REVIEW

DVD Review: There Will Be Blood (2-Disc Collector's Edition)

Written by Rebecca Wright
Published April 06, 2008
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ThrWllBBld_Still_PK_13442.jpgDisc one of There Will Be Blood offers the widescreen presentation of the film, enhanced for 16:9 television viewing. The picture is crisp and clear. Audio options include a Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround Sound track, along with French and Spanish 5.1 choices. Disc two offers the special features. "15 Minutes" is a slide show of photos of late 1800s/early 1900s figures — oil prospectors, silver miners, frontier homesteaders, corporate tycoons — along with maps of the California oil fields tapped in this period. These stills are intercut with soundless clips from the film, which sublimely demonstrate the pains taken by cinematographer Robert Elswit and production designer Jack Fisk to reproduce the people, places, and life conditions during the oil boom.

"Fishing" and "Haircut/Interrupted Hymn" contain deleted scenes from the film. "Dailies Gone Wild" is an extended take of the restaurant dinner scene between Daniel, H.W., and the Standard Oil men at the next table. The clip really gives you a sense of how Daniel Day-Lewis approaches his craft. You can see him working on the character, fleshing Daniel Plainview out to the man we would see in the final cut.

"The Story of Petroleum" is a silent documentary produced circa 1923. It tells the story of the California oil boom. Full of vintage photos from the late 1800s onward, ornate title cards, and animated how-to maps for drilling down to crude deposits, "The Story of Petroleum" provides an interesting, though dated, history lesson.

The films trailer and teaser are also included on the second disc.

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Rebecca is a freelance writer, concentrating in the areas of film, television and music criticism. Her B.A. is in the Humanities with an emphasis in film and writing.She holds an M.A. in American and British literature with an emphasis in dystopian literature and detective fiction.
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DVD Review: There Will Be Blood (2-Disc Collector's Edition)
Published: April 06, 2008
Type: Review
Section: Video
Filed Under: Video: Drama
Writer: Rebecca Wright
Rebecca Wright's BC Writer page
Rebecca Wright's personal site
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