The Master

[hobochic]

Here's the teaser trailer for The Master – the new
Paul Thomas Anderson movie about Scientology. The Young Turks talk about it in this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TWto5f0gD4U#!

[Collin]

Some of those shots are distinctive PTA. I don't know how he's gonna top There Will Be Blood, but the plot of this one seems promising. Joaquin really shines in this clip, and that Johnny Greenwood score is a nice touch. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is one of my favorite working actors right now, so i think hes a great choice, too bad he wasn't in the teaser. Either way, this film is probably my most anticipated of the entire year.

[onthewall2983]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SOz4T5QWCI&feature=player_embedded

[Sallos]

Phoenix looks creppy. After There Will be Blood, im really looking forard for anything Paul T. Anderson pulls out.

[onthewall2983]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7o8PbK4kieA/UAddv63TyOI/AAAAAAAAAYE/nIGQZ3yW6UM/s1600/themaster.jpg

[thevoid99]

I think it's going to come down between QT and PTA for Best Director. That looks like it's going to be amazing.

[joplinpicasso]

So, I've refused to watch the theatrical trailer, or to look at production stills, but I absolutely cannot wait for this. I'm planning a PTA marathon leading up to it. There's also been this campaign to screen the film in 70mm wherever possible. Check it: http://cigsandredvines.blogspot.com/2012/08/help-pta-show-master-in-70mm-in-your.html

Also: Run-time is allegedly 2.5 hours.

[onthewall2983]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSjcDcpSOG4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[richardp]

I'm seeing this tomorrow night and could not be more excited! This was probably my most anticipated release of the year, and TWBB is my favorite film of all time, so I'm hoping it at least comes close to the genius of that film.

[joplinpicasso]

I could say the exact same thing, except I'm seeing it Friday (in 70mm, no less)!

[Corvus T. Cosmonaut]

Saturday night in the Dome at Arclight Hollywood, for me. 70mm. Excited.

[richardp]

Saw it in Digital, but it still looked phenomenal no less. I can only imagine how this will look in real 70mm.

Without spoiling anything, if you loved There Will Be Blood, you'll love The Master. Of course, I can't say for sure until I see DDL in Lincoln, but I'd say RIGHT NOW Joaquin Phoenix is an absolute lock for Best Actor. It is chilling how deep he goes into this character. There is a scene where Philip Seymour Hoffman is giving Joaquin's character a "test" and asking him a series of personal questions without blinking, and if he blinks they start the process over from the beginning. It's incredibly gripping is one of two scenes that showcase the best acting I've seen all year.

[joplinpicasso]

Absolutely stunning. richardp is correct, it is the direct relative of TWBB, but with more of an emphasis on dark humor and vulgarity present in Boogie Nights. I saw it in 70mm! The acting, direction, filming, MUSIC, dialogue were all top-notch. The Scientology critique is there but just barely so - it's more about cults of personality, belonging to a group, and finding your own way in life, in my opinion.

I felt the ending lacked the punch that TWBB and Magnolia have, but it's a hazier, dreamier movie with just the right amount of epic American scope, so I wouldn't want PTA to keep repeating the Daniel/Eli showdown. But certain moments DRIPPED with elements of Blood, and I loved it.

I'd have to see it again, BUT:

There Will Be Blood
The Master...
Magnolia/Punch-Drunk Love
Boogie Nights
Hard Eight

[aggroculture]

Saw it tonight. Brilliant first half, some brilliant moments. But the third act didn't know where to go, and succumbed. I really think as far as visuals go, it missed the boat a little on what it could have been. Scientology has this incredible and weird visual style which this film didn't get in on. I wanted it to get a little more sci-fi and less realist period piece. It reminded me of The Tree of Life a bit for its dreamy, alien, yet cozy 1950s. Fantastic, defining performance by Phoenix.

[thevoid99]

Here's my review (http://thevoid99.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-master-2012-film.html) of the film. Definitely a contender for best film of 2012.

[Wretchedest]

This was very good. Phoenix really nailed that role. It was potentially one of the greatest performances of my lifetime.

I think the scientology comparison is distracting a lot of diacussion about the movie, which really isnt about that at all. It uses acientology to help foster certain elements, but its not a central idea. Its as much about scientology as there will be blood was about oil and rockefeller.

