Exactly! His films are so good you could say Boogie Nights or There Will Be Blood or Magnolia and so on was your favourite of his and you wouldn’t be wrong!
1. There Will Be Blood 2. Boogie Nights 3. Punch-Drunk Love 4. The Master 5. Phantom Thread 6. Licorice Pizza 7. Inherent Vice 8. Magnolia 9. Hard Eight The top four change positions often
Great video! My personal ranking is: 1. Magnolia 2. TWBB 3. The Master 4. Boogie Nights 5. Phantom Thread 6. Punch-drunk love 7. Inherent Vice 8. Licorice Pizza 9. Hard eight
i am the biggest pta fan and i agree he’s underrated. i heavily disagree with this list but i appreciate this video (magnolia is a masterpiece you’re insane)
I'd go with 1) Magnolia 2) Boogie Nights 3) Punch Drunk Love 4) There Will Be Blood 5) The Master 6) Phantom Thread 7) Licorice Pizza 8) Hard Eight 9) Inherent Vice
I rank Magnolia WAAAAY higher. Prob because I enjoy all of the stories not just the Cruise one. It's been one of my fav movies since I first saw it in '99
Magnolia WAS PERFECT... When I saw rated as the penultime film... I snapped out of the video.. This dude reviewer has to be a kid. PLUS mentioning William Macy performance has if it was nothing.. Jesus, no words. I leaving this video.
1. Boogie Nights 2. The Master 3. Magnolia 4. There Will Be Blood 5. Punch-Drunk Love 6. Phantom Thread 7. Inherent Vice 8. Licorice Pizza 9. Hard Eight (I think)
I thought your list was wayy off until i scrolled the comments and saw everyone's else's list 😅 Great video! 1.TWBB 2.Boogie nights 3.Magnolia 4.Phantom Thread 5.Punch Drunk Love 6.Hard 8 7.inherent vice 8.the master 9. Licorice Pizza
Thank you for putting The Master at number one. I don’t agree with all your placements but I do think The Master is his best, often eclipsed by There Will Be Blood or Boogie Nights. Also props for mentioning “prospector arrives” specifically. I actually had my composer reinterpret this piece for my own film Nothing Serious.
Paul Thomas Anderson is my favorite filmmaker, and here is my ranking :) 1. Magnolia (my all time favorite film) 10/10 2. Punch-Drunk Love 10/10 3. There Will Be Blood 10/10 4. Phantom Thread 9/10 5. Boogie Nights 8/10 6. The Master 8/10 7. Inherent Vice 6-7/10 8. Hard Eight 6-7/10 9. Licorice Pizza 3/10
1. There Will Be Blood 2. Punch-Drunk Love 3. The Master 4. Boogie Nights 5. Phantom Thread 6. Magnolia 7. Licorice Pizza 8. Hard Eight 9. Inherent Vice
9. Hard Eight (Definitely has the problems of most directorial debuts suffer from) 8. Inherent Vice (This is a good film, but not one that stuck with me in PTA’s filmography) 7. Licorice Pizza (Truly great film! A testament to how great Anderson’s filmography is) 6. Phantom Thread (I don’t adore it as much as most people. It’s great, but not one of his best) 5. Boogie Nights (Please don’t kill me! This ranking got really tough. Hilarious and well made, Boogie Nights rocks!) 4. Punch-Drunk Love (One of if not Adam Sandler’s best! It’s truly fantastic and perfect!) 3. The Master (Putting aside THAT shot which is jaw dropping, the whole film is compelling and intense!) 2. Magnolia (Still stands out all these years laters! This is such an interesting, brilliantly structured film) 1. There Will Be Blood (What else could it be? From Daniel Day Lewis’s performance to the jaw dropping visuals, this film is incredible!)
1 There Will Be Blood 2 The Phantom Thread 3 Boogie Nights 4 The Master 5 Punch Drunk Love 6 Magnolia 7 Licorice Pizza 8 Inherent Vice 9 Hard Eight (Sidney) IMO
Magnolias actually probably my favourite. I love the melodrama and there's just something so open and ballsy about the singing and the frogs and the crying and the length and everything. It's so uncool. As opposed to there will be blood, which, while a well made movie and all, I think is a little cliche. Its the very stereotypical prestigious important American film. It does take risks, but they're so controlled, that to me it feels like he wastes his talent a bit in that one. So yeah magnolias my favourite and I think it's the complete opposite of TWBB. Or maybe like you my favourites The Master. I really liked what you said about about punch drunk loves first act and phantom thread in general. I personally love all of them and couldn't do a ranking like this so fair play for getting this out. I think its great that your comments on The master were by far the least interesting and most boring part of the video (they weren't that bad by the way, but compared to the rest of the video they weren't great). How does one talk about that movie? It's so magical. I feel the same way about his approach to writing the master as you did about licorice pizza. I think he just kept writing. It all feels so agendaless. Like he created the characters and just let them live on the screen. But I don't really know how to talk about it either.
Brilliant! That was a wonderful watch. I always struggle to rank my favorite PTA movies. The ranking can change by the day. But I suppose it's something like this: 1-3) TWBB/The Master/Boogie Nights 4-5) Phantom Thread/Punch Drunk Love 6-7) Inherent Vice/Magnolia 8-9) Hard Eight/ Licorice Pizza
There's no way THERE WILL BE BLOOD is not #1. The Master is.... I nearly fell asleep on it, again. TWBB is evolving, moving forward, intense character development, it's dynamic and alive, motivated. The Master is like... not even close.
