Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master will be released on Blu-ray and DVD February 26th. Anchor Bay Home Entertainment and The Weinstein Company have offered us 2 copies to give to Awards Daily readers. All you need to do to qualify is leave a comment with a few lines about why you think The Master is one of the best films of 2012.
Haunted by his past, WW-II veteran and drifter Freddie Quell crosses paths with a mysterious movement called The Cause, led by Lancaster Dodd aka “The Master” and his wife Peggy. Their twisted relationship is the core of this film that is “a glorious and haunting symphony of color, emotion and sound with camera movements that elicit an involuntary gasp and feats of acting that defy comprehension (A.O Scott, The New York Times).”
Special Features:
- “Back Beyond” Outtakes – Additional Scenes Music by Jonny Greenwood (20 min)
- “Unguided Message” – 8 Minute Short
- Behind the Scenes Featurette
- Trailers
- Teasers
- “Let There Be Light” (1946) – John Huston’s landmark documentary about WWII veterans (58 Minutes)
- Digital Copy
The performances in this movie are absolutely groundbreaking, and the themes are amazing. Definitely one of the best pictures of the year.
When is the winner announced?
Sublime, powerful portrait of a split soul, finding his match in an equally broken but charismatic spiritual leader. A love affair like no other, two soul mates who can never fully grasp what it is they’re looking for, or certainly why they are drawn to one another. Strange, diffuse, wandering, poetic, true. How can one film capture all this?
THE MASTER had one pivotal line I’ve thought about every day since I saw it in September: “PIGF*CK!” Haunting.
Besides its amazing cast and gorgeous cinematography, THE MASTER is one of the best movies of 2012 because it’s Paul Thomas Anderson’s most difficult film. It’s been a long, long time since a movie has come out that can be interpreted in so many ways.
Perhaps the biggest and most fascinating question it asks is, “Who really is “the Master?” Is it Lancaster Dodd? Or maybe it’s Peggy Dodd. Who IS actually in control? The fact that even the title of the film can cause great debate is why THE MASTER is one of the best films of 2012.
The movie presents us with fully realized lost souls. And by the end when the credits roll we are left feeling a little lost ourselves. All Freddie’s problems have not been solved so that feeling we have of not knowing where PT Anderson has left us is as profound as it is mystifying.
It’s a sham “The Master” wasn’t nominated for Picture, Director, Original Screenplay or Cinematography. The Academy needs to seek out iconoclastic pictures when they debut, not be reactionary. Joaquin Phoenix is amazing. PSH is astonishing, as usual. PTA is one of his generation’s best filmmakers bar none.
I love action/adventure films, but the two films that will stay with me for years to come are Lincoln and The Master. They both have a slow subtle beauty to them. As an audience member, we just want to be in for the ride. Paul Thomas Anderson’s film stayed with me for days, and just like Lincoln, both I feel were unappreciated by the academy. The Oscars might take Lincoln and The Master for granted, but I won’t.
The category is best picture and Anderson gives us just that:
a picture of a man, of a soul battling against itself and others…
just as best portrait paintings both simultaneously reveal the subject’s inner life and yet renders its elusive nature, so does the Master its subjects… Painters learn from sculpture as much as they do from other painters. Painters and sculptors may learn a great deal from Anderson’s film…
Paul Thomas Anderson does an amazing time directing and bringing out the most of each actor involved. An amazing effort all around, from the cinematography, to the music, to the editing. One of the best of the year and one I would love to see again.
In a year of great American films and great films about America (think ZDT, Lincoln, Django Unchained, Dark Knight Rises, even Argo, to an extent), The Master is the most powerful and haunting evocation of the American character. Extrapolating from it’s post-WW2 setting, the film explores the idea of freedom and the masters we all serve. As Dodd tells Freddie, “If you figure a way to live without serving a master, any master, then let the rest of us know, will you? For you’d be the first person in the history of the world.” Yet this is just one of many threads the film presents. Its thematic roots are so deep, it could inspire multiple books worth of essays. Yet thematics are not the elements that truly separate “The Master.” The film burns in your mind because of the rich details in the film-making, from the script to the performances to the stunningly photographed period design. “The Master” contains moments that burn into your brain along side the great moments in all of movies and then allows you to make your own sense of them.
P.T. Anderson was a part of it. What more needs to be said?
Watching The Master summons the long-lost feeling of watching Kubrick for the first time in theatrical release. You know, unequivocally, that you are in the presence of a film that will be dissected and discussed across the film landscape for most of the remaining decades of your life.
Reasons why I love the master:
It’s essentially a platonic love story of two men that can never have one another.
Joaquin Pheonix damn near turns in the performance of not only the year but of his career.
Phillip seymore Hoffman proves why he is the best in the business.
Amy Adams turns in a subtly sinister performance that is Oscar worthy.
PTA gives us his crowning achievement thus far.
In the end there is no other movie this year if rather have with me on a slow boat to china
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Why is The Master one of the best movies of 2012? Well, because it’s interesting. But not only interesting, it’s the most interesting film I’ve ever watched. Not because it’s about a sort of cult and its leader. Neither because it’s about a lost soul back from war. Above all, because it’s about human relations. The most notable thing in this movie is the way all the cast and crew were able to construct with perfection the very simplest feeling humanity has (in my opinion), which is friendship. All the aspects of friendship are shown beautifully in this wonderful picture. The scene when Dodd first interrogates Freddie and he has to say everything with no lies is sublime because it’s the first time in a long period that he is truthful and opens up to another person – one that he can now trust and relate. When Freddie comes back from jail and they both roll on the yard in happiness is as touching as the previous mentioned. Everyone can relate to that pure joy of getting to a friend after a fight, even more if the fight is needed. And so goes the movie until the “break-up” (I always see friendship as dating without kissing and having sex); not when Freddie goes away leaving no trace behind, but when he comes back. The mood of the scene is perfect for that moment in our lives when we face the truth about a friend at some point: we just have to say goodbye. Forever. And that is why the Master is best film of 2012.
