to be immortalized.

[Llewellyn_Wells 47]

I think Boogie Nights vs Magnolia is a better suggestion, since they are far more similar and there is no need for both of them in the canon.

 

If you want to make a vs with There will be Blood, I would suggest No Country for Old Men. Both of those films squared off at the Oscars and while one won, it might be the other that deserves to be immortalized.

 

 

I agree with Magnolia v. Boogie Nights, but I think There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men are unfairly compared; I think they both stand on their own as canon worthy (not in a vs. way if that makes any sense). PTA expressed his hate for the comparisons on Maron. But if it came to it, There Will Be Blood definitely deserves immortality in the canon...ok, maybe I want a vs. now. Dammit.

[tim_k 9]

I'd almost like to see There Will Be Blood as a stand alone episode, and a Boogie Nights vs. Magnolia episode as well. If Ridley Scott can land in the canon twice, certianly there's room for the possibilty of two PTA films in there as well.