REALLY enjoyed engaging with your analysis! I just subscribed, so I'm very excited about watching more of your work, it's just great! Like you, PTA is my favorite current American Director (and I would rank him slightly higher even than Kubrick when PTA hits his bullseyes...sure hope he's still got more movies in him!), I would just rank them somewhat differently, obviously, cuz we all have our lists. For what it's worth, here's mine, from weakest to most sublime: Hard Eight, but only because it's his debut, and unlike say, Tarantino, whose Reservoir Dogs is still one of the best debuts ever; I then put Infinite Jest and Licorice Pizza as a tie, because I'm just not interested in the era those films record -- prolly cuz I'm a 70's kid myself, and had plenty of older cousins who were late 60's hippies, and, well, UGH, lol; and then I put The Master where you put Magnolia -- I concur it's a breathtaking piece of ambitious filmaking, but where is its emotional resonance? I too felt as if I had sat through a very extended therapy session when I saw it, and that was off putting for me, not engaging; so THEN I put Magnolia, which for all its dated aspects, which you brilliantly point out, still hits very hard emotionally (and my personal favorite story IS the Quiz Show segment, and Stanley, a kid I can very much identify with...I also think John C Reilly's cop is in fact the true main character of the story, and his arc is pure poetry for me); then Boogie Nights; then Punch Drunk Love; then Phantom Thread, which I think PTA made both hilarious and absolutely horrifying at the same time, which blew me away; and, finally, the single greatest epic about America ever, There Will Be Blood, which is actually my choice for my second favorite film of all time (No 1 is Pan's Labyrinth, and No. 3 are the original two Godfather films, just to let you know where I'm coming from). Whew, hope that didn't bore you to death? Can't wait for more, like I said, and, again, thanks for all your hard work!
Boogie Nights is my personal favorite film of all time. I love the cast, performances, writing, and directing. To me it is a perfect film. I have never seen a film balance comedy and drama so well and seamlessly. I think There Will Be Blood is PTA's magnum opus, though not as rewatchable or entertaining as Boogie Nights. I think your very ballsy to put Punch Drunk love ahead of There Will Be Blood. It's a great romance movie but I think it is one of his weaker films like Sydney. I do not care that much for Phantom Thread or Inherent Vice but I felt like Licorice Pizza was a nice return to form for him. Your right, Magnolia is problematic and I feel often overrated. Regardless Cruise, Riley, and Walters destroy in that movie.
Boogie Nights is probably my favourite PTA film as well despite There Will Be Blood being his magnum opus. And I agree, there’s a terrific balance of drama and comedy relief interwoven into an engaging story about surrogate families along with a classic “rise and fall” narrative, fantastic performances from an expansive cast that includes some of PTA’s regular crew, brilliant camerawork and cinematography from Robert Elswit and an awesome soundtrack with some of the best tracks of that era!
That’s what I think makes him really great, he recognised that at the time he was younger and still finding an established voice and building his craft while trying to take risks. In most part those risks paid off, I’d say Magnolia is still a really good film, although it’s lengthy runtime and amount of storylines are issues.
1. There Will Be Blood 2. Phantom Thread 3. Magnolia 4. The Master 5. Boogie Nights 6. Licorice Pizza 7. Punch-Drunk Love 8. Inherent Vice Haven't seen Hard Eight yet
God, at last! I thought I was the only one with Phantom Thread. First time I saw it I just didn't...connect/get it/the tone...and tucked it away under a lesser PTA with no intention of watching it again. I think it was like 2 years later...I dunno quite why but I put it back on again for a 2nd viewing...and wow! It was the comedy. It was just so funny. I guess I came at it differently or something. I do think it might partly be my/our English angle and the heritage of dressy dramas imbued in our cinema/tv but this suddenly made sense from that comedic angle that opened it all up for me. So damn funny. But no one else seemed to even partially get it. Until this video. And then it shot up so far. The strange thing is Anderson floods strange humor in his previous films (think his final moment of There Will Be Blood) that I don't know why I didn't tap into it the first time around. Anyway, it's now one of my favorite comedies, and so romantic in the truest and honest sense of romance as being as strange as we are as people. Now I just want to rewatch it again. And the Master is swimming as his top as well after a chequered watch history. His films just grow as you do as the viewer and really slip in when you're kind of ready. Great video. Thanks.
My personal ranking: 1. Boogie Nights 2. The Master 3. Hard Eight 4. Magnolia 5. Licorice Pizza 6. Phantom Thread 7. Punch-Drunk Love 8. Inherent Vice 9. There Will Be Blood
1. The Master 2. Phantom Thread 3. There will be blood 4. Punch Drunk Love 5. Licorice Pizza 6. Boogie Nights 7. Inherent Vice 8. Hard Eight 9. Magnolia
While I disagree with your rankings--which, let's face it, is part of the fun of being a PTA fan--this is a SOLID essay. Well done, sir. (We DO agree on Boogie being the most watchable! "Best"? Perhaps not. "Favorite"? Absolutely!)
As always great video, thank you. Though, if I had to nitpick a bit I would have to say that even I'm aware they're not as "artsy" as Anderson's others films, I'm still a bit disappointed that not even A SINGLE one of his "Resident Evil" flicks made the list....
Awesome video! Every PTA movie is so interesting and funny in its own unique way, and I constantly reconsider which is his best because they are all so great.
The beauty of PTA is that any of his films you could say is his best and you probably wouldn’t be wrong. To me I’m torn whether There Will Be Blood or Boogie Nights is his best, TWBB is an expansive film with one of the all time great performances from Daniel Day-Lewis and a brilliant one also from Paul Dano, but Boogie Nights was the film that got me into PTA with it’s fantastic ensemble cast and period drama covering the late 70’s and early 80’s, and even though PTA wears a lot of his Scorsese influences on his sleeve, he hits it out of the park with his own spin on it. If it wasn’t for Boogie Nights, I’m not sure I would have got into the rest of PTA’s films.
The plot of Inherent Vice is not actually that complicated when you factor in the clear text of both the book and movie: it's about the sad history of LA land use; my reading is that the Golden Fang is a metaphor for CIA drug trading and counterinsurgency operations. The Golden Fang assumes in the book and movie the position of an aggregate magical object (an arcane, secret elixir) which (when consumed) turns a generation of young people formerly seeking social change and cultural revolution into snitch yuppies and psychedelic self-indulgents; consumers, ready to die at the vanity of vampire landlords. It's a look behind the curtain of how state agents are made.
