There Will Be Blood
An oil prospector and a charismatic preacher wage a ferocious battle for land, money, faith, and absolute control in early twentieth-century California.
Overview
A gripping tale of ambition and moral decay in the pursuit of wealth and power.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- brooding
- austere
- oppressive
- serious film night
- historical drama marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a masterful, visually audacious period epic elevated by Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano's performances, though some found its ending overstated.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Daniel Plainview's oil empire grows through manipulation, land acquisition, intimidation, and relentless personal competition.
The California oil boom is depicted as a predatory struggle rather than a triumphant expression of the american dream.
Plainview's oil business repeatedly collides with Eli Sunday's church-building ambitions and public religious authority.
Oil derricks, fires, open California terrain, and stark compositions turn industrial expansion into an imposing visual spectacle.
Films like There Will Be Blood, and why
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
revisionist western atmosphere, corrosive ambition, historical capitalism, and a morally ruthless central performance
The Godfather
epic American period drama centered on acquisitive power, family conflict, and institutional corruption
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
slow-burning historical drama about ambition, exploitation, and the psychological costs of wealth
No Country for Old Men
austere visual style, morally compromised protagonists, and bleak meditation on American expansion
Movie Details
- Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Release Date
- 2007-12-26
- Runtime
- 158 min
- Rating
- 8.1 / 10 (7742)
Cast
- Daniel Day-Lewis
- Paul Dano
- Kevin J. O'Connor
- Ciarán Hinds
- Dillon Freasier
- Hope Elizabeth Reeves
- Colleen Foy
- Barry Del Sherman
- David Willis
- Hans Howes
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Kanopy, MGM Plus, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is There Will Be Blood about?
- An oil prospector and a charismatic preacher wage a ferocious battle for land, money, faith, and absolute control in early twentieth-century California.
- What is There Will Be Blood like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of There Will Be Blood as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is There Will Be Blood violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in There Will Be Blood as brutal.
- What did critics think of There Will Be Blood?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a masterful, visually audacious period epic elevated by Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano's performances, though some found its ending overstated.
- Which films are like There Will Be Blood?
- Films with a similar feel include The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Godfather, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and No Country for Old Men.
- How long is There Will Be Blood?
- There Will Be Blood runs 158 minutes.
- Where can I watch There Will Be Blood?
- In United States, There Will Be Blood streams on fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Kanopy, MGM Plus, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel.
