PT Anderson films vs Tarantino films.
Let me preface this rant by saying I quite enjoy Tarantino films. "Jackie Brown" is probably my favorite. I have watched Tarantino films in their entirety approx. 200 times. That's a guess, but between Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and JB it's probably close. I have not watched PTA films in their entirety as many times. Which brings me to the reason I love PTA films so much: characterization. Every one of his films dives deep into the main characters. Even the peripheral characters are given a chance to show humanity. I can't listen to the slow circus music of "Boogie Nights" without thinking of the whole film and all the characters and their beauty and their flaws. The same way I can't listen to Aimee Mann's music on "Magnolia" without thinking of the whole twisting tale of that movie. Robard's deathbed confessions are amazing. His regrets. "I lost my love".
Again, Tarantino is great. The film world would be much duller without him. His films, however, are more a tribute to genres that he himself enjoys. Plus there are few people that can write realistic dialogue as well as him. I just don't come away from his films feeling
"touched". The fight scene in "Kill Bill" between Thurman and Liu is one of my favorite fight scenes of all time, but I can watch it and walk away and not think about it again. Tarantino films are a short story read while PTA films are novels.
Another aspect is the people themselves. I don't profess to know either man, but in hours of interviews I have watched of them both Tarantino seems like a guy I would love to meet at a bar and shoot the bull with, but I would not invite him home to watch a movie. Anderson on the other hand seems more accessible and open to dialogue from other sources. With Tarantino it's the "Tarantino Show". With Anderson his ego(which I am sure is monstrous) is held in check. I just like the way he answers question more. In a somewhat recent interview with Henry Rollin, PTA said that the key to life(and of course making movies) is letting go of fear. I sincerely believe that. Even us "normal" 9-5 people can relate to that. I myself have wasted time and opportunity being afraid of failure or afraid of someone else's opinion. To end this rant, I will leave you with one of my favorite PTA quotes. When asked how he was so good at writing dialogue for characters doing drugs(specifically the scene in BN where Lewis and Graham are locked in a bedroom doing coke) he replied, "Because I've done a lot of coke and I've had those conversations".
For those of you who read my post, I thank you. And yes, Bolivian marching powder was involved, in the true spirit of the two fine directors I have spoken of.