1. Magnolia (favourite movie ever) 2. Inherent vice (needs a couple of watches and some 🍃 to click) 3. Boogie Nights (all in my top 15, seen BN more than any other movie) 4. The Master (Best leading double act performances of all time both actors’ best performances by far) 5. Punch Drunk Love 6. TWBB (pretty much perfect film but almost too clinical to call a favourite, you spoke about this and said it better than I can) 7. Phantom Thread (Same w TWBB just not nearly as strong imo only film of his i only saw once) 8. Hard 8 (always like it a lot when I watch it, just forget most of it pretty quickly afterwards) 9. Licorice Pizza (honestly dk what he was going for on this one. I wanted to like it so badly but like i don’t understand what most decisions in this one were in aid of felt like the most hollow of his by far and the only one that i verge on actively disliking) Probs my fave director of all time and no film is bad. Everyone’s ranking is always so different and it’s a testament to his skill, loving these videos 🙏🏻
Interesting list, man! I'd reckon PTA is one of my favourites as well, so it was cool to see how someone else who likes his work views his filmography. For me its: 1. Magnolia 2. Boogie 3. The Master 4. Punch Drunk 5. there will be blood 6. hard 8 7. Licorice pizza 8. Phantom thread 9. Inherent vice
Totally agree about the bottom 4 and having the top 5 are on a totally different level. I'd have them in a different order though - 1. Punch-drunk Love 2. Phantom Thread 3. There Will Be Blood 4. The Master 5. Boogie Nights
I think your judgement of Licorice Pizza is wrong. It's a film that makes me so happy and I always want to keep returning back to it. I've seen it 3 times already and want to watch it again sometime soon.
Personal rankings 1 Punch Drunk Love 2 The Master 3 Boogie Nights 4 There Will Be Blood 5 Magnolia 6 Inherent Vice 7 Phantom Thread 8 Licorice Pizza 9 Hard Eight
I've only seen three of PTA's films (those being There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, and Punch Drunk Love) and I've loved all three of them, with Punch Drunk Love being my favourite of the three.
My top 3 and my least favorite were easy to rank but the rest were so hard lol. However, here’s my ranking 😂 1. There Will Be Blood 2. Punch Drunk Love 3. The Master 4. Phantom Thread 5. Boogie Nights 6. Magnolia 7. Inherent Vice 8. Licorice Pizza 9. Hard Eight EDIT: I already changed list lol.
This is probably all about how films can affect us on a personal level, but Magnolia isn't just my favourite PTA film - it's one of my favourite films of all time.
not that anyone is asking but here are mine (my first PTA was opening night of Boogie Nights; I somehow thought it was going to be good). 1. Boogie Nights 2. Inherent Vice 3. The Master 4. TWBB 5. Punch-drunk love 6. Magnolia 7. Licorice Pizza 8. Phantom Thread 9. Hard eight
Magnolia I really liked, but that was after a second viewing or so, it’s a great film but it’s also a bit of a flawed film, but I appreciate that PTA decided after Boogie Nights to take some more risks with the newfound creative freedom he was given.
I absolutely detested There Will Be Blood for over a decade. I watched it two times wondering why it was so hard to follow and why Daniel killed Eli in the end. I have never been so wrong about something before in my entire life It is probably my favorite piece of cinema of all time
Me personally, my first viewing of most films is tainted with my expectations and how I would've done this and that differently get the best of me. On repeat viewings, I'm able to enjoy the ride for what it is more. My first two viewings of Boogie Nights, I was trying too hard to fit it into a more typical "plot points" box instead of accepting it for the more characters piece that it is. It's not his most meandering film at all but me as a less experienced "cineaste" back then felt like it didn't really have a "plot" per se and that was screwing me up lol...until my third viewing.
First of all, again, I love your lists. Yes, you have hot takes, which might piss some people off, but you always clearly state your reasons and it makes me think, I will definitely be rewatching a lot of the films over again with you talking in my head like jiminey cricket. One of the reasons your lists work, is because you’re opinionated, educated in the art your talking about and clearly have a passion for film, it wouldn’t work at all if you were indifferent. Out of all these qualities, there is one other that made me a lifetime subscriber and that’s your honesty and relatability to when talking about the film “Inherent Vice”, you have no idea how good it is to hear that it went over your head as well. From the unclear story line and progression to the incoherent dialogue that would of been right at home in a 1950s Noir film, it’s like the film “Brick”, but with a complex story line and the dialogue made just as complex.
@@thecozykinoshow by the way, another great director I would love to see you do, besides Tarkovsky is Hirokazu Kore-eda, the depth of his films and the meticulousness of his filmmaking you would definitely gear towards, considering your love for PTA
1. Boogie Nights 2. TWBB 3. Licorice Pizza 4. Punch Drunk Love I don't know how you can love BN so much and then put The Master above it and Licorice Pizza so low on the list. I hated Licorice Pizza on first watch and now love it, so maybe I need to rewatch The Master and Phantom Thread for a reassessment.
Tom Cruise was the headliner/"star" for Magnolia. His part was very good and rates my third. But the heart and soul of that movie with the most at stake and who's ending was most uplifting is Melora Walters as Claudia. Claudia was molested as a child and living in an emotional hell hole. And with the end of the movie I believe she triumphed. Though Melora Walters is a journeyman actress, I'm not sure there is any part for which she rose to the occasion more than in this movie. If I have a regret about watching Magnolia, it is that I watched it for the first time in 2024. So many of those actors are now gone.
TWWB Definitely a top for me. Very Shocking you didn't put it on top. The Story, Cinematography, Acting Performances, Shooting Places, Direction is absolute Top Notch. For me it's the "BEST MOVIE OF PTA's CARRER".
PTA is the heir to Robert Altman, as opposed to Kubrick. Also Hard Eight is one of my favorites from PTA, absolutely love it and I'd put it in my top three PTA along with TWBB and The Master
I’m yet to see Hard Eight, all I know about it is that it’s apparently a decent debut that was undermined by studio interference that resulted in Anderson being locked out of the editing room, probably the main driver behind his resolve to never be compromised again and why his sophomore Boogie Nights which put him on the map was such a knockout!
