Pre-Order Phantom Thread Blu-Ray Today!

 

As we announced below, Phantom Thread will be released on Blu-Ray APRIL 10TH, with a nice selection of special features added to the disc! You can pre-order it now by clicking here, and click either of the images above to see them in higher resolution!

Paul & Co. have released a trailer!

In honor, this will also mark the return of one of this site's oldest features:

PTA DVD BLU-RAY PICK OF THE MONTH
which will be the Criterion Collection's incredible release of Rebecca, which Paul has referred to numerous times over the course of the promotional run having been a key influence on the inspiration behind Thread.

“It’s not your standard love story,” states Anderson. “It’s more peculiar for sure. A lot of directors have tried and failed to make Rebecca. I’m probably next in line, but it’s a different story. I’m a large aficionado of those large Gothic romance movies as the old masters might do them. What I like about those kinds of love stories is that they’re very suspenseful. A good dollop of suspense with a love story is a nice combination!" 

PTA - FlickeringMyth.Com

We will have the full 20 year archive of Paul's personal selections back up next week!

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Criterion Punch-Drunk Love Coming Soon!

After the long wait, we have been blessed today with the details and cover artwork for the Criterion Collection's release of Punch-Drunk Love November 15th, 2016!

Chaos lurks in every corner of this giddily off-kilter foray into romantic comedy by Paul Thomas Anderson. Struggling to cope with his erratic temper, novelty toilet plunger salesman Barry Egan (Adam Sandler, demonstrating remarkable versatility in his first dramatic role) spends his days collecting frequent-flyer-mile coupons and dodging the insults of his seven sisters. 

The promise of a new life emerges when Barry inadvertently attracts the affections of a mysterious woman named Lena (Emily Watson), but their budding relationship is threatened when he falls prey to the swindling operator of a phone sex line and her deranged boss (played with maniacal brio by Philip Seymour Hoffman). 

Fueled by the careening momentum of a baroque-futurist score by Jon Brion, the Cannes-award-winning Punch-Drunk Love channels the spirit of classic Hollywood musicals and the whimsy of Jacques Tati into an idiosyncratic ode to the delirium of new romance

Here are the features that come with the disc:

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

• 4K digital transfer, supervised by director Paul Thomas Anderson, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray

• Blossoms & Blood, a twelve-minute 2002 piece by Anderson featuring Adam Sandler and Emily Watson, along with music by Jon Brion

• New interview with Brion

• New piece featuring behind-the-scenes footage of a recording session for the film’s soundtrack

• New conversation between curators Michael Connor and Lia Gangitano about the art of Jeremy Blake

• Additional artwork by Blake

• Cannes press conference from 2002

• NBC News interview from 2000 with David Phillips, “the pudding guy”

• Twelve Scopitones

• Deleted scenes

• Mattress Man commercial

• Trailers

Visit their official page for the film here!

Watch: PTA's 15 Minute Intro To Max Ophüls' ‘The Earrings of Madame de...' Criterion Collection DVD

Paul Thomas Anderson on Max Ophuls from filmschoolthrucommentaries on Vimeo.

Back in 2008, PTA recorded a 15 minute commentary/intro to Max Ophüls classic "The Earrings of Madame de..." for the Criterion Collection DVD. Now, thanks to the magic of the internet you can watch that online. There are spoilers if you've never seen the film but even so, it'll probably make you more inclined to pick up the disc and watch the film. (Thanks Matt8U!)

"The Master" is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.    
Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

PTA In Conversation With Robert Downey Sr. Part 2; Tom Cruise Has Seen ‘The Master'

Last Tuesday, Criterion premiered the first installment in a 4 part series capturing a candid discussion between PTA and filmmaker/iconoclast Robert Downey Sr. Today they've dropped the latest episode which you can watch above where the pair discuss the film "No More Excuses" (1968) which is featured in the Eclipse box set of Downey Sr.'s work.

In other news, according to The Wrap, Paul screened "The Master" for none other than Frank "T.J." Mackey himself, Tom Cruise. According to two anonymous sources (aren't they always?) Cruise “had issues” with some parts of the movie but the two have remained friends since "Magnolia." The article also indicates that The Weinstein Co. wants to show the film to John Travolta as well to head off any potential Scientology-themed controversy down the line. Possibly all nonsense, but time will tell. (via @ntwalker)

If you haven't read the scene-by-scene rundown of the 4 minutes of Cannes footage, you should probably do so. And then check out the photos from the teaser in our Facebook gallery and stay tuned to Twitter for the latest news and updates.

PTA Joins Robert Downey Sr. In Conversation For The Criterion Collection

Sometimes when it rains, it pours. After quite an eventful morning that saw Mr. FortyFPS and myself awake at 3:20am to decipher the cryptic email from Paul, we've been passed another little jewel. According to a post on The Criterion Collection Facebook page, PTA shot a series of videos with Robert Downey Sr. which they'll be unveiling in the coming weeks.

For those of you who don't know Robert Downey Sr. is (yes, Jr.'s father and also) the writer and director of a some truly bizarre and wonderful films including the satire "Putney Swope" which has long been a favorite of PTA's. (Fun fact: Buck Swope from "Boogie Nights" was named as a nod to the film!) Paul said the film showed him “you could be really punk rock in a movie. You could do anything. It didn’t have to make sense. As long as it was funny or funny to the guy who was making it, it would come across as exciting.” This video series is presumably to help promote Criterion's upcoming 5 film set of Downey's work entitled Up All Night with Robert Downey Sr. We'll keep our eyes peeled for those videos and post them here as they arrive as I'm sure our eagle-eyed readers will be the first to let us know. (Thanks @HybridVigorFilm!)  

Update 5/17: You can now watch the first video below:

 

Update 5/16:  During a completely unrelated Downey Sr. interview with the Projection Booth podcast (about the 38 minute mark), the subject of PTA came up when he was asked about filmmakers who have been influenced by his work. "Well, Paul I've known a long time," Downey Sr. said. "I knew him before he made a feature. In fact, he's going to do the interview with me for the [Criterion] box set. Yeah, he's a good guy. I've seen 90 minutes of his new movie ["The Master"] too, it's great." Looks like PTA is continuing to show the unfinished film to his close circle of friends as you'll remember Emily Watson had seen 30 minutes back in December. This also means the film is probably running quite a bit over 90 minutes as it seems unlikely everything but the final few minutes would've been screened. (For reference TWBB: 158 min, PDL: 95 min, MAG: 189 min, BOOGIE: 156 min, H8: 102 min.)

Continuing his kind words about Paul he said, "He's an interesting character. He's actually the West Coast Marty Scorsese in a way, he knows every film that was ever shot. He's one of those guys...In fact he asked me if he could use the firecracker scene [from "Putney Swope"] in "Boogie Nights," I said 'Of course.' I like that film." Also of interest is that a few years ago Paul had apparently been talking to Downey about potentially writing something based on events from his life. "He was interested in my teenage years when I was in and out of prison and the army. And I think he thought at one time that that kinda stuff might be interesting. He's heard a lot of stories from me. I remember talking about that. He's talked about it other times but he's got a lot of thoughts on his mind, he's always thinking." You can listen to the entire thing over at The Projection Booth. (via xixax).


Oh and for those of you who are curious we posted this (slightly better looking) blow-up of that 65mm frame to Twitter where you can just make out The Master dancing into the next room while bystanders clap for him. To the side is a piano & a woman playing an upright bass. Much more to come.


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