Tears roll down my face as I write this.
The Master is the best film of 2012 for many reasons. One of them being, this is one of the most inspirational films I have ever seen. Here is a wonderfully crafted piece of art that inspires you to act, direct, and even begin writing your own projects. After seeing the film, I realized that possibilities are endless and that no idea for a film is to far fetched or insane. Here is a film that breaks the boundaries of how far you can go.. there has not been a more unique or original idea all year. The characters are amazing too.. perfect performances, perfect writing, perfect directing. The Master is the best film of 2012
The Master is the best film of 2012 for many reasons.
For me, the film’s genius lies in its audacity to expose Ron Hubbard’s fraudulent techniques and the falsity of Scientology. The fact that someone chose this subject is itself laudable. Add to that incredible performances by Phoenix and Hoffman, and you have a true gem of cinema. Amy Adams was a tad off form, but this film wasn’t really about her character!
The Master is the best film of the year and the film I am sure I will see the most in my lifetime that had a theatrical release in 2012.
I would like to win a copy because The Master never made it to my town for a theatrical viewing. The closest theater it played in was over an hour away.
It’s difficult to describe The Master in words; superlatives don’t seem to do it justice.
Firstly, it was one of my most anticipated films of 2012, and it most definitely didn’t disappoint.
Where to begin, Joaquin Phoenix – one of the best performance on celluloid EVER. Freddy Quall is up there with Stanley Kowalski, Jake LaMotta and Daniel Plainview. The walk, the accent, the weight loss, the tortured anguished mental torment – you can almost feel his pain.
Philip Seymour Hoffman (who never disappoints), is hypnotic as the sinister Lancaster Dodd. He alternates from caring surrogate father to an insidious sinister brute.
The subliminal direction and script have remained long in my memory after two viewing of this masterpiece. Beautiful cinematography and a haunting soundtrack complete this epic.
Nominated for 10 Academy Awards- best picture, director, actor, supporting actor, supporting actress, original screenplay, editing, cinematography, production design, score.
Oops, i forgot the Academy Awards were about the most popular and best marketed, not the truly best.
“The Master” is not just one of the great films of 2012, it is one of the great American films of cinema. It does what great works of art always do: it illuminates our world in a new way, making the ordinary seem extraordinary. It gives us a fresh set of eyes. Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the most daring filmmakers working today.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s brilliance lies in how he condemns the origins of the Church of Scientology not by presenting a factual biopic, but by asking the big questions about how dangerous it is to be a follower of “masters” of nothing. A beautifully crafted cautionary tale, his viewers are mesmerized by how dangerous and ridiculous a “master” can be.
PTA, Joaquin, Amy, Phillip Seymour, they are all working at the top of their game, the cinematography, the score, everything is working on a whole other level. One of the few movies this year that demands repeated viewings.
The Master is a great film since it speaks of that ultimate quest and rigid search in finding something to believe in. Even in it’s bizaare and weird presentation, it definitely categorized as art compared to most mainstream films today.
The Master is so stunning because everyone involved is stretching him/herself to impressive limits. Amazing acting, cinematography, direction, music. Everything comes together brilliantly.
The Master was one of the best films of 2012 because it was so well crafted and really set itself apart from other films. The visuals, the score, and the amazing performances from the principal cast were all superb. Not many writer/directors are able to pull off this kind of film. Paul Thomas Anderson has shown, once again, that he is in a class of his own.
I think The Master took a lot of risks that other films didn’t in 2012: It tackled a subject that a lot of people are afraid to touch; The screenplay wasn’t a very linear narrative (and many questioned just how much sense all of it made from a writing standpoint); There’s the 70MM filming (which, in my mind, paid off in spades—I’d love to see PTA use those cameras more); It came out in September, at least a month before all of the other films that were early contenders for Oscar recognition; And hell, it won so more awards than it was allowed to win at the Venice Film Festival.
This is just a beautiful film from start to finish. Visually it’s stunning, the music by Jonny Greenwood is scored perfectly (and the selections from the era were spot on), and the performances were probably the best of the year.
I haven’t seen it yet, but it LOOKS fantastic and it has Philip Seymour Hoffman in it, which always takes things up a notch 🙂
being from another country, I don’t even know if I’m eligible for this contest, but here’s why I think “The Master” is among the finest films of 2012 (it might even be THE finest, you’ll undestand why later):
it was the first film to come out during my lifetime that had me thinking “what did I just watch?” when it ended. I’ve had that happen to me during film school. I’ve had that happen to me after I watched “2001: a space odyssey” (the greatest film of all time, in my opinion) for the first time. I’ve had that happen to me on DVD.
but this was the first time that happened to me with a commercial release. and I saw that most of the people in my theatre felt the same. they didn’t know if they liked it; but they knew they had just seen great art.
that is what makes this film so great. and, now, some time after seeing it, I have to say: it’s a bloody great film.
not my favourite of 2012 – and bear in mind that PTA is not only my favourite living director, but also the director of the best films of 2 separate decades IMO – but one of the boldest efforts of the year, undoubtedly.
I found the chaos portrayed in the film soothing and the cinematography hypnotic and gracefully nostalgic. I felt as though my realization that the film itself was flawed enhanced its believability somehow. I just really felt good watching this one and feel good when I think about it. I look forward to watching it over and over, like I seem to do with PTAs other titles.