Looking at his profitable films- he seems to be doing better than okay! I mean yes, 4 of his movies didn't break even. One was his very first with a low screen run, Licorice Pizza's underperformance could easily be afflicted by covid and the slow return to cinema, and The Master/Inherent Vice are certainly his least accessible films, so could understand why people didn't jump onto it as easily. Even then though, the didn't perform terribly, nothing that years of VOD and sales couldn't help catch up on.
1. Phantom Thread 2. Punch Drunk Love 3. The master 4. Inherent vice 5. There will be blood 6. Boogie nights 7. Licorice pizza 8. Hard eight 9. Magnolia is laughable
Inherent Vice is a very, very Los Angeles movie. If you don't get LA on a personal level, you'll miss half of the jokes and insights. Pynchon goes super deep with references and allusions in all his work. It can make it impenetrable. Gravity's Rainbow is so bad with this that there are companion books about the book.
The Master is a great film though! Is it PTA’s best? Probably I’d put There Will Be Blood and Boogie Nights ahead of it, but it still really impressed me first time I saw it, and Joaquin Phoenix and PSH (RIP) deliver a masterclass in great acting chemistry together!
First and foremost OLD TIMER, thank you for making this. You did a great job, but Magnolia and Hard 8 his worst? Magnolia is sgt peppers (can’t remember if it was supposed to parallel with A DAY IN THE LIFE or ELEANOR RIGBY in term of tension, pacing, and dynamic shifts…I digress). Magnolia my favorite but you make some great points.
Disagree with your list, but it was a great video. Here's a list I dont think anyone's gonna like but here it goes: Hard Eight There Will Be Blood Magnolia Boogie Nights Licorice Pizza The Master Phantom Thread Punch-Drunk Love Inherent Vice
Well… Just like anybody else on this list I do not agree with it… There will be blood has got to be number one… Perfect mixture of Houston, Tarkovsky, and Kubrick… And there are a couple of his movies I could do without completely but that doesn’t matter… And love the Cohen brothers as much as I do… I was extremely disappointed when no country for old men got best picture… But Punch, drunk, love/inherent vice/the Master are all amazing movies as well
Maybe just a little too much usage of "in film history" and "of all time." The guy's your hero, I get it, but being the heir to Kubrick still doesn't make one Kubrick. My top five PTAs are his first five. From The Master on, it's hit (Phantom Thread) or miss (the rest, including Master).
I def agree on Magnolia. The "struggle" you speak of is something ive gone thru watching it since I was 17. I walked into Inherent Vice hearing that it was confusing, coloring my view of it since it came out. However, its themes of a hidden power structure really cleared the "smoke" for me, and it all has kind of settled my viewing experience. Didnt help that i read the book beforehand oddly enough haha
The error in comparing PTA to *Scorsese* as a director is that PTA’s gift is writing however he is a great director. He’s not an objectively better director than Scorsese. A like for like comparison with Quinton would be more appropriate.
I agree on PSH. But you know... well... mainstream audiences getting dumber every day. We will soon see the movie featured in Idiocracy. I bet it will happen any time soon until someone comes up with it. Mark my words
Great list and interesting perspectives, but I’m still not over the fact that you showed Boogie Nights to your parents?! 😳🤣 It’s a great film and definitely one that film connoisseurs need to see, but I’d say sitting down with the folks to watch it is a ballsy move (pun intended haha). My Aunt saw it on release and the only thing she remembers is Marky Mark’s big foam rubber dong at the end!
I enjoyed the compilation but i think to find Phantom Thread funny is really missing the point, I genuinely don't see how it can be categorised as a 'romantic comedy'
Totally agree with your list and opinion on each movie, except that I would take out The Master out of the tier, because i don't even know how to categorize and place this enigmatic film.
I have released the second instalment in this series, QUENTIN TARANTINO - ua-cam.com/video/F_ptTNsteCw/v-deo.html
I profusely disagree on most of your placements but that only proves the brilliance of PTA's body of work.
Exactly!
His films are so good you could say Boogie Nights or There Will Be Blood or Magnolia and so on was your favourite of his and you wouldn’t be wrong!
1. There Will Be Blood
2. Boogie Nights
3. Punch-Drunk Love
4. The Master
5. Phantom Thread
6. Licorice Pizza
7. Inherent Vice
8. Magnolia
9. Hard Eight
The top four change positions often
That’s similar to my list, at least with my top three although I’d have The Master in 3rd despite Punch-Drunk Love being great!!
Great video! My personal ranking is:
1. Magnolia
2. TWBB
3. The Master
4. Boogie Nights
5. Phantom Thread
6. Punch-drunk love
7. Inherent Vice
8. Licorice Pizza
9. Hard eight
i am the biggest pta fan and i agree he’s underrated. i heavily disagree with this list but i appreciate this video (magnolia is a masterpiece you’re insane)
Right. It’s a masterpiece.
Magnolia is up up up there
Underrated, really?
I'd go with
1) Magnolia
2) Boogie Nights
3) Punch Drunk Love
4) There Will Be Blood
5) The Master
6) Phantom Thread
7) Licorice Pizza
8) Hard Eight
9) Inherent Vice
Didn't like Magnolia the first time I seen it. Watched it the second time and really enjoyed it.
I rank Magnolia WAAAAY higher. Prob because I enjoy all of the stories not just the Cruise one. It's been one of my fav movies since I first saw it in '99
Magnolia WAS PERFECT... When I saw rated as the penultime film... I snapped out of the video.. This dude reviewer has to be a kid. PLUS mentioning William Macy performance has if it was nothing.. Jesus, no words. I leaving this video.
1. Boogie Nights
2. The Master
3. Magnolia
4. There Will Be Blood
5. Punch-Drunk Love
6. Phantom Thread
7. Inherent Vice
8. Licorice Pizza
9. Hard Eight
(I think)
I’m glad that’s there’s someone who appreciates Philip Seymour Hoffman as much as I do. Greatest
I thought your list was wayy off until i scrolled the comments and saw everyone's else's list 😅 Great video!
1.TWBB
2.Boogie nights
3.Magnolia
4.Phantom Thread
5.Punch Drunk Love
6.Hard 8
7.inherent vice
8.the master
9. Licorice Pizza
Thank you for putting The Master at number one. I don’t agree with all your placements but I do think The Master is his best, often eclipsed by There Will Be Blood or Boogie Nights. Also props for mentioning “prospector arrives” specifically. I actually had my composer reinterpret this piece for my own film Nothing Serious.
