Paul Thomas Anderson made his feature film debut in 1996 with Hard Eight, and his reputation as one of the most intensive and methodical current American moviemakers has continued to grow since then. His films tell the stories of characters desperate for belonging and happiness. He's made both ensemble dramas and deep character studies, relying on prolonged sequences and dark humor to push his narratives.
Anderson has cited directors like Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman, and Martin Scorsese as influences. Like these other filmmakers, Anderson often collaborates with the same actors. Here are his films, ranked from worst to best based on their Rotten Tomatoes freshness.
9 Inherent Vice (2016) - 73%
Based on a novel by American writer Thomas Pynchon, Inherent Vice is a dark comedy about a pot-smoking private eye named Doc. The world of 1970 Los Angeles is on full display here, from the hippies to the cults to the various illicit substances.
Joaquin Phoenix stars as Doc, and he's backed up with performances by Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, and Benicio Del Toro. Some audiences find Paul Thomas Anderson's layered and complex narrative style here confusing, but others find it an interesting way to highlight the drug-addled nature of Doc's life.
8 Punch-Drunk Love (2002) - 80%
Paul Thomas Anderson wanted to make his own version of a musical love story along the lines of Singin' in the Rain, and Punch-Drunk Love is the end result. Starring Adam Sandler in one of his first dramatic roles, the movie tells the story of a lonely man with severe social anxiety.
Sandler's character, Barry, is set up on a date by his sister-in-law with a woman named Lena, played by Emily Watson. The two fall for each other, but, after Barry is wrapped up in an extortion scam after calling a phone-sex hotline before he met Lena, things get complicated. Darkly whimsical, this may be one of Anderson's more hopeful films.
7 Magnolia (1999) - 83%
A dense ensemble film that traces and connects the lives of various people in the San Fernando Valley of California, Magnolia focuses on coincidence, misfortune, and desolation. Theatrical stories weave in and out of each other until the epic movie comes to a dramatic close.
The cast includes Tom Cruise, Melinda Dillon, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ricky Jay, William H. Macy, Alfred Molina, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, and Jason Robards, and its popular soundtrack features songs from singer-songwriter Aimee Mann.
6 Hard Eight (1996) - 83%
Anderson's feature debut is a crime drama starring Phillip Baker Hall as a gambler in his 60s making his way to Las Vegas. Along the way, he meets a younger man named John, played by John C. Reilly, and the two forge a bond.
It turns out, though, that Hall's character, Sydney, has a dark past, one more connected to John than is initially obvious. Hard Eight demonstrates Anderson's ability to dig deep into multiple characters while constructing intricate webs of connection between them.
5 The Master (2012) - 85%
A moving character study loosely based on the life of Scientology inventor L. Rob Hubbard, The Master focuses on the paradoxical qualities that motivate men to act immorally. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the refined and structured Lancaster Dodd, head of a religious movement known as The Cause, while Joaquin Phoenix plays the chaotic and uninhibited Freddie Quell, a WWII veteran who gets sucked into Dodd's group.
Despite their oppositional attitudes and styles, the two men have much more in common than they'd like to admit: they're ego-driven, greedy, and self-serving. Anderson brings mid-century America to life in this electrifying drama.
4 There Will Be Blood (2007) - 91%
Another period drama, There Will Be Blood is based on the novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair, and it tells the story of Daniel Plainview, a silver miner turned oil tycoon. Plainview's story of success is mired by blood, deceit, and familial neglect.
Daniel Day-Lewis won an Oscar for his performance of Plainview, but Paul Dano's supporting role as a corrupt and persuasive young preacher received equal amounts of praise. With its stunning cinematography and a haunting soundtrack from Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, There Will Be Blood is considered one of the best films of the 21st century. It also produced one of the most-parodied lines in movie history: "I drink your milkshake."
3 Phantom Thread (2018) - 91%
Anderson's most recent film is another powerful character study that takes place in mid-century England. Daniel Day-Lewis, in his final role before retirement, stars as an obsessive and idiosyncratic women's clothing designer named Reynolds Woodcock who takes on a new lover and muse, a foreign waitress named Alma. Reynolds lives in a large manor with his sister, Cyril, who handles his day-to-day affairs.
Prone to meltdowns and tantrums, Reynolds's career takes off while his personal relationship with Alma becomes fraught with problems and tensions. The power struggles that exist in relationships are brought forth with Anderson's signature finesse and approach here, and Alma and Reynolds are eventually able to figure out a way to make their relationship work.
2 Boogie Nights (1997) - 93%
Anderon blew audiences and critics away with his second feature, an ambitious ensemble film that dives into the burgeoning pornography scene in 1970s and 1980s Los Angeles. Boogie Nights stars Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Heather Graham.
Wahlberg plays a high school drop-out named Eddie who catches the attention of porno director Jack Horner, played by Reynolds. After donning the name Dirk Diggler, Eddie becomes an over-night industry sensation. However, his fame leads to a life of excess and drug addiction, fueled by the toxic people around him.
1 Junun (2015) - 100%
Anderson's least-known film is also the one with the highest rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Junun is a documentary that captures the making of an album named Junun by the Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, the Indian group the Rajasthan Express, and Radiohead's producer Nigel Godrich.
Greenwood composed the soundtracks for four of Anderson's films, and this documentary highlights his musical genius as he collaborates with other artists to make this grandiose album. The album was made in Rajasthan, India at Mehrangarh Fort, and Anderson used a drone to capture overhead images of the scene.
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