Amazing acting, beautiful cinematography, and a story as clear as a Rorschach test.
how does this work? if we place a comment do we get our names put in a bowl to draw from? i haven’t seen the film, but i liked the trailer! 🙂
Joaquin Phoenix out Day-Lewis’ Daniel Day-Lewis in a performance that only the most committed of method actors could pull off. Also, PT Anderson’s risk-taking should pay off sooner or later.
The Master is one of the best films of 2012 because it means something different to everyone who sees it. In an age of “message” films, it’s refreshing to have a film that allows you to draw your own conclusions.
PTA is our generation’s David Lean, giving us these amazing 70mm epics that will only grow in stature, while others are becoming infatuated with digital not because it’s aesthetically pleasing, but because it’s cheaper.
The Master, to me, felt like a film of some bygone era. I suppose the 70mm showings were partly a reason, but I just remember the build up and going to see it and being giddy. Seriously, in the Internet age, where everything about a film is revealed months before it’s released, I WAS GIDDY ABOUT A FILM. Even the marketing really impressed me! The teaser trailers reeled me in, they had their own life to them! So, I go to see this highly anticipated film, and it just knocks my in my ass. The visuals were arresting, the music jarring, Joaquin and the rest of the casts’ performances just burned right into my memory. Maybe I can’t EXACTLY why it connected with me, but I just know it felt different from everything else I had seen in 2012 or years previous even. Paul Thomas Anderson is the man and I appreciate his work as a filmmaker.
The Master, not only the best cinematic achievement of 2012, but also one of the greatest of all time, stands not only as a testament to Paul Thomas Anderson, who has now established himself as an auteur among the ranks of Welles, Bergman, Kubrick, Scorsese, and Lynch, but as a reminder that the enchanting medium we think we know so well will always have the potential to shock us.
In this film, Anderson manages to coalesce some of the greatest performances of all time, a fantastic screenplay, great production and costume design, Mihai Malaimare Jr.’s etherial cinematography, and Jonny Greenwood’s revelatory score. These elements alone provide enough fodder for an entry exponentially larger, but it is their nexus where The Master shines. It is, after all, the meeting of the narrative, visual, and aural arts which define the art of cinema, and make it the greatest, or at least most personally effective form of art. For example, when Helen (Laura Dern) is giving a lecture on the cause, she says “…this way, the cause way…”; however, Dern pronounces “cause way” as if it is closer to “causeway,” relating to the theme of water (Freddy’s drifting) versus land (society at large). Anderson, of course, also adds to the thematic atmosphere, as exemplified by the shots of jets of water from behind the boat, representing Freddie’s (Joaquin Phoenix) spiritual and physical drifting. And of course, like all film, the entirety of the meaning originates in the screenplay. For example, towards the very end of the film, Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) tells Freddy that he admires him for living without a master, then singing to him “I wanna get you/ On a slow boat to China”: Dodd too wishes he could abandon the idiosyncrasies of society, particularly organized religion, but it seems that he is reluctant to or cannot.
The Master, through its masterful synthesis of the cinema arts and unusually deep philosophical meanings, rises above what we have the right to expect from art. Though divisive and misunderstood today, someday in the future we will hail The Master as it deserves. Just as we today angrily question the AMPAS of the forties for choosing How Green Was My Valley over Citizen Kane, we will someday curse today’s geriocracy of sentimentalists for dismissing this masterpiece of the human experience.
I know this entry is long, but I feel like The Master is a monumental work which not only deserves but DEMANDS this much discussion. Thank you for inciting this.
The Master is bold, original, frustrating, self-indulgent and yet masterful(yes pun intended). There are few filmmakers out there like PTA that remind you of the joy of cinema.
PTA is the epitome of “auteur”
I saw The Master at TIFF last year, but I needed to watch it again to fully comprehend it. I’m glad I did because it turned out to be an incredible film, and that is mostly due to Joaquin Phoenix. I hope he wins the Best Actor Oscar as he so deserves it. I’m totally down with winning the Master DVD.
The performances were amazing! I’ve never seen Joaquin this brilliant! I really wish he hadn’t done so much Oscar trash talk, because I believe he would be more seriously considered otherwise.
Few Lines:
Joaquin
Amy
Philip
PTA, the master
Its unconventional narrative, score from Johnny Greenwood, and performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman
No film in recent memory has left me wanting to think about its characters, styles and substance more than The Master. It elevates film to art.
The Master is the best film of 2012 because stick it back in, it fell out.
*My above comment was accidentally cut-off.*
They are rightfully questioned about their methods. In a way, The Master is exploiting people who quite know how to fit into this mold as well. However, he has true intentions as he desperately wants to help people as well as become a great man, and those two ideas just clash.
Phoenix’s character is the perfect foil for the Master. A man who obviously needs and seeks help, but simply cannot get it.
Their final meeting in which The Master tells Phoenix that in another life they will be enemies is heartbreaking, but tragically true. Phoenix’s character will forever be the subject that The Master failed.
All of that is why The Master is certainly one of the greatest films of the year. Anderson presents us with these brilliant themes executed by a master-class performance from Phoenix and Hoffman.
Paul Thomas Anderson visualizes the disparity between the unattainable need to have the perfect post-World War II life (as displayed by the photographs in the department store scenes in which Thomas perfectly recreates a sort of Norman-Rockwell sort of ideal) and the reality of mental illness triggered by the trauma of the brutality of war.
Joaquin Phoenix perfectly plays a man that society throws away. He does not fit in to the perfect, middle class scene in which he is shown is the ideal. He believes he may have found a place in which he belongs in The Master and his church. In a way, the Master and his followers also do not fit into post-World War II society. They are (rightfully)
Best acting performance of the year in Phoenix. And best writing/directing from the best writer/director working today–PTA. It’s ambitious and it’s original, which is more than can be said for almost every other movie released this year.
masterful acting, masterful cinematography, masterful score, masterfully edited, all by a masterful wirter and director, creating a master film (and very underrated this year).