I saw it as a story about healing and recovery. Hypocrisy amd insecurity. PTA did weel to overcome the stigma that he doesnt develope his characters.

[aggroculture]

I think it didn't quite succeeed not because of its somewhat superficial depictions of Scientology, but because it didn't know what to do with itself in the third act. I had a lot of fun in the first half, but the second half was disappointing, and drawn out and anticlimactic but not in an arty way I could get behind or make sense of. They set up these characters, this relationship, and then...
Some beautiful and discomforting images, though.

[Wretchedest]

Spoilers, obviously:

I couldnt disagree more. Again i really dont think his movie is attempting to imitate of comment on scientology. I do think they siccessfully expanded on freddies relationship with the master. As he he healed more and more over time, through the methods of the cause, he was forced to confront the Masters failure at his own philosophy. Its a very complex and unique relatkonship because the cause helps freddie so much, and by the end, its the master who feels like he needs freddie, not the other way around.

The whole movie is about this process, and i thpught the second and ghird acts did a great job of exploring the consequences of that process and the relationships transformed by it.

[AgentofChaos]

^ Couldn't agree more.

I think it also uniquely poses the question of whether or not everyone needs their own "master" in order to live a happy and fulfilled life. What PTA is attempting to get us to explore isn't necessarily achieved in the first half of the film, thus making the second half extremely critical to that realization, at least for myself. In a lot of ways, while Quell needed a Master in Dodd to find direction, and Dodd in turn obviously needs Quell to complete the relationship, Dodd too needs his own master, and he alludes to that in his final speech when he dares Freddie to leave. While that might be a tactic to try and manipulate Freddie into staying, I firmly believe Dodd's "Master" was his wife Peggy. Adams' character was selectively and brilliant utilized, and it was pretty clear to me that she was truly the one pulling the strings behind the entire operation, and Dodd was more than content with that arrangement.

It baffles me the way this film is being received when it doesn't particularly have anything to do with scientology. If anything, it uses religion as the philosophy of serving as one's master but it's done completely in a non specific way, and feels more like "the cause" was created merely to be the box inside of which the grander question is placed. Reason being it allows for said exploration without the baggage of using something that actually exists in our tangible universe. The whole scientology connection ultimately becomes nothing more than a red herring.

The film was gorgeous in 70MM, and certainly has some stellar acting peformances. However in the end I will say it's far from being an enjoyable experience and does leave some things to be desired. Most PTA films typically aren't very "pleasurable" in the traditional sense so you have to know that going in, but I do feel like he's done better. I respect and appreciate him as a filmmaker, but in fairness I'm not exactly a huge fan of his, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. At the very least however, the interesting themes touched upon in combination with the pretty packaging make this more than worth the price of admission.

Here's a link to a great article discussing the film in analogue vs digital; http://twitchfilm.com/2012/09/jason-gorbers-cineruminations-70mm-4k-and-the-master-split-personality.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TwitchEverything+(Twitch)

[aggroculture]

SPOILEURS:

I don't really disagree with these analyses. I just find the second half of the movie wasn't very adept at getting its points across. It dragged.
I tend to judge a film more on whether I enjoyed watching it at the time, rather than what kind of debate it prompts later. But I probably will watch this film again at some point.
The master needed/wanted Freddie from the very beginning: vulnerable or gullible people who he made feel important and unique. He was nothing without his fanbase.
Good point about the wife being the master of him. And also about Freddie and Dodd being more or less on an equivalent footing at the end. I guess then the film could be about the illusory nature of these hierchical master/pupil relationships.

But I'm not sure what's gained by saying this film isn't really about scientology: pretty much everything in there to do with the cult is based on something to do with scientology. Even if he's using it as a symbol or metaphor for other, larger conversations, as someone interested in scientology I was a little disappointed by what he did (or rather didn't do) with the material: too much description and not enough thesis or argument. I guess he was caught between a rock and a hard place: it's hard to say anything particularly critical about scientology without incurring their wrath, so I guess he ended up playing it safe here, and I was a little bothered by that reticence. So tough on capitalism and its dehumanizations in TWBB, so soft on scientology, and by extension cults/religions/spiritual leaders, here.

[onthewall2983]

This feels more appropriate here, because the film (and Hoffman's character) is discussed.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiQkdprJso0&feature=youtu.be