With only four feature films to his credit, Paul Thomas Anderson has established himself as one of Hollywood's most gifted contemporary auteurs. As writer and director (and sometimes producer) of his movies, Anderson not only maintains artistic control, he brings a personal signature to his high concept movies. The themes that interest him the most are present in all his films and they are imbued with influences from his life. AndersonÆs brand of personal cinema is marked by an artistic expression that goes beyond commercialism. This research will discuss the films ôHard Eight,ö ôBoogie Nights,ö ôMagnoliaö and ôPunch Drunk Loveö focusing on AndersonÆs career, his techniques and thematic material.
Born in Studio City, California in 1970, Anderson grew up in the Valley and all his films, with the exception of ôHard Eight,ö are set in the environment of the San Fernando Valley. AndersonÆs debut feature, the low-keyed ôHard Eight,ö was released in the United States in 1997 following its 1996 release under the title ôSydney.ö The movie was based on a short film Anderson made in 1992 titled ôCigarettes and Coffee,ö that was financed by Anderson from a refund of his tuition after he dropped out of New York University film school. Following a successful screening of ôCigarettes and Coffeeö at the Sundance Film Festival of 1993, Anderson was offered the opportunity to expand it into a feature, which he did. Reworking his short films into features is an Anderson characteristic, and his earlier short film about the porno industry, ôThe Dirk Diggle Story,ö was later reworked into the 1997 ôBoogie Nights.ö
Set in Las Vegas and Reno, ôHard Eightö opens with a prologue that last 20 minutes during which time there is very little action. The two main characters are introduced in the prologue. The protagonist Sydney (Philip Baker Hall) is an older, self-contained man who lives by gambling and scams. He befrie...