(NOTE: The following contains spoilers for the film, including its ending).
Like the many others who were swept up in the infectious spirit of anticipation and curiosity leading up to the film’s release, I expected something pretty special. It didn’t take long for the film to confirm my expectations. The second shot of “The Master” is, besides an allusion to one of Anderson’s favourite moments from “Baraka,” a striking encapsulation of the kinds of spectatorial pleasures this film affords. This shot, our sustained introduction to Freddie Quell, is mysteriously enthralling; Phoenix’s weary, wandering eyes belie unspoken reservoirs of untold trauma and psychic wounds (Huston’s “Let There Be Light” reminded Anderson that the human face can offer far more than explicit footage of war and battles fought). It reminds me of similarly wonderful moments from “There Will Be Blood,” like the image of an infant H.W. reaching up and grasping at Daniel Plainview’s whiskers, yielding a smile from the otherwise steely oilman. Anderson is, among many other things, a reliable purveyor of such profoundly credible and unaffected wonders. He has a way of achieving what, in many other films, is often only attempted – a privileged glimpse into lives that feel fully, and vividly, dimensional in all of their dense idiosyncrasies, nuances, and mysteries. Of course, none of this would be possible without the remarkable performative talents of Phoenix, Hoffman, Adams, et al.
In another respect, Phoenix’s restless gaze anticipates our own, as we actively plumb and parse the prodigious riches of Anderson’s film — not only the staggering performances, but the various fruits of his directorial acuity, and the spellbinding narrative rhythm of a film that is, by turns, startling, enigmatic, and unbearably melancholic. There are so many remarkable moments. The scene in which Hoffman, as Lancaster Dodd, offers us his rendition of “I’ll Go No More A-Roving” is beautiful in its utter exuberance and ambiguity; it’s also a testament to Anderson’s incorrigible desire to use cinema not as a site of familiarity and convention but to “rise far above that crowd” and plunge forward into eccentricity, experimentation, and divisive strangeness. Freddie’s unpredictable proclivities, in other words, seem to inform the formal and narrative peculiarity of Anderson’s film. Elsewhere, in one of The Master’s best shots — a bisected long shot of two contiguous prison cells — Anderson finds the cinematic language to economically and beautifully visualize some of the film’s thematic heft. It’s a wonderful composition, and the scene itself is a marvel to behold, as it straddles a tonal mixture of ferocious catharsis and dark comedic levity (think of the vaguely humorous incongruity between Hoffman’s haughty and unperturbed posture and Phoenix’s feral paroxysms).
As for the wonderful melancholy of “The Master,” much of this arrives through Greenwood’s indelible contributions. “Overtones,” which Anderson makes great and repeated use of, is an undulating piece that intermittently swells, lugubriously, into some of the most profoundly sad music I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing. This is fitting, of course, as my heart was already breaking for Freddie when I watched him race, breathlessly, across that field like a proto-Barry Egan (in those mesmerizing opening vignettes that seem like elliptical selections from a larger psychic nightmare). My heart continued to break for him as “The Master” progressed, and this was perhaps most acutely felt in the film’s final act, during Freddie’s tryst. Here, Anderson’s tragic reprobate returns to his carnal comforts, and finds himself recapitulating lines from Dodd’s “informal processing.” Despite parting ways with his Master, Freddie is not necessarily stepping backwards or starting over. Instead, he emerges at the end of the film like a slovenly palimpsest — indeed, beyond that characteristic sneer and blithe laugh, we may now detect traces of something that wasn’t there before: a profound experience that did not fix Freddie, but still managed to irrevocably move him. Here, such traces emerge obliquely through the recitation of Dodd’s language, and point to an experience that, perhaps, Freddie himself has yet to fully assimilate or “understand.” Indeed, while Freddie’s wandering eyes at the beginning of the film may have served as a vivid index of the unfathomable trauma of war, this bedside non-sequitur suggests something else entirely: a kinship whose intimacy and power has, miraculously, managed to endure despite the wounds and dissipation of Freddie’s psyche.
This, then, is one of the most moving moments in Anderson’s entire body of work. It is for this and many other reasons that I cannot wait to return to “The Master.” I yearn to see the film again (and again) — not necessarily in the hope of a fuller understanding, for this is not a film to be exhausted or decoded, but rather out of some Freddie Quell-like compulsion, a hypnotic desire to luxuriate and contemplate in the bewitching glow of Anderson’s masterpiece.
The Master is clearly the best film of 2012. Not only because of its characters, cinematography, and score, but also because of its really superb editing. The window-to-wall – scene was the greatest cinematic experience in recent years.
I missed The Master in theaters and would love the chance to finally see it. What would qualify The Master as a great film of this year is that it is the product of the vision of its director, pure and simple. I appreciate when an individual authors a unique and singular project and brings it to life on the big screen.
the way phoenix disappeared into this role was both fascinating and terrifying at the same time. i’ve never seen a performance where i couldn’t help but watch in amazement the entire film.
I think “The Master” is one of the best films because I haven’t stopped thinking about it. In fact, I don’t think you can ever stop thinking about. I’m certain it has taken permanent residence in a vital portion of my brain…
The Master is one of the best and most underrated films of 2012. I’m a big fan of Paul Thomas Anderson (P.T.A) all the way down to his first short “The Dirk Diggler Story.” P.T.A really is the “Kubrick” of my generation. Thanks to Anchor Bay Home Entertainment, The Weinstein Company and of-course awardsdaily.com for the opportunity to win this Bluray.
-Vincent
Dear God!! Its my favorite movie of the year but i can’t take part in this 🙁 no BluRay access.
