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An Open Letter to P.T. Anderson on the Occasion of 'There Will Be Blood''s Miserable DVD Release
Posted by Defamer Hollywood at 8:10 AM on April 12, 2008
Dear Paul Thomas Anderson,
You know we love you. We've seen everything you've done multiple times, once even all in the same day. Our hearts soared when Daniel Day-Lewis credited your "mad, beautiful head" for his Oscar triumph this year; his appreciation spoke for us as well. Sure, we have issues with Magnolia (OK, we hate it), but at least when the DVD came around we were able to make a little more sense of your passion and indulgence. That behind-the-scenes doc by Mark Rance? Fantastic. We'd have preferred the commentaries like those in Boogie Nights and Sydney (a/k/a Hard Eight), but hey. If you're going to charge us for two discs, you'd better make the second one worth our dime.
Which gets us to this new two-disc "collector's edition" of There Will Be Blood, which Paramount Vantage released April 8. Pardon us, but what the fuck is this?
We're sitting here with our favourite film of 2007, looking for your commentary. Nothing. We bust out the second disc. Photo clippings from your research? Three deleted scenes — only one of which features, you know, editing? And, finally, an exhumed silent short about the history of oil drilling? Really? $30 for two discs and all we get is a public-domain two-reeler from 1923?
Look, PTA, we know it's probably not your fault. There's probably a commentary sitting on some hard drive in Vantage boss John Lesher's office waiting for the precise moment when "collectors" will be ready to part ways with another $30 to hear it. There's probably behind-the-scenes footage with Scott Rudin arriving on location in Marfa, Texas, overdressed and throwing a BlackBerry at the assistant whose weather forecast turned out 15 degrees cooler than the actual temperature. We know there are interviews with you, Day-Lewis, Paul Dano and Ciaran Hinds floating around. We know because it's you, and we expect great things. Not... this.
So get with the fucking program already, PTA, and stop jerking us around with the most stingy, shabby, half-assed miscarriage of DVD justice since Mulholland Drive. You're not that pirate George Lucas, and we're not "collectors"; we're fans — true believers and dedicated followers who deserve better. And you're a candid visionary, so tell Paramount to fuck off and send us the real DVD already, for Christ's sake.
— Love, Defamer
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
LoveHandles
Posted 8:59 AM 12/4/08
Thanks for warning me. Now I will wait to buy this.
LoveHandles
guitarsnob
Posted 8:27 AM 12/4/08
Defamer,
This is all fine and well stated, but - and this is slightly (okay, totally) off topic - what's up with the stars next to certain commenter's names? I live in LA so I can play the status game. If this is something I should be aspiring to, please let me know!
Thanks,
Me.
guitarsnob
mwynn13
Posted 9:03 AM 12/4/08
@guitarsnob: The star system is just like High School for adults. You know that "Next time you see a comment that's brilliant and illuminating,..." blah, blah, blah, that now shows up towards the top of the Gawker Media blog pages? The one you probably skim right past?
When a commenter gets 25 "followers", they get the star. I wasn't popular in grade school, I wasn't popular in High School, I'm not popular here either. Sigh.
mwynn13
bess marvin, girl detective
Posted 9:03 AM 12/4/08
bess marvin, girl detective
guitarsnob
Posted 10:17 AM 12/4/08
@Little Mintz Sunshine: now THERE's something I could work towards.
guitarsnob
Little Mintz Sunshine
Posted 10:09 AM 12/4/08
@mwynn13: When a commenter gets 25 "followers", they get the star.
Hold on a second. I was always told it was "When a commenter gives 25 blowjobs" they get a star...Damn...I've got to get my hearing checked...
Little Mintz Sunshine
Plankton420
Posted 10:09 AM 12/4/08
Um... I actually love ""Magnolia," minor faults and all. (Thanks for letting me know to wait for the NEXT version of the "There Will Be Blood" DVD to come out, though... Appreciated!)
Plankton420
Doug
Posted 10:06 AM 12/4/08
Commentary likely will not happen. There was an interview with PTA a while back where he mentioned that people in 'the biz' are shying away from commentaries because things said lightheartedly or in jest in them have a way of spreading out and taken as straight fact/opinion.
