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The Rewatchables ·

There Will Be Blood

year 2007decade 00sdirector Paul Thomas Andersongenre Drama
host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Sean Fennesseyproducer Craig Horlbeck
All 34 categories

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award · 1:31:58

Three takes argue Daniel may be sexually attracted to Henry, the film is much better and more important than No Country, and Day-Lewis cannot be greatest without a mass-audience movie.

The Henry theory draws on betrayal, brothel jealousy, beach intimacy, impotence, and Daniel’s absence of women; the counterview sees a needed surrogate after H.W.’s injury.

Sean Fennessey: All three prefer There Will Be Blood to No Country despite calling the latter an exceptional Best Picture winner.

The film

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson · Drama

158 minutes

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Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Daniel Day-Lewis Daniel Plainview
Paul Dano Paul & Eli Sunday
Ciarán Hinds Fletcher Hamilton
Russell Harvard H.W. Plainview
Dillon Freasier young H.W. Plainview
Colleen Foy Mary Sunday
Sydney McCallister young Mary Sunday
David Willis Abel Sunday
Hans Howes William Bandy

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

54:53

Most Rewatchable Scene

The derrick explosion

The derrick explosion

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:53Read transcript
  • Fourteen dialogue-free minutes show Daniel breaking his leg and dragging himself from a mine, establishing that he will endure anything for wealth. — Bill Simmons
  • Eli’s first sermon lets Daniel identify the rival he must pressure. — Bill Simmons
  • The practical-looking explosion combines danger, hellfire imagery, H.W.’s injury, and Daniel choosing the ocean of oil over his child; all three settle on it.
  • Daniel’s oil-soaked assault on Eli is short, physical, and appears painfully real.
  • The “competition in me” confession reveals his hatred and sociopathy to the false brother. — Bill Simmons
  • The baptism turns genuine pain and calculated pipeline submission into simultaneous truths.
  • The Pacific beach lets Daniel quietly discover Henry’s lie before murder; the drunk steak lunch shows his power and contempt in posture and line delivery.
  • Adult H.W.’s departure forces Daniel to reveal the adopted child as a sales instrument, though their earlier bond remains emotionally ambiguous.
  • The milkshake scene ends oil versus religion with drunken pantomime, humiliation, and a bowling-pin murder; power inevitably wins.
  • Paul Sunday’s initial pitch is an understated two-actor negotiation that unlocks the entire plot. — Sean Fennessey
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1:12:34

What’s Aged the Best?

The theme, emerging humor, visible oil-building process, score, ambiguity, PTA’s ascendancy, practical landscapes, sc...

The theme, emerging humor, visible oil-building process, score, ambiguity, PTA’s ascendancy, practical landscapes, script, trailer, young H.W., and “I’m finished”

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:34Read transcript
  • The first minutes methodically turn a hole into an oil enterprise and make a complex process legible. — Bill Simmons
  • Oil superseding religion reads as the twentieth century replacing nineteenth-century structures of power. — Bill Simmons
  • The movie’s shots range from vast fire landscapes to intimate church movement and precise match cuts.
  • The bowling ball visibly striking Dano’s foot enhances the climactic physical risk. — Bill Simmons
  • No opening credits, Daniel leaving H.W. on the train, Dylan Freasier’s one-film performance, and the final line are individually celebrated.
  • Ambiguity about Eli’s faith, Daniel’s love, and the curse of the unblessed site changes with each viewing. — Chris Ryan
  • PTA’s scale and command pushed contemporaries toward their own mature masterworks.
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1:25:28

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

The beach two-shot with Henry’s face partly in sunlight

The beach two-shot with Henry’s face partly in sunlight

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:28Read transcript
  • The favored beach framing mirrors a famous painting and visually anticipates Daniel seeing through Henry. — Chris Ryan
  • Fletcher and Daniel in shadow before the burning derrick turn destruction into triumph.
  • A modified 1910 Pathé lens created the unusual train image of Daniel and infant H.W.
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1:27:46

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

No weak link

No weak link

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:27:46Read transcript
  • The category is deliberately left blank because the panel supports the film’s decisions.
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1:28:23

What’s Aged the Worst?