While The Master is one of the more polarizing films of the year, I, for one, can say it finds a way to challenge its audience while taking risks along the way. PTA doesn’t take the safe route in writing or directing films. He is beyond Oscars. The Master may not be a crowd-pleaser but you can dive deep into every film-viewing and learn something new each time, which is rare to see nowadays.
With every film that he makes, Paul Thomas Anderson pushes the envelope of his medium a little further. “The Master” is by far his most accomplished execution of this experiement. While not perfect (no masterpiece is), PTAs latest film reminds me why I love film so much.
The Master is an audacious film by the most audacious people working in film today. Every person in this production is known for turning their respective field on its head and this culmination of talent was a proverbial back flip. In what can be looked at another step up in all of their careers, The Master puts Paul Thomas Anderson at the forefront of modern cinema and the three leading actors back at the top, where they belong.
It stayed in my head and has yet to leave me alone. I may not currently be able to write a scholarly analysis of the film (after 2 viewings), but I can tell you that every single shot engaged me and kept my brain whirring.
I cannot adequately describe the film after a single viewing, but I am sure it is as dense as anything I saw at a multiplex last year. The very thought of discussing the film raises questions about when emotional impact becomes more important than clarity – in other words, the difference between deliberate ambiguity and bullshit – and then whether or not it matters.
At the very least, “The Master” uses Scientology as an extreme example of all religion – an attempt to tame the human animal while apparently dehumanizing him by demanding subservience to a master. The viewer should make up his own mind about whether or not the end justifies the means. It was a pertinent question in the 1950s, and still is.
It’s a very divisive, different, and unconventional movie that refuses to play by the rules. It is shot on epic-scale 70mm film, but uses it mostly to gaze into the faces of its cast in close-up. It invokes the Church of Scientology with the character played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, but doesn’t make judgements about it. It gives us an obviously damaged war veteran (Joaquin Phoenix) as the main character, but doesn’t offer any explanation of what happened to him. You might not like the movie, but you won’t easily forget it, either. The performances are note-perfect and the direction always leaves you guessing. You have no idea what to expect, and yet by the end it still ends up beinga powerful and even heartfelt look at the lengths people go to to find a real relationship.
@Tyler Pratt, I always tell people that scene was white-knuckle tense. I was never sure when, or if, Phoenix would snap.
I loved this film. The first processing scene is evidence of the high level of genius that was at work here from Anderson’s framing to the hypnotic mood the amazing dialogue and of course, Joaquin and Phillip.
(almost missed this)
Two reasons:
1. PTA always keeps me on my toes
2. “He’s making all this up as he goes along. Don’t you see that?”
PTA has been on been on a streak of perfect final lines of dialogue.
Punch-Drunk Love: “Here we go”
There Will Be Blood: “I’m finished”
Yet here, he manages to top himself.
“Now stick it back in, it fell out”.
Well put, Freddie. Well put.
Three words- PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON (although Phoenix, Hoffman, and Adams are certainly icing on the cake…and I like icing)!
I look forward to PTA’s films. The Master was no different.
It may not be as easily digested, or as quickly, as other movies out, but it’s an interesting and thought-provoking journey.
And Joaquin Phoenix is amazing as Freddie.
Placing your faith in the hands of others. It is a dangerous game and rarely ends without displeasure. Paul Thomas Anderson captured that fragile dynamic masterfully, to boot, rarely has celluloid looked so sumptuous.
The Master is one of the great films of 2012 because it does what all great cinema is supposed to do – be the catalyst for great, insightful discussion. Anchored by a great screenplay that in some ways leaves more questions than answers, the acting triumvirate of Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams present us with a powerhouse story that makes us think. Paul Thomas Anderson should be praised for his creation of a film, while not appreciated today, may very well be regarded as one of the best films of 2012 in years to come.
It is hard to articulate briefly exactly why “The Master” stands out from an exceptional crop of films released last year, but I believe that there are three primary reasons:
1. Shot in 65mm, the film has a level of detail and depth that is wholly immersive and a sight to behold. Whereas Jackson’s 48fps experiment distracted me from the story being told, PTA’s choice created the illusion of being right beside the characters, viewing them up close–each facial tick and hair on their heads recognized and real!
2. I completely forgot that I was viewing performances, and saw only the characters. This is high praise! Even the best performances often reveal themselves as precisely that–performances. Freddie Quell and Lancaster Dodd just existed: complete, complex human beings for us to examine and endeavour to understand.
3. The more time that passes since I’ve seen it, the richer the film becomes. Questions arise, and the fact that I have to dig deep into the story, the shots, the dialogue renders the answers (however incomplete they may be) all the more satisfying. It’s a discussion piece, prompting hours of debate and philosophizing and contemplation! It bears repeat viewings and intense study, as only the best works of art do! A lasting contribution to American film and a worthy addition to PTA’s impressive body of work!
**Suffice it to say, I would LOVE to own a copy of this film!
Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master plays like a great postmodern novel. Every aspect of the film’s production – from the work of its actors and auteur right down the line to its PAs and grips – was seemingly handled with the most meticulous and loving care. History will come to study and hail this motion picture.
PSH and JP, two of the strongest performances last year. Also love anything that helps expose Scientology.
The Master is one of the year’s best films for two reasons. First, Paul Thomas Anderson’s direction is second to none. The shot selection alone in this film is extremely praiseworthy. The second reason is the superb ensemble acting. This is also a credit to Anderson’s direction, and there can’t be enough stated about Joaquin Phoenix’s performance, but Phillip Seymour Hoffman is also amazing in what should have been considered a lead role. Amy Adams also turned in a stellar performance, and it was refreshing to see her in such a strong, “tough” role as opposed to some of her previous work.
