There Will Be Blood opened in theaters

There Will Be Blood Released: December 26, 2007 Studio: Paramount Vantage, Miramax Films Genre: epic period drama Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 40.22 Worldwide: 76.18 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: -- Worldwide: --

Directing: Paul Thomas Anderson Screenwriting: Paul Thomas Anderson Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O'Connor, Ciarán Hinds, Dillon Freasier Review: There Will Be Blood is an epic period drama written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The story, loosely based on Upton Sinclair’s 1927 novel Oil!, follows Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis), “a silver miner-turned-oilman…as he embarks on a ruthless quest for wealth during the California oil boom between the late 19th and early 20th centuries.” WK “There Will Be Blood is emphatically not an easy watch…It won’t come to you immediately, but this may be a masterpiece.” E08 “Anderson gives the film a bit of a horror-movie vibe throughout and Day-Lewis delivers such a deliciously monstrous performance,” E18 “even by his standards.” E08 Plainview is “a man of impressive grit and untrammelled greed who pulls himself up by the bootstraps to turn from lone prospector to oil mogul.” E08 “It’s a chilling portrait, and one which, while bafflingly evil, somehow never strays from believability.” E08 After a “long, wordless opening…the central conflict begins. Ten years have passed, and Plainview is pitching for the purchase of oil rights in a new town.” E08 He finds himself competing with Eli Sunday (Dano), a charismatic preacher who “makes an alternative offer of redemption and deliverance from the hardships of frontier life, through faith rather than wealth. His is a spitting, shrieking brand of religion that bullies belief from his congregation, squeezing it out of them with the power of his oratory and the (apparently) unshakeable conviction with which he believes. The clash between these two titanic egos is the heart of the film.” E08 Sources: E08 Empire (2/1/2008). “There Will Be Blood Review” by Helen O’Hara E18 Empire (3/20/2018). “The 100 Greatest Movies” WK Wikipedia

Awards/Honors/Lists: Eras: Oscars: Wins: 2: Best Actor (Day-Lewis), Best Cinematography Nominations: 8: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Sound Editing Hall of Fames: Lists: First posted 3/6/2025.

50 years ago: The Bridge on the River Kwai, winner of 7 Oscars, released

The Bridge on the River Kwai Released: December 14, 1957 Studio: Columbia Genre: war epic Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 27.20 Worldwide: ? Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 533.72 Worldwide: ?

Directing: David Lean Screenwriting: Pierre Boulle, Carl Foreman, Michael Wilson Starring: Alec Guinness, William Holden, Sessue Hayakawa, Jack Hawkins Review: Screenwriters Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson were blacklisted in Hollywood for “alleged communist associations” MSN so they wrote “this epic World War II action film,” MSN an “outstanding, psychologically complex adaptation of Pierre Boulle’s 1952 novel,” FS in secret. Boulle – who spoke no English – was originally credited as the sole screenwriter. In 1984, Foreman and Wilson were awarded screenwriting Oscars posthumously. MSN The story is about American and English soldiers in a Japanese prison camp who are ordered by camp commander Colonel Saito (Hayakawa) to build a bridge in the Asian jungle of Burma which will transport Japanese troops. “A tremendously antagonistic battle of wills ensues” FS between Saito and Nicholson (Guinness), “the rigid British officer who refuses to bow to torture.” A07 The latter colonel develops “a twisted sense of pride” FS in overseeing the construction of the bridge. His obsession with using “this exercise to show the Japanese as inferior humans and soldiers” VD blinds him to the reality that he is aiding the enemy. Holden is an American who escapes from the camp, only to be tasked with leading a mission back to destroy “the bridge.” A07 The film does “just as well showing the psychological battle of wills as the more epic scenes of military conflict.” BFI Sources: A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition” BFI British Film Institute. (1999) “The BFI 100: A Selection of the Favourite British Films of the 20th Century” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” MSN MSN Entertainment (7/19/2018). “100 Best Movies” by Shahnaz Mahmud T95 Time Out (1995). “Centenary Top One Hundred Films” VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Box Office: Oscars: Wins: 7 – including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Guinness), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Score, Best Film Editing Nominations: 8 – including Best Supporting Actor (Hayakawa) Notable Awards: Other Lists/Honors: First posted 5/30/2023.

No Country for Old Men the Best PIcture Oscar-winning deconstruction of the classic Western, released

No Country for Old Men Released: November 9, 2007 Studio: Miramax Genre: crime/film noir/western Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 74.28 Worldwide: -- Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: -- Worldwide: 111.05

Directing: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen Screenwriting: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin Review: Brothers Joel and Ethan Coen deliver “there best film since FargoPD They “didn’t let the dense prose of Cormac McCarthy inhibit them from faithfully adapting No Country for Old Men,” ST a “thriller about a drug deal gone to hell and an ensuing manhunt into a staggering deconstruction of the classic Western.” PD The movie “is a tension-ratcheting, 1980 Texas-set chase movie” E18 in which “a man (Josh Brolin) comes upon $2 million in missing drug money and soon finds himself being hunted by a ruthless killer (Javier Bardem).” ST “Terrific performances bring every character even further to life.” ST Bardem “makes an awesome villiain;” E18 his “chilling killer Anton Chigurh, [is] often cited as the most realistic depiction of a psychopath in film history.” PD “Pitch-black modern themes and characteristically gorgeous Roger Deakins cinematography linger in the mind.” PD Sources: E18 Empire (3/20/2018). “The 100 Greatest Movies” PD Parade.com (5/22/2023). “…We Ranked the 100 Best Movies of All Time!” by Samuel R. Murrian ST Stacker.com (4/14/2023). “100 Best Movies of All Time” by Jacob Osborn

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Genre Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 4 – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Bardem), Best Adapted Screenplay Nominations: 8 – including Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing Lists: Hall of Fames: Experts’ Picks: First posted 6/9/2023; last updated 3/5/2025.