Doug
omnomnomnom
Posted 10:57 AM 12/4/08
omnomnomnom
el smrtmnky
Posted 11:05 AM 12/4/08
el smrtmnky
WasatchMan
Posted 11:37 AM 12/4/08
Thanks for the warning. I love this movie, too. But we will have to wait for the studio (or someone) to pull their heads out of their a$$es.
WasatchMan
jew-jew
Posted 11:26 AM 12/4/08
I fucking love Magnolia.
jew-jew
Glass_Family
Posted 1:16 PM 12/4/08
@omnomnomnom: I had read that fans were actually quoting PTA's commentary back to him, which freaked him out. Or thought I had read that. Also, I could have sworn there was supposedly SOME behind the scenes stuff on the second disc... shit. I just bought it. But only for $17...
Oh, and full disclosure... Magnolia might be my favorite movie ever.
Glass_Family
Omelas
Posted 2:05 PM 12/4/08
Omelas
Grosse-Point-Break
Posted 4:07 PM 12/4/08
Man, this article would have been a lot more useful on Tuesday when I bought the damn thing. At least the eco-friendly cardboard case was nifty.
Grosse-Point-Break
STV
Posted 9:49 PM 12/4/08
@omnomnomnom: Obviously PTA's entitled to do whatever he wants, but his aversions don't excuse him from signing off on the two-disc edition. It simply never should have been released.
@Grosse-Point-Break: Our thoughts exactly!
STV
dechire
Posted 2:27 AM 13/4/08
/signed
where is the commentary, "i learned everything i know about the art of making films from listening to the commentary" isn't this what you said PTA? Where is the HD version of this film?
dechire
hitchenaride
Posted 2:15 AM 13/4/08
Oh screw commentary tracks! I'm uninterested in how many lozenges they had to cram down Dano's throat to make him stop sounding like the pimpley faced teen from The Simpsons
hitchenaride
juniperjenny
Posted 3:16 AM 13/4/08
I want to hear an audio track of Daniel Day Lewis already in character for the next film he's prepping for. And the guy who got fired before Paul Dano took the role.
juniperjenny
moondawg9
Posted 8:52 AM 13/4/08
Here is the "lost" commentary track -
"Okay, Mr. Anderson, start from the beginning."
"Well, in the beginning the earth cooled. And then the dinosaurs came, but they all got too big and fat, and so they died and turned into oil. And then the Arabs came and bought Mercedes-Benzes. Then Joel Coen and Ethan Coen win a freakin' Academy Award! It was horrible."
moondawg9
Trai_Dep
Posted 4:08 PM 13/4/08
@Little Mintz Sunshine:
(Regretfully wiping my chin clean)
Damn. Damn! Guess I should have listened more carefully as well.
Oh well - fewer raw eggs in tomorrow's protein shake!
Trai_Dep
LoveHandles
Posted 2:42 AM 14/4/08
@omnomnomnom: @STV: agreed
LoveHandles
bitfactory
Posted 11:13 PM 14/4/08
The best thing about Magnolia is the Aimee Mann soundtrack.
bitfactory
CourageousCoward
Posted 1:43 AM 15/4/08
Remember when you bought a VHS and just watched the friggin' movie? Who the eff A. has time to sit around watching the director et al. pontificate, B. cares?
Seriously people, just watch the movie and shut up. Distilling everything down; picking it apart; searching for meaning and motivation. You're taking away all the magic that makes it an enjoyable experience in the first place.
CourageousCoward
monkeyrotica
Posted 2:31 AM 15/4/08
The best thing about Magnolia was Frank "T.J." Mackie.
And the frog rains.
monkeyrotica
monkeyrotica
Posted 2:30 AM 15/4/08
There Will Be a Blu-Ray Version.
So STFU already.
monkeyrotica
Bogart Shwadchuck
Posted 2:14 AM 15/4/08
The Joy of Waiting for Blu-Ray
Bogart Shwadchuck
mitchel_stevens
Posted 3:21 AM 15/4/08
i thought resident evil and alien vs predator were over-rated.
mitchel_stevens
clarknhilldale
Posted 5:32 PM 15/4/08
clarknhilldale
rosserfan
Posted 2:23 PM 16/4/08
"Mulholland Drive" on DVD without extras is still 100 times better than any crappy bloated 2-disc 'special edition' trash available at Wal-mart.
rosserfan