This or Hard Eight?


I just recently began looking into P.T. Anderson's work after watching and loving The Master. Magnolia was genius and instantly skyrocketed into my top 10 favorites. Boogie Nights, in my opinion, was well made but rather poorly put together. It had some good scenes but it didn't gel into a cohesive whole, especially the second half after the party.

I had high expectations for this. I was kind of disappointed. It felt like P.T. Anderson's direction and I liked the performances but I thought the screenplay was very rushed and incoherent.

I only have two films to go. I'm definitely saving There Will Be Blood for last. What do you think of Hard Eight as compared to this?

When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious *beep*

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Hard Eight is very impressive for a filmmaker in his mid-20s. It has suffered in comparison to all his work since but is certainly worth your time.

I can see how PDL is not everyone's cup of tea but I strongly disagree with your analysis of "Boogie Nights." Give it another shot. Things in the '80s are supposed to feel rushed and disjointed because the narrative deliberately matches Dirk's mindset after he gets into cocaine.

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I do plan to rewatch Boogie Nights but as for your point, okay, it's meant to resemble Dirk's mindset and that it was the screenwriter's intention, I get that, but that doesn't change the fact that it's disjointed. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of great scenes in the second half, but the whole just ends up less than the sum of its parts in my humble opinion.

I did finally see Hard Eight. I prefer it to PDL. Also, I found it more enjoyable to watch than Boogie Nights, though Boogie Nights is more impressive on a technical level.

When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious *beep*

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PDL to me is quite an amazing triumph of film aesthetic - the movie looks great, everything fits, everything works even though the story is far from complex and ambition modest substance-wise. Hard Eight on the other hand is a good film, but ultimately a work of a young talent just starting out, not quite in command of his powers yet. Fortunately - and unlike when he was making Magnolia - PTA seems to have realized his limitations as well and accordingly scaled things down to a rather small, simple story, avoiding trying to go for too much. It´s def not what one would call "essential viewing", but it´s still recommended and rewarding in its own way.



"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

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^What he said.

Except the part about Magnolia, of course.

Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.

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you are a *beep* idiot, boogie nights is PTA's masterpiece and probably his best film to date followed by there will be blood.

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That's just like, your opinion, man.

When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious *beep*

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yeah well shut the *beep* up Donny!

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*beep* it man, let's go bowling.

When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious *beep*

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Punch Drunk Love

While I thought Hard Eight was really impressive for his first film, it didn't really have that "special" vibe you get from every PTA movie. Mainly because it's his most conventional movie he's done and if you've seen pretty much every single movie he's made after Hard Eight, you'll definitely be disappointed. You may really enjoy it if it was the first film of his that you watch but once you explore his others films, naturally Hard Eight will get pushed back.

But I still recommend that you see it. Just to see how he went from "then" to "now"


You mean Norman Bates Jr. is the baby daddy?

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I wasn't big on either but after initial viewings I preferred Punch-Drunk Love. Several months later and it's still the one that is sticking to me and begging to be watched again.

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[deleted]

Thanks for that reply! I did like There Will Be Blood but I probably have to rewatch it since I saw it after a tiring day. Yeah, not exactly the best scenario to watch a movie like TWBB.

I might give Punch-Drunk Love another try someday but I don't see it anytime soon, but yes, I did like the camera work there.

So far, Magnolia and The Master are my favorite PTA films, but I do love all of them so far, just some more than others.

When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious *beep*

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There Will Be Blood = A Perfect Film

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Most Everybodys decision on this question comes from more of a retrospective by going back to see hard eight after seeing his later movies first like Boogie Nights or Magnolia and then not giving credit to hard 8 as a great film because it was an early film where I saw hard 8 when it came out and it's an amazing film that only because it's great but what it cost to make and all the rest and that perspective you need to watch for PTA for what he would do later on which he did making better and better films but in no way does that diminish how great hard Eight is or was

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