Paul Thomas Anderson is my favorite filmmaker, and here is my ranking :)
1. Magnolia (my all time favorite film) 10/10
2. Punch-Drunk Love 10/10
3. There Will Be Blood 10/10
4. Phantom Thread 9/10
5. Boogie Nights 8/10
6. The Master 8/10
7. Inherent Vice 6-7/10
8. Hard Eight 6-7/10
9. Licorice Pizza 3/10
Licorice pizza at the bottom like it should be
@@JuanPerez-bd3hp you know it
1. There Will Be Blood
2. Punch-Drunk Love
3. The Master
4. Boogie Nights
5. Phantom Thread
6. Magnolia
7. Licorice Pizza
8. Hard Eight
9. Inherent Vice
There Will Be Blood is one of my favorite. Daniel Day Lewis performance is absolutely mind-blowing
finally, someone else who has the master as their favorite PTA film
Agreed.
9. Hard Eight (Definitely has the problems of most directorial debuts suffer from)
8. Inherent Vice (This is a good film, but not one that stuck with me in PTA’s filmography)
7. Licorice Pizza (Truly great film! A testament to how great Anderson’s filmography is)
6. Phantom Thread (I don’t adore it as much as most people. It’s great, but not one of his best)
5. Boogie Nights (Please don’t kill me! This ranking got really tough. Hilarious and well made, Boogie Nights rocks!)
4. Punch-Drunk Love (One of if not Adam Sandler’s best! It’s truly fantastic and perfect!)
3. The Master (Putting aside THAT shot which is jaw dropping, the whole film is compelling and intense!)
2. Magnolia (Still stands out all these years laters! This is such an interesting, brilliantly structured film)
1. There Will Be Blood (What else could it be? From Daniel Day Lewis’s performance to the jaw dropping visuals, this film is incredible!)
1 There Will Be Blood
2 The Phantom Thread
3 Boogie Nights
4 The Master
5 Punch Drunk Love
6 Magnolia
7 Licorice Pizza
8 Inherent Vice
9 Hard Eight (Sidney)
IMO
Ive seen alot of lists but I agree with yours the most. Hard not to be a fan of Daniel Day Lewis and PTA
1 - There Will Be Blood
2 - Magnolia
3 - Boogie Nights
4 - Phantom Thread
5 - Licorice Pizza
6 - The Master
7 - Punch-Drunk Love
8 - Inherent Vice
9 - Hard Eight
I might switch #8 with #9 and #4 with #3, but otherwise exactly right!
Magnolias actually probably my favourite. I love the melodrama and there's just something so open and ballsy about the singing and the frogs and the crying and the length and everything. It's so uncool. As opposed to there will be blood, which, while a well made movie and all, I think is a little cliche. Its the very stereotypical prestigious important American film. It does take risks, but they're so controlled, that to me it feels like he wastes his talent a bit in that one. So yeah magnolias my favourite and I think it's the complete opposite of TWBB.
Or maybe like you my favourites The Master. I really liked what you said about about punch drunk loves first act and phantom thread in general. I personally love all of them and couldn't do a ranking like this so fair play for getting this out.
I think its great that your comments on The master were by far the least interesting and most boring part of the video (they weren't that bad by the way, but compared to the rest of the video they weren't great). How does one talk about that movie? It's so magical.
I feel the same way about his approach to writing the master as you did about licorice pizza. I think he just kept writing. It all feels so agendaless. Like he created the characters and just let them live on the screen.
But I don't really know how to talk about it either.
I AM THE THIRD REVELATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brilliant! That was a wonderful watch. I always struggle to rank my favorite PTA movies. The ranking can change by the day. But I suppose it's something like this:
1-3) TWBB/The Master/Boogie Nights
4-5) Phantom Thread/Punch Drunk Love
6-7) Inherent Vice/Magnolia
8-9) Hard Eight/ Licorice Pizza
Fun Fact: I have never seen any of these and now my whole summer is booked. You hyped him good!
How did you enjoy his films??
PTA’s films are gems!!!
There's no way THERE WILL BE BLOOD is not #1. The Master is.... I nearly fell asleep on it, again. TWBB is evolving, moving forward, intense character development, it's dynamic and alive, motivated. The Master is like... not even close.
Re: The Master, agreed. How could a film about the origins of Scientology be so dull?
REALLY enjoyed engaging with your analysis! I just subscribed, so I'm very excited about watching more of your work, it's just great! Like you, PTA is my favorite current American Director (and I would rank him slightly higher even than Kubrick when PTA hits his bullseyes...sure hope he's still got more movies in him!), I would just rank them somewhat differently, obviously, cuz we all have our lists. For what it's worth, here's mine, from weakest to most sublime: Hard Eight, but only because it's his debut, and unlike say, Tarantino, whose Reservoir Dogs is still one of the best debuts ever; I then put Infinite Jest and Licorice Pizza as a tie, because I'm just not interested in the era those films record -- prolly cuz I'm a 70's kid myself, and had plenty of older cousins who were late 60's hippies, and, well, UGH, lol; and then I put The Master where you put Magnolia -- I concur it's a breathtaking piece of ambitious filmaking, but where is its emotional resonance? I too felt as if I had sat through a very extended therapy session when I saw it, and that was off putting for me, not engaging; so THEN I put Magnolia, which for all its dated aspects, which you brilliantly point out, still hits very hard emotionally (and my personal favorite story IS the Quiz Show segment, and Stanley, a kid I can very much identify with...I also think John C Reilly's cop is in fact the true main character of the story, and his arc is pure poetry for me); then Boogie Nights; then Punch Drunk Love; then Phantom Thread, which I think PTA made both hilarious and absolutely horrifying at the same time, which blew me away; and, finally, the single greatest epic about America ever, There Will Be Blood, which is actually my choice for my second favorite film of all time (No 1 is Pan's Labyrinth, and No. 3 are the original two Godfather films, just to let you know where I'm coming from). Whew, hope that didn't bore you to death? Can't wait for more, like I said, and, again, thanks for all your hard work!