The real fire’s environmental damage, Miramax branding, and the oil state’s global damage

The real fire’s environmental damage, Miramax branding, and the oil state’s global damage

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:28:23Read transcript
  • The real fire’s environmental damage, Miramax branding, and the oil state’s global damage are the only candidates. — Bill Simmons
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1:31:58

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Three takes argue Daniel may be sexually attracted to Henry, the film is much better and more important than No Count...

Three takes argue Daniel may be sexually attracted to Henry, the film is much better and more important than No Country, and Day-Lewis cannot be greatest without a mass-audience movie.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:31:58Read transcript
  • The Henry theory draws on betrayal, brothel jealousy, beach intimacy, impotence, and Daniel’s absence of women; the counterview sees a needed surrogate after H.W.’s injury.
  • All three prefer There Will Be Blood to No Country despite calling the latter an exceptional Best Picture winner. — Sean Fennessey
  • The Day-Lewis dissent wishes he had played Nicholson’s Departed role or another broad commercial part.
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1:40:32

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Paul Dano’s exorcism

Paul Dano’s exorcism

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:40:32Read transcript
  • Paul Dano’s exorcism wins, while Day-Lewis is declared ineligible despite the climactic pantomime.
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1:41:37

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Legendary SNL writer Jim Downey

Legendary SNL writer Jim Downey

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:41:37Read transcript
  • Legendary SNL writer Jim Downey wins for his small real-estate role. — Sean Fennessey
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1:42:04

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Bandy

Bandy

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:42:04Read transcript
  • Bandy wins for two compact, forceful scenes. — Bill Simmons
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1:48:12

Apex Mountain

Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Thomas Anderson, oil, modern outdoor epics, oil-covered faces, private bowling alleys, well ex...

Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Thomas Anderson, oil, modern outdoor epics, oil-covered faces, private bowling alleys, well explosions, and feeding liquor to a baby

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:48:12Read transcript
  • Day-Lewis and PTA both have strong apex cases; oil, modern outdoor epics, oil-covered faces, private bowling alleys, well explosions, and feeding liquor to a baby receive playful subcases. — Bill Simmons
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1:55:18

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

No remake; an all-Black version as a thought experiment

No remake; an all-Black version as a thought experiment

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:55:18Read transcript
  • The movie is untouchable, though an all-Black version is briefly enjoyed as a thought experiment. — Bill Simmons
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1:55:18

Is This Movie Better With…?

Wayne Jenkins (comic default); Philip Baker Hall; Steve Buscemi; Jon Bernthal in Ciarán Hinds’s role

Wayne Jenkins (comic default); Philip Baker Hall; Steve Buscemi; Jon Bernthal in Ciarán Hinds’s role

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:55:18Read transcript
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1:56:43

Just One Oscar

Daniel Day-Lewis gets the single Oscar.

Daniel Day-Lewis gets the single Oscar.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:56:43Read transcript
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2:00:48

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

The bloody bowling pin leads Daniel’s flask, hat, Henry’s diary, long swimming trunks, and Eli’s final cross.

The bloody bowling pin leads Daniel’s flask, hat, Henry’s diary, long swimming trunks, and Eli’s final cross.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 02:00:48Read transcript
  • The bloody bowling pin leads Daniel’s flask, hat, Henry’s diary, long swimming trunks, and Eli’s final cross.
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2:01:35

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

Oil defeats religion and unchecked competition can poison the self and the world.

Oil defeats religion and unchecked competition can poison the self and the world.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 02:01:35Read transcript
  • Oil defeats religion and unchecked competition can poison the self and the world.
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2:03:04

Who Won the Movie?

Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 02:03:04Read transcript
  • Sean selects PTA as writer, director, producer, conceiver, and career-transforming author of the whole work. — Sean Fennessey
  • The other two hosts choose Day-Lewis because no substitute could reproduce the singular performance or the movie’s rewatchability.
  • Craig evaluates the arguments without declaring his own candidate, and the panel acknowledges that PTA may own the film’s longer historical legacy.
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
Daniel Day-Lewis
Speaker not identified
Daniel Day-Lewis
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Mentions across The Rewatchables

Recorded movie reference

Pulp Fiction

The Rewatchables · aired July 29, 2024

Best Picture losers: introduced as ten, twelve titles named without ranks

Transcript time unavailableRead transcript
Source 1