Intricate psychological dissection, breathtaking cinematography, and true auteurustic direction instantly immerse the viewer as this film leaps off the screen beginning as a majestic swan dive into the mind of of a self proclaimed leader and examines his interest in what many would consider to be a tattered, misguided, and recklessly self destructive WWII vet. Beautiful and thoughtprovoking in every sense, The Master forces the viewer to examine what it means as a human to follow and to lead and the toll it takes to do either. There are no concrete answers in this film just the questions that arouse from that type of relationship and the tolls and benefits of each side.
I think that Joaquin Phoenix gives one of the most incredible performances on the past decade as Freddie Quell. I love that it is a challenging movie that doesn’t hold the audience’s hand throughout the runtime of the movie.
The Master needed to be erratic, disjointed, meandering because a smooth narrative to tell the story of Freddy Quell would be insincere. And plus it’s the most gorgeous Claire Denis movie that Claire Denis didn’t direct.
The Master was absolutely beautiful. PTA once again did (There Will be Blood)a masterful job in making every scene a joy to look at. Oh yeah, and the acting was pretty darn awesome too.
Put simply, Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman accomplish feats of acting and overall chemistry that I’ve never seen achieved before on screen. It’s a credit to the power of their performances, the strength of direction on PTA’s part, and the overall vision of the narrative that makes this happen. The Master is a PTA film through and through, the kind of film that I don’t believe any other director currently working could have made. Also, Mihai Malaimare Jr. was absolutely robbed of a cinematography nomination.
I mean, you really need not look any further than this to see just how great this film is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taqZ74wHyhU
Because it is best film of 2012
It’s been mentioned, but bears repeating, the first processing session with Joaquin and PSH is THE scene of the year. Tremendous, cannot look away filmmaking. Having only seen the film once, I’m so excited to revisit it. Few (if any) films this year required such engagement during, or caused such vocal debate afterward. Should have made the BP cut, it’s a shame.
It has the best acting, direction, cinematography, production design, costume design, and score of any film released in 2012.
The single most undervalued film of 2012. The most startling, unconventionally powerful performances and direction, not to mention the glory of Malaimare’s cinematography. An incredible meditation on the parallel human needs for comfort and control and how painful it can feel to find neither.
Also, the most romantic scene of any film for many years, Dodd singing to Freddie in the final moments. Heartbreaking.
My favorite film of the year with the best performances of the year. Processing scene = best scene of the year. Give it a few years and the swell of appreciation will most likely follow. Sadly, like There Will Be Blood, there is no commentary and I would LOVE one. But I can understand if PTA, like Lynch, wants the movie to stand on its own and let the viewer come up with their own conclusion.
End of the year “Best Of” lists are entirely subjective so I’m choosing a completely personal reason why The Master is one of the best movies of the year: The Master, and specifically PTA, shows me, a 20-year-old aspiring filmmaker, that uncompromising, complex movies can still be made. Anderson respects his audience so much that he does not simplify his message in this perfectly filmed movie. It’s been almost six months since I’ve seen it and I’m still entertaining interpretations. Does filmmaking get much better than that?
In a year where easy entertainment has reigned triumphant, with genuine masterpieces being passed over in favour of crowd-pleasers, it is no surprise that two of the year’s most proudly towering achievements – Lincoln and The Master – remain largely overlooked. Both feature male leads who totally inhabit their roles, directors willing to challenge expectations about form and content, and writers rallying against providing palatable solutions to searching enquiries.
The Master is a triumphant work of great American cinema, awards be damned. It will, I hope, come to be seen as one of the most important films of the decade – a complex love story, a quest for the truth and brutal exploration of character and self, with more intelligence than 95% of the films we’ve enjoyed (and endured) this season. A true masterpiece from one of the greatest writer/directors working today.
:02 of that trailer is reason enough. That cinematography is STUNNING with Freddie draped over the boat and reveals so much about his lost character which we explore in the film. Beautiful, bizarre and fascinating.
The handjob scene, that haunting score, Joaquin’s constantly twisted lip and Amy Adams’ surprisingly vicious performance. All these moments combine to make The Master my favorite film of not only 2012, but perhaps of the decade thus far. A complete masterpiece.
The Master is the greatest, bestest, beautifulest, superest, wonderfulest, magnificentest, fantasticest, awesomest, astonishingest, dopest movie ever because… I haven’t seen it yet, so I’m the one most in need of this blu ray disc, give it to me, please, don’t leave me in oblivion, let me in on the conversation, give me chance to put my two cents in, dammit, I wanna watch it…
The Master is one of the year’s best films because of Joaquin Phoenix disturbing and enthralling performance. Because of Jonny Greenwood’s brilliant soundtrack. Because of Mahaire’s exquisite eye for cinematography. Because of Hoffman’s commanding performance as The Master. Because of Amy Adams breaking yet another typecast! Because it is a film that challenges.
It’s the kind of ambitious, hypnotic, and thought-provoking film that seems to be nearly extinct in Hollywood today. Also, it has some of the best cinematography of any film I’ve ever seen.
Well I may be biased because I have an unconditional love for PTA. But it is the only film of 2012 that still lingers in my head! I can’t stop thinking about it. There is nothing else like it.
It’s such a well-directed movie. Shot selection is beautiful, and the acting is absolutely top-notch from top to bottom.
It also scores points for being risqué in its approach to storytelling.
The Master was my favorite film of 2012. I couldn’t shake the film for days, I kept realizing how many undercurrents in the story rose up in my consciousness to be revealed: the PTSD, the possibility that Freddy is a virgin, the realization that Peggy was the puppet master, and many more. The choice to use 65mm in almost the opposite way that it was intended was a beautiful decision. I love everything about The Master.
