The Films of Paul Thomas Anderson

Every new Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA) film is treated as a major event and like Quentin Tarantino, his film counts are part of the marketing release such as the recent One Battle After Another marketed as the 10^th PTA film. With 10 PTA films in the books, it feels like an appropriate time to collect my notes and ranking of his films. The 10 films in order of release are:

Hard Eight (1996)

Boogie Nights (1997)

Magnolia (1999)

Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

There Will be Blood (2007)

The Master (2012)

Inherent Vice (2014)

Phantom Thread (2017)

Licorice Pizza (2021)

One Battle After Another (2025)

The contemporary nature of PTA means I have seen all but his debut film, Hard Eight, in order and majority of them in a cinema. Boogie Night was seen via VHA tape as that didn’t play long in cinemas around me and Hard Eight and Licorice Pizza were via streaming.

10 films over a span of 29 years is approximately 1 film every 3 years. At the start of his career, PTA was more prolific with his first three feature films released over a three-year span (1996-99) but the gap increased after that. There were two 5-year gaps in between his films and not coincidentally, those 5-year gaps were prior to the release of There Will be Blood and The Master. Considering that both There Will be Blood and The Master create such an intense universe, the extra time prior to their releases makes sense.

Character Studies & Location

Paul Thomas Anderson’s films are brilliant character studies where we are introduced to memorable characters who stay long in the memory. In that regard, his films are an actor’s dream because their work will get noticed. Every single actor in his films has given a stellar performance, no matter how small their role was. This means all the roles are brilliantly casted but also PTA's attention to detail means that actors are given a platform to showcase their talents.

Location is another vital aspect of PTA’s films. This applies to both location in time and space, meaning his films capture the essence of a particular location across a time period. Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Licorice Pizza highlight the energy and sentiments of San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles) across different decades; Phantom Thread has an impressive eye for detail related to fashion and food in 1950s London; There Will be Blood captures the ruthless greedy world of 1920-30s oil rush; Hard Eight showcases the transactions and rules of a casino; One Battle After Another exudes the essence of a revolutionary life and the drugs and paranoia associated with it.

Ranking all 10 PTA films in order of preference:

1. There Will be Blood (2007)

The first hour is pure cinematic excellence but it is the finale that draws blood and ends with a thud. A simple dialogue about "drinking your milkshake" underlines the problem with greed. Someone is always carrying a bigger straw.

2. Phantom Thread (2017)

Sumptuous, seductive film with an eye for detail. The fabric and cut of cloth were what I recall most but as it turns out, I missed the focus on food. Phantom Thread is now included by some on their best food films of all time.

3. One Battle After Another (2025)

This brilliant stoner political comedy is a lot funnier than I expected. The second PTA-Thomas Pynchon effort is a home run!

4. The Master (2012)

Long before our world was overrun by crazy delusional men with no principals, virtues or ethics, PTA crafted this devastating case study depicting people who can easily be manipulated by impressive speakers. In this regard, The Master is a film whose message is much more universal and not grounded to just a single religion or ideology.

5. Boogie Nights (1997)

PTA’s 2^nd film became a cult sensation and was one of those films whose popularity was spread by word of month long before the internet and social media made that task easier.

6. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

After the weighty Magnolia, PTA changed gears and surprised with Punch-Drunk Love which showed a completely different side of Adam Sandler. There are many layers to Sandler’s performance and the film balances tender romance with release of anger.

7. Inherent Vice (2014)

The first PTA-Thomas Pynchon test run is a stoner comedy that sets the ground for One Battle for Another. Inherent Vice contains an impressive cast of actors with many memorable cameos.

8. Magnolia (1999)

Magnolia came out long before social media and memes went viral. The film has many scenes (yes including that frog scene) that felt like they were talked about everywhere, on radio, in newspapers, around the office and among friends. Magnolia was released just before 1999 ended and there was already some anxiety about what 2000 (Y2K) would bring so perhaps that frog rain scene played into an end of the world sentiment. The film was also highly divisive. Looking back, it is impressive to think that this was just PTA’s 3^rd feature and one packed with some risky decisions.

Note: 1999 also saw the release of American Beauty, Fight Club, The Matrix, The Sixth Sense, Being John Malkovich so there were a handful of Hollywood films showcasing reality in a different light.

9. Hard Eight (1996)

PTA’s impressive debut takes a hard turn from the initial first few scenes. At first, it feels like we will be seeing a master-student relationship in the art of gambling, but the film has other ideas.

10. Licorice Pizza (2021)

The refreshing acting of Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman ensures their on-screen characters exude an easy flowing chemistry.