Boogie Nights is my personal favorite film of all time. I love the cast, performances, writing, and directing. To me it is a perfect film. I have never seen a film balance comedy and drama so well and seamlessly. I think There Will Be Blood is PTA's magnum opus, though not as rewatchable or entertaining as Boogie Nights. I think your very ballsy to put Punch Drunk love ahead of There Will Be Blood. It's a great romance movie but I think it is one of his weaker films like Sydney. I do not care that much for Phantom Thread or Inherent Vice but I felt like Licorice Pizza was a nice return to form for him. Your right, Magnolia is problematic and I feel often overrated. Regardless Cruise, Riley, and Walters destroy in that movie.
Boogie Nights is probably my favourite PTA film as well despite There Will Be Blood being his magnum opus.
And I agree, there’s a terrific balance of drama and comedy relief interwoven into an engaging story about surrogate families along with a classic “rise and fall” narrative, fantastic performances from an expansive cast that includes some of PTA’s regular crew, brilliant camerawork and cinematography from Robert Elswit and an awesome soundtrack with some of the best tracks of that era!
PTA himself said on the WTF Podcast that if he had the chance to do things over again he would cut Magnolia way, way down.
That’s what I think makes him really great, he recognised that at the time he was younger and still finding an established voice and building his craft while trying to take risks.
In most part those risks paid off, I’d say Magnolia is still a really good film, although it’s lengthy runtime and amount of storylines are issues.
1. There Will Be Blood
2. Phantom Thread
3. Magnolia
4. The Master
5. Boogie Nights
6. Licorice Pizza
7. Punch-Drunk Love
8. Inherent Vice
Haven't seen Hard Eight yet
God, at last! I thought I was the only one with Phantom Thread. First time I saw it I just didn't...connect/get it/the tone...and tucked it away under a lesser PTA with no intention of watching it again. I think it was like 2 years later...I dunno quite why but I put it back on again for a 2nd viewing...and wow! It was the comedy. It was just so funny. I guess I came at it differently or something. I do think it might partly be my/our English angle and the heritage of dressy dramas imbued in our cinema/tv but this suddenly made sense from that comedic angle that opened it all up for me. So damn funny. But no one else seemed to even partially get it. Until this video. And then it shot up so far. The strange thing is Anderson floods strange humor in his previous films (think his final moment of There Will Be Blood) that I don't know why I didn't tap into it the first time around. Anyway, it's now one of my favorite comedies, and so romantic in the truest and honest sense of romance as being as strange as we are as people. Now I just want to rewatch it again. And the Master is swimming as his top as well after a chequered watch history. His films just grow as you do as the viewer and really slip in when you're kind of ready. Great video. Thanks.
My personal ranking:
1. Boogie Nights
2. The Master
3. Hard Eight
4. Magnolia
5. Licorice Pizza
6. Phantom Thread
7. Punch-Drunk Love
8. Inherent Vice
9. There Will Be Blood
1. The Master
2. Phantom Thread
3. There will be blood
4. Punch Drunk Love
5. Licorice Pizza
6. Boogie Nights
7. Inherent Vice
8. Hard Eight
9. Magnolia
While I disagree with your rankings--which, let's face it, is part of the fun of being a PTA fan--this is a SOLID essay. Well done, sir. (We DO agree on Boogie being the most watchable! "Best"? Perhaps not. "Favorite"? Absolutely!)
As always great video, thank you.
Though, if I had to nitpick a bit I would have to say that even I'm aware they're not as "artsy" as Anderson's others films, I'm still a bit disappointed that not even A SINGLE one of his "Resident Evil" flicks made the list....
Awesome video! Every PTA movie is so interesting and funny in its own unique way, and I constantly reconsider which is his best because they are all so great.
The beauty of PTA is that any of his films you could say is his best and you probably wouldn’t be wrong.
To me I’m torn whether There Will Be Blood or Boogie Nights is his best, TWBB is an expansive film with one of the all time great performances from Daniel Day-Lewis and a brilliant one also from Paul Dano, but Boogie Nights was the film that got me into PTA with it’s fantastic ensemble cast and period drama covering the late 70’s and early 80’s, and even though PTA wears a lot of his Scorsese influences on his sleeve, he hits it out of the park with his own spin on it. If it wasn’t for Boogie Nights, I’m not sure I would have got into the rest of PTA’s films.
The plot of Inherent Vice is not actually that complicated when you factor in the clear text of both the book and movie: it's about the sad history of LA land use; my reading is that the Golden Fang is a metaphor for CIA drug trading and counterinsurgency operations. The Golden Fang assumes in the book and movie the position of an aggregate magical object (an arcane, secret elixir) which (when consumed) turns a generation of young people formerly seeking social change and cultural revolution into snitch yuppies and psychedelic self-indulgents; consumers, ready to die at the vanity of vampire landlords. It's a look behind the curtain of how state agents are made.
1. The Master
2. There Will Be Blood
3. Punch-Drunk Love
4. Boogie Nights
5. Magnolia
6. Inherent Vice
7. Hard Eight
8. Phantom Thread
1. Magnolia (favourite movie ever)
2. Inherent vice (needs a couple of watches and some 🍃 to click)
3. Boogie Nights (all in my top 15, seen BN more than any other movie)
4. The Master (Best leading double act performances of all time both actors’ best performances by far)
5. Punch Drunk Love
6. TWBB (pretty much perfect film but almost too clinical to call a favourite, you spoke about this and said it better than I can)
7. Phantom Thread (Same w TWBB just not nearly as strong imo only film of his i only saw once)
8. Hard 8 (always like it a lot when I watch it, just forget most of it pretty quickly afterwards)
9. Licorice Pizza (honestly dk what he was going for on this one. I wanted to like it so badly but like i don’t understand what most decisions in this one were in aid of felt like the most hollow of his by far and the only one that i verge on actively disliking)
Probs my fave director of all time and no film is bad. Everyone’s ranking is always so different and it’s a testament to his skill, loving these videos 🙏🏻
Interesting list, man! I'd reckon PTA is one of my favourites as well, so it was cool to see how someone else who likes his work views his filmography.