The Master is a great film because it takes what, in retrospect, could be a thoroughly reactionary and retrograde premise – that some people, by their nature, just can’t be saved – and explores it with such emotional detail and truth that it feels valid even if you don’t necessarily agree with its premise. It also delivers three of the best performances of the year from Phoenix, Hoffman and Adams. Finally, in a time when many movies today seem disposable after one viewing – and, more distressingly, the industry seems increasingly content with that – Paul Thomas Anderson consistently delivers movies that you not only need to see again to fully appreciate it but actually want to.
Terrifying movie when you realize that Philip Seymour Hoffman could easily convince you to do what he wants. Especially with Amy Adams at his side. Brilliant casting choices all around. Joaquin was inspired.
Sure, the narrative was hard to sit through, but the performances alone elevate this one.
All those gorgeous nose hairs!
Simply one reason why The Master is one of the best films of 2012, and that reason is Joaquin Phoenix. I can’t speak for Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance since I somehow missed seeing “Lincoln” (although I can’t imagine it’s nothing less than stellar), but Phoenix’s take on Freddy Quell is nothing short of a revelation. What he did was completely original and I could not take my eyes off him the entire time he was onscreen.
Although maybe people debated about the film’s meaning (Is it about Scientology? Is it about post WWII mental disorders?) what I took away from this film is one’s need for a personal connection and for love. Throughout the film Freddy reminisces about his hometown love but is still a loner. Lancaster starts his beliefs as a way of bringing people together, and yet he’s transfixed on Freddy and the connection that the two of them share. I could honestly keep writing and trying to analyze specific scenes and characters and their actions, and to me that is why “The Master” deserves to be ranked among 2012’s best films.
“The Master” is the best film thus far this decade. Often polarizing, this film’s brilliance will continue to emerge with repeated viewings. There is no denying that Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as Freddie Quell will continue to be mentioned in the same breath as Daniel Plainview and Jake LaMotta.
This is the one big release I missed in the theaters. It fell through the cracks because I couldn’t convince any of my friends to go and see a “difficult” film by the guy who made “that relentlessly depressing There Will Be Blood” and those “messy Robert Altman rip-offs, Boogie Nights and Magnolia.” So, instead I sat through the highly overrated Les Miserables and Skyfall as well as the lovely Life of Pi and the riveting (but still a little too Spielbergian for my taste) Lincoln. I think it’s time for me to get some friends who will appreciate the challenges that PTA sets for himself and his audience so I don’t have to wait for his films to hit DVD before I see them. I own the rest of his oeuvre, so this one will be in my library whether I win it here or not.
The Master is easily one of the best films of the year for a couple of reasons. Paul Thomas Anderson, once again, brings out the best of his performances. In my opinion, Joaquin Phoenix gives the performance of the year. PTA knows when to hold the camera on the performances instead of cutting between conversation constantly. He trusts his actors and they in turn deliver.
Also, the cinematography by Mihai Malaimare Jr. is breathtaking. We see the world through Freddie Qwell’s eyes and discover a confusing and unanswerable world. Sometimes being a wanderer is all we can do.
[GIVEAWAY ENTRY]
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I have not seen the Master on silver screen yet. And for that reason as well I am excited to participate in this Blu-ray Combo Giveaway.
I believe the Master should be one of the best films of 2012 because it looks like it could be so due to the main ensemble list, which includes Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams themselves, all of whom, to begin with, are very talented, as well as the visionary, directorial efforts by Paul Thomas Anderson, not to mention — for now — what seems quite interesting a cinematography and editing from the trailer/teaser; etc.
I am familiar with Paul Thomas Anderson’s […] style. And I liked some of what he’d done as director in the past. So, I sort of know what I expect to see from The Master, and I am excited about the prospect of getting to watch it soon either from the prize or DVD for rent.
Well, just being candid here….
The Master was a very weird, ironic film with haunting performances.
The Master is one of the best films of the year because despite some convoluted story beats the level of ambition and showmanship as displayed by Paul Thomas Anderson and his team is unparalleled.
Buoyed by the meticulous Phillip Seymour Hoffman and the startling Joaquin Phoenix, the film meanders, then moves, and finally bulldozes through the psyche of a post-WWII America grappling for answers in uncertain times.
Technically the film is a wonder. The 70 mm shows all the detail but shows Freddy as such as small part of the his world moved by the elements (all that water) and the turmoil within him.
Haunting performances by all the leads (especially Joaquin Phoenix, who deserves the oscar much more than DDL) in an extremely well told story of losing oneself in the words of another. It helps that the movie’s 70mm cinematography is absolutely gorgeous!
The plot and acting of this movie are simply unbelievable. To take a subject matter that nobody is interested in and make it spellbinding really is something astounding. To say that it gets under your skin (like it gets into Freddie Quell’s noggin) is really an understatement. You want to look away during the (uncomfortable) ‘conditioning’ scenes, but the acting is so great, you want to stay for the next audit.
About 10 minutes ago I would have said it’s one of the year’s most uneven movies, and not even close to my ten-best list.
But under these circumstances I will now proclaim THE MASTER as the most audacious US release since CITIZEN KANE!!!
“The Master” is fantastic for many reasons. The first is the raw, dedicated performance that Joaquin Phoenix, who gave one of the best performances of the year. The next is Jonny Greenwood’s score. It’s beautiful. P.T. Anderson’s unique direction creates the whole vibe of the film. Finally, the supporting performances from Adams and Hoffman is the icing on the cake.
I saw this movie and my mouth was open the whole time.. what a brilliant script, directing and best acting I’ve seen in a long time.. it’s too bad it’s going to get snubbed at the Oscars this year.
The multilayered performances from especially Joaquin Phoenix, but also from Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams.
The magnificent cinematography.
Least, but just as important, the score by Jonny Greenwood.
THE MASTER is one of the best films of 2012 because is is gorgeous, inscrutable, infuriating, hilarious, unsettling, dizzying, head-scratching, countless other adjectives. Love it or hate it, THE MASTER is a singular work of American cinema that exists on its own terms. There is no other PTA film like it. There is no other film like it. Period.
I was keenly excited for the release of The Master, since I’m a fan of the director and the entire cast. The advertised cult subplot turned out feeling secondary to the interactions of the main characters. The sort of paternal relationship between Freddie and Lancaster was complex and shifting throughout the movie, and Phoenix gave what I think was the best performance of the year as a conflicted and vulnerable degenerate. He has a way of pleading with his eyes, and it makes an otherwise ugly character sympathetic. You never know whether Lancaster is trying to help Freddie or take advantage of him, and I don’t think they could tell either. If you ask me that’s the best part of a fascinating movie. The music is worth mentioning, and Jonny Greenwood shows he has even more range than the excellent pins-and-needles score in There Will Be Blood. The cinematography is constantly appealing even if the film doesn’t hold attention as well in certain parts (a complaint you’ll hear from others, but not me). Shots of churning waves stick in the mind long after the movie’s over.
Ultimately I wish I was a better writer to do justice to this film, and the low-key but powerful emotions it raises. I didn’t get to see it in 70mm, but Blu-Ray isn’t a bad way to watch and rewatch a great movie.
Incredible performances. Beautiful period production design that both looked and felt authentic and also created a hypnotic, dreamlike moon (those reds and greens are some of the most haunting I’ve seen since “Vertigo”). Gorgeous, frequently unnerving framing, depth of field, and camera movement. An absolutely extraordinary score. Probably the strangest movie P. T. Anderson has made to date, and I’ve seen “Punch Drunk Love.” Masterful.
It’s a psychologically rich but emotionally cold film.
That’s part of its equal fascination and frustration. It’s very lengthy, and given the time spent with the two of them, you feel like you get to know these people intimately, yet somehow still come away feeling like you don’t know them at all.
It pulls off a great trick of keeping you at arm’s length and engaging you at the same time.
The Master is one of the year’s best movies because it it makes us still have faith that going to the movies isn’t just about having fun, isn’t just about passing time, isn’t just about epic scenes and superheroes..but it’s about walking out of an experience – and changing something in you..even if that simply means next time you go to the movies, you’ll expect more than just two forgettable hours.
This is easily one of my favorite films of 2012. Not only do Phoenix and Seymour-Hoffman give performances of their careers but PTA crafts one of his absolutely best character studies and the look of the film is so beautful and incredilble. It’s . I’m in constant awe of the story and setting and yet another haunting Johnny Greenwood score. But what I love most about The Master, and most PTA films, is it leaves you to ponder what you think the film is about and make your interpretations. And that’s what makes PTA one of the great talents around today. Can’t wait to watch The Master over and over.
PTA continues to define his signature aesthetic with a love story between a lost soul and an empty vessel.
The Master is a masterpiece (no pun intended) for its subtly in expressing the ideas/themes at the core of the film and for its honesty in depicting each character’s portrayal. I will never forget the scene between Phoenix and Hoffman when Phoenix’s character has to keep his eyes open and answer the questions Hoffman’s character is asking as a method of therapy. The emotion of that scene is as raw as anything I’ve seen performed by an actor/actress and I think a great deal of the power of that scene can be attributed to the mad genius that is PTA.
ps. another scene I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget no matter how hard I try is the exchange between Adam’s character and Hoffman (you know what scene I speak of) but that’s a different story. Moral of the story, incredible film PTA kills it once again.
The Master was the best movie of 2012 for the first “Processing” scene alone. Stunning.
The Master is one of the best multi-layered films I’ve ever seen. It operates on many levels, both conscious and unconscious, with dark undercurrents running throughout the film. The final meeting between Quinn and Mr. and Mrs. Dodd was so dark as to feel almost surreal and nightmarish. I’ve seen the film 3 times so far, and it felt better each time. The only other director whose films could do this was Stanley Kubrick. Most films tend to get worse or boring each time you watch it. The Master is one of the precious few that do the opposite.
In addition to artistic supremacy, the film also succeeds in every technical category. The music was eerie, the cinematography was pitch-perfect, and the editing fluid. Despite being a quasi-experimental film, everything from writing to directing to technicality came together to make the perfect symphony. No other film of 2012, or in recent memory, has been able to achieve that, which is what makes The Master the best film of 2012.
The master was a bold a brilliant drama by PT Anderson that had engaging characters, a smart script, and was also impeccably crafted.
Fantatasic performances all around. Phoenix is unstoppable. He gives everything for the role. Heart-breaking, tortured, full-on rage; he channels animalistic aggression so well.
Anderson’s direction is the best of the year. Other worldly and epic. The script is mysterious and ultimately engrossing. The characters drive the film and their turmoil is captivating.
THE MASTER is the best movie of the year, in my opinion.
In a year ruled by spectacle, THE MASTER manages to totally engage with subtlety. By the end of the film, when Lancaster sings “I wanna get you on a slow boat to China” to Freddy, you’re heartbroken for both of them. It’s a great study of what people will do to try and fix themselves or others.
In these years of “Twilight” mediocrity, PT Anderson releases the ultimate character study. Just beautiful. Bringing back the days of Kubrick with film-as-art being mainstream again.
Paul Thomas Anderson crafts a period piece that deals with such universal themes as social isolation and repressed emotions as well as exploring the beauty and exploitive nature of religion. Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman give powerhouse performances in a great character study.
The beauty of the scene in which Freddie is running through a cabbage