‘The Master' Debuts In Venice To Rave Reviews; Watch The Press Conference, More

A bit earlier we told you that "The Master" had its official debut at the Venice Film Festival where the film picked up some rave reviews. Most critics seemed to agree that it's a dense and challenging but ultimately stunning achievement for Paul. Deadline says that the film has received the best score in a festival poll of over 20 critics so let's cross our fingers the film could pick up an award or two from the fest. We've started compiling the reviews here for easy clicking for after you've seen the film. For now here are a few highlights...

"Even when the narrative drifts into increasingly ambiguous waters, the sheer brilliance of the filmmaking holds one rapt."- Variety

"After one viewing, The Master already feels like a landmark American movie. It makes words like ‘bold’ and ‘extraordinary’ seem utterly inadequate."- Telegraph UK

"It is a movie that may alienate and exasperate some, but its audacity, its formal daring and Joaquin Phoenix's performance, make it simply unmissable."- Guardian UK

Many readers sent us videos of the film's press conference our way which you can watch here as well as read a transcript of the event. Paul speaks for the first time about the decision to shoot in 70mm, how he's tried to get Joaquin for almost every one of his films to no avail and how he sees the film as a love story. Great stuff all around but beware, minor spoilers throughout. (Oh, I also wrote up a recap of the event over at The Playlist.) You can view a ton of pictures of Paul and co. at the event here.

If you haven't noticed, over the weekend we quietly unveiled that The Archives are back. What does this mean for you? Well, you'll notice a handy navigation bar at the top of the site which will let you browse information for each of Paul's films (including Production Notes, Trivia, Promo Materials, Deleted Scenes, etc.) as well as sections for Music Videos, Short Films, Interviews and DVD Picks. We're still filling in some of the gaps but it's been a project a long time in the making so we couldn't wait to unveil them for you guys and let you start digging around.

Tickets are now sold out for all 3 showings of "The Master" at TIFF which kicks off this Thursday. I'll be attending Friday's premiere screening at the Princess of Wales and despite having already seen the film, it remains my most eagerly anticipated of the fest and I can't wait to revisit it. Hope to see a few of you there. And finally, artist Tony Johnson's very nice "There Will Be Blood" print is now available for purchase. *deep breaths* Did I forget anything?

Update 7:33pm: Yep, PTA was voted The Best Film Director In The World by Guardian UK. Congrats!

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