For me its:
1. Magnolia
2. Boogie
3. The Master
4. Punch Drunk
5. there will be blood
6. hard 8
7. Licorice pizza
8. Phantom thread
9. Inherent vice
Totally agree about the bottom 4 and having the top 5 are on a totally different level. I'd have them in a different order though -
1. Punch-drunk Love
2. Phantom Thread
3. There Will Be Blood
4. The Master
5. Boogie Nights
I think your judgement of Licorice Pizza is wrong. It's a film that makes me so happy and I always want to keep returning back to it. I've seen it 3 times already and want to watch it again sometime soon.
Very cool PTA analysis
Personal rankings
1 Punch Drunk Love
2 The Master
3 Boogie Nights
4 There Will Be Blood
5 Magnolia
6 Inherent Vice
7 Phantom Thread
8 Licorice Pizza
9 Hard Eight
Great video man!
9. Hard 8
8. Magnolia
7. Inherent Vice
6. Licorice Pizza
5. Phantom Thread
4. There will be Blood
3. Punch Drunk Love
2. Boogie Nights
1. The Master
I've only seen three of PTA's films (those being There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, and Punch Drunk Love) and I've loved all three of them, with Punch Drunk Love being my favourite of the three.
IMO Magnolia is his best film but Boogie Nights is my favorite to watch.
My top 3 and my least favorite were easy to rank but the rest were so hard lol. However, here’s my ranking 😂
1. There Will Be Blood
2. Punch Drunk Love
3. The Master
4. Phantom Thread
5. Boogie Nights
6. Magnolia
7. Inherent Vice
8. Licorice Pizza
9. Hard Eight
EDIT: I already changed list lol.
10:59 - disagree. LP has actually stuck with me more than all of his under other films, and it’s his most re-watchable.
This is probably all about how films can affect us on a personal level, but Magnolia isn't just my favourite PTA film - it's one of my favourite films of all time.
whoa. You put there will be blood at number 4! That's pretty wild. I'd say its easily #1 or #2.
not that anyone is asking but here are mine (my first PTA was opening night of Boogie Nights; I somehow thought it was going to be good).
1. Boogie Nights
2. Inherent Vice
3. The Master
4. TWBB
5. Punch-drunk love
6. Magnolia
7. Licorice Pizza
8. Phantom Thread
9. Hard eight
Love this mans work
M fav 6.
1. There will be.blood
2. ,, licorice pizza
3. The master
4. Punch Drunk love
5. Boogie nights
6. Phantom Thread
7. Inherent vice
8. Hard eight
9. Magnolia
There Will Be Blood is his masterpiece.
that was very fun to watch. cheers to you and PTA. Magnolia should def be higher lol. with love.
Magnolia I really liked, but that was after a second viewing or so, it’s a great film but it’s also a bit of a flawed film, but I appreciate that PTA decided after Boogie Nights to take some more risks with the newfound creative freedom he was given.
Punch Drunk Love ahead of TWBB is downright criminal.
I absolutely detested There Will Be Blood for over a decade. I watched it two times wondering why it was so hard to follow and why Daniel killed Eli in the end.
I have never been so wrong about something before in my entire life
It is probably my favorite piece of cinema of all time
It do be like that sometimes
Me personally, my first viewing of most films is tainted with my expectations and how I would've done this and that differently get the best of me. On repeat viewings, I'm able to enjoy the ride for what it is more.
My first two viewings of Boogie Nights, I was trying too hard to fit it into a more typical "plot points" box instead of accepting it for the more characters piece that it is. It's not his most meandering film at all but me as a less experienced "cineaste" back then felt like it didn't really have a "plot" per se and that was screwing me up lol...until my third viewing.
First of all, again, I love your lists. Yes, you have hot takes, which might piss some people off, but you always clearly state your reasons and it makes me think, I will definitely be rewatching a lot of the films over again with you talking in my head like jiminey cricket.
One of the reasons your lists work, is because you’re opinionated, educated in the art your talking about and clearly have a passion for film, it wouldn’t work at all if you were indifferent.
Out of all these qualities, there is one other that made me a lifetime subscriber and that’s your honesty and relatability to when talking about the film “Inherent Vice”, you have no idea how good it is to hear that it went over your head as well. From the unclear story line and progression to the incoherent dialogue that would of been right at home in a 1950s Noir film, it’s like the film “Brick”, but with a complex story line and the dialogue made just as complex.
thanks for the kind words.
@@thecozykinoshow by the way, another great director I would love to see you do, besides Tarkovsky is Hirokazu Kore-eda, the depth of his films and the meticulousness of his filmmaking you would definitely gear towards, considering your love for PTA
The Master and There will be Blood are my top 2 favourites of PTA.
Loved the side not of Perfect Blue (one of my favourite movies of all time).
Loved this video!
Great video - brilliant insight and beautifully edited together clips. Tarantino next?
What is this song name?? 1:38
1. Boogie Nights
2. TWBB
3. Licorice Pizza
4. Punch Drunk Love
I don't know how you can love BN so much and then put The Master above it and Licorice Pizza so low on the list. I hated Licorice Pizza on first watch and now love it, so maybe I need to rewatch The Master and Phantom Thread for a reassessment.
Tom Cruise was the headliner/"star" for Magnolia. His part was very good and rates my third. But the heart and soul of that movie with the most at stake and who's ending was most uplifting is Melora Walters as Claudia. Claudia was molested as a child and living in an emotional hell hole. And with the end of the movie I believe she triumphed. Though Melora Walters is a journeyman actress, I'm not sure there is any part for which she rose to the occasion more than in this movie. If I have a regret about watching Magnolia, it is that I watched it for the first time in 2024. So many of those actors are now gone.
TWWB Definitely a top for me. Very Shocking you didn't put it on top. The Story, Cinematography, Acting Performances, Shooting Places, Direction is absolute Top Notch.
For me it's the "BEST MOVIE OF PTA's CARRER".
PTA is the heir to Robert Altman, as opposed to Kubrick. Also Hard Eight is one of my favorites from PTA, absolutely love it and I'd put it in my top three PTA along with TWBB and The Master
I’m yet to see Hard Eight, all I know about it is that it’s apparently a decent debut that was undermined by studio interference that resulted in Anderson being locked out of the editing room, probably the main driver behind his resolve to never be compromised again and why his sophomore Boogie Nights which put him on the map was such a knockout!
Looking at his profitable films- he seems to be doing better than okay! I mean yes, 4 of his movies didn't break even. One was his very first with a low screen run, Licorice Pizza's underperformance could easily be afflicted by covid and the slow return to cinema, and The Master/Inherent Vice are certainly his least accessible films, so could understand why people didn't jump onto it as easily. Even then though, the didn't perform terribly, nothing that years of VOD and sales couldn't help catch up on.
1. Phantom Thread
2. Punch Drunk Love
3. The master
4. Inherent vice
5. There will be blood
6. Boogie nights
7. Licorice pizza
8. Hard eight
9. Magnolia is laughable
Inherent Vice is a very, very Los Angeles movie. If you don't get LA on a personal level, you'll miss half of the jokes and insights. Pynchon goes super deep with references and allusions in all his work. It can make it impenetrable. Gravity's Rainbow is so bad with this that there are companion books about the book.
1. Magnolia and then the rest. It has aged like fine wine.
A ranking video so well edited and argued that it almost made me forgive you putting The Master at #1 🙃
The Master is a great film though!
Is it PTA’s best? Probably I’d put There Will Be Blood and Boogie Nights ahead of it, but it still really impressed me first time I saw it, and Joaquin Phoenix and PSH (RIP) deliver a masterclass in great acting chemistry together!
First and foremost OLD TIMER, thank you for making this. You did a great job, but Magnolia and Hard 8 his worst? Magnolia is sgt peppers (can’t remember if it was supposed to parallel with A DAY IN THE LIFE or ELEANOR RIGBY in term of tension, pacing, and dynamic shifts…I digress). Magnolia my favorite but you make some great points.
Disagree with your list, but it was a great video. Here's a list I dont think anyone's gonna like but here it goes:
Hard Eight
There Will Be Blood
Magnolia
Boogie Nights
Licorice Pizza
The Master
Phantom Thread
Punch-Drunk Love
Inherent Vice
I think he is more the “ heir” to ROBERT ALTMAN.
Keep watching Licorice Pizza and inherent vice. They’re masterpieces too I promise - it’ll click for ya someday
let's hope so!
I totally agree that Magnolia is very overrated, I hate the singing scene for example, but There Will Be Blood really should be first.
Magnolia is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. Is it flawless nope, that doesn’t exist. It’s amazing though
Well… Just like anybody else on this list I do not agree with it… There will be blood has got to be number one… Perfect mixture of Houston, Tarkovsky, and Kubrick… And there are a couple of his movies I could do without completely but that doesn’t matter… And love the Cohen brothers as much as I do… I was extremely disappointed when no country for old men got best picture… But Punch, drunk, love/inherent vice/the Master are all amazing movies as well
Switch Magnolia and Phantom Thread in the rankings, and you're onto something.
Maybe just a little too much usage of "in film history" and "of all time." The guy's your hero, I get it, but being the heir to Kubrick still doesn't make one Kubrick. My top five PTAs are his first five. From The Master on, it's hit (Phantom Thread) or miss (the rest, including Master).
I really like Licorice Pizza, it's a beautiful mess. Hard Eight is better though. Thanks!
Inherent Vice is way underrated.
Punch drunk love made Adam Sandler serious actor
I think he's better as a serious actor. He did that one as a comedian with cancer (or illness), I forget the name. He was very good in it.
My dude, what is your letterboxd?
I can confirm a cozy kino letterboxd is in the works!
I def agree on Magnolia. The "struggle" you speak of is something ive gone thru watching it since I was 17. I walked into Inherent Vice hearing that it was confusing, coloring my view of it since it came out. However, its themes of a hidden power structure really cleared the "smoke" for me, and it all has kind of settled my viewing experience. Didnt help that i read the book beforehand oddly enough haha
The error in comparing PTA to *Scorsese* as a director is that PTA’s gift is writing however he is a great director. He’s not an objectively better director than Scorsese. A like for like comparison with Quinton would be more appropriate.
I agree on PSH. But you know... well... mainstream audiences getting dumber every day. We will soon see the movie featured in Idiocracy. I bet it will happen any time soon until someone comes up with it. Mark my words
I would have Magnolia top 🤷🏻♂️
Magnolia #1
Great list and interesting perspectives, but I’m still not over the fact that you showed Boogie Nights to your parents?! 😳🤣
It’s a great film and definitely one that film connoisseurs need to see, but I’d say sitting down with the folks to watch it is a ballsy move (pun intended haha). My Aunt saw it on release and the only thing she remembers is Marky Mark’s big foam rubber dong at the end!
MAGNOLIA EIGHT!?!?!?!?!?!
Its very subjective. I love your two worst.
Yeah there will be blood is a masterpiece easily his best punch drunk love is way way to high i feel its one of his worest
NO WRONG Paul Thomas Anderson was quoted that Magnolia Is his best film and he probably won't do any better than that just to let you know I agree
Years later he hailed The Master as his personal favorite work of his.
@@user-cq5sg9cb4t I still say Magnolia is the best of the best did I say There Will Be Blood and then Boogie Nights
@@user-cq5sg9cb4t and you know it like a poet like baby doll
I enjoyed the compilation but i think to find Phantom Thread funny is really missing the point, I genuinely don't see how it can be categorised as a 'romantic comedy'
I couldnt get into licrocrose pizzia
Totally agree with your list and opinion on each movie, except that I would take out The Master out of the tier, because i don't even know how to categorize and place this enigmatic film.
No way, you put Licorice Pizza ahead of Magnolia
pizza is a simbol for something
Punch Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood. Everything else is behind them.
You're so wrong about magnolia.
Punch drunk love is the only weak film in his canon, brilliant otherwise ❤