"There Will Be Blood" DVD Review | Celebrity Close-Ups

Story
This widely acclaimed masterpiece and must see American epic features the Academy Award wining performance of Daniel Day-Lewis (Best Actor, 2007). Daniel Plainview and son are independent oil men, looking for prospects in California at the turn of the 20th century. They are challenged by a young preacher, Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), whose own ambition is matched by Plainview's. Their battle forms the center of a scary, darkly comic historical journey into an abyss of madness "There Will Be Blood is Paul Thomas Anderson's epic American nightmare, belching fire and brimstone and damnation to hell. It is, above all, a consummate work of art" (Manahola Dargis, The New York Times). - From back of DVD

Special Features
15 Minutes - Pictures, Research, Etc., for the Making of "There Will Be Blood"
An insightful look into the many actual pictures and film footage of that time period, that was used for the director's research to depict this story. There are comparisons how he recreated certain photos and footage in the film. I truly enjoyed these fifteen minutes. Bravo!

The Story of Petroleum (ca. 1923)
This is a black and white silent film created by the U.S. Bureau of Mines in collaboration with the Sinclair Oil Company as a promotional film to show the operation of the U.S. oil industry. Truly depicts the oil business in the 1920s. This is an interesting step by step look into the oil process, the devices and methods used to obtain oil from the ground and distribute it. Definitely a plus in this section. Nice addition!

"Fishing" Sequence
This can be called a deleted scene. It is a multi-scene sequence which details efforts of the drillers to restore order after a well cave-in, with character moments interspersed.

"Haircut/Interrupted Hymn"
This appears to be two parts. The first is a short deleted scene between Daniel and son, while the second shows an alternate non-chronological edit of material that's in the film.

Dailies Gone Wild
This is 2½ minutes of deleted footage of Day-Lewis seemingly improvising in the restaurant scene.

Teaser and Trailer
Nice addition, but not really an extra in my opinion.

This 2-disc DVD Collector's Edition comes in nifty vintage packaging which resembles an old leather book. If you love the movie, then this Collector's Edition is a must have and worth spending the extra few dollars to get the second disc.

OVERALL RATING: 5 out of 5