The Top 10 Paul Thomas Anderson Moments
By Paul Couglan
2nd November 2009

1. Intro (There Will Be Blood)
The dialogue free opening 20 minutes of There Will Be Blood is great. Not only does it contain the standout piece of Jonny Greenwood’s score. It also tells you everything you need to know about Daniel Plainview. He is committed to his business, and will do anything to keep it going. It also shows a caring side that he will lose during the film

2. Wise Up (Magnolia)
Magnolia is full of unexpected moments. The frog rain is the most memorable; however, I believe that this is the best. It is a very ambitious move by Anderson, and succeeded in helping me empathise with the characters. I don’t know if it was written especially for the film or not, but it is a perfect fit.

3. End (There Will Be Blood)
The ending of There Will Be Blood has provoked much debate. I, for one, love it. I think it provides a counterpoint to the silent opening, while also being a release of all the tension that has been built up in the previous two hours. It also shows us how Daniel’s greed has consumed him, choosing his business over his son.

4. The First Oil Strike (There Will Be Blood)
It’s not often that a film which can encapsulate both it’s personal and epic nature in one scene. This scene is one of them. Its epic scale is demonstrated by the fact that No Country For Old Men (which was filming in the same area) had to shut down filming for a day while Anderson was filming the scene. It also shows the first time that Daniel chooses his business over his family

5. End (Magnolia)
The end contains the sweetest scene in any P.T. Anderson film. Here Jim (John C Reilly) tells Claudia (Melora Walters) that he will be as honest as she wants. The film ends on Claudia’s smile, realising that she might be happy for the first time in her adult life.

6. Bedroom scene (PDL)
Not many writers can make you go awww at the sight of two people threatening each other with violence, but Anderson does this in an extremely cute scene in a Hawaiian hotel. Talk of smashing faces in and scooping eyes out should make you disgusted at the film, but here it is romantic.

7. Intro (Magnolia)
In the opening, the three stories that we are told are all sewn up nicely with a relatively simple explanation. While things aren’t so clearcut in the film, the intro invites us to think about how the fate of the characters are connected with each other, even if they haven’t met

8. The tracking shot (Boogie Nights)
The opening tracking shot is Boogie Nights is full of energy and vitality. Obviously taking its cues from Goodfellas, it introduces us to all the main players in this ensemble piece.

9. The Car Ride/”Drug” deal gone wrong (Boogie Nights)
A bit of a cheat I know, but both of these scenes show how far everyone has fallen since their glory days in the 70s. Jack and Rollergirl hit rock bottom when they are filming her having sex in a limo with strangers, and they beat up the guy they picked up for insulting Rollergirl and the Jack’s films. Dirk and Reed’s nadir comes when Dirk, now a prostitute unable to get it up tries to sell a drug dealer baking soda disguised  as cocaine, which ends with their friend being killed.

10. Baptism (There Will Be Blood)
This is the scene which all the awards shows decided to use. Don’t let that put you off it though; it’s actually great. Here Eli humiliates Daniel so he can have his revenge. He brings him into a church he wants nothing of, and forces him to admit to the abandonment of his child. Eli’s joy is shortlived though, as Daniel whispers something in his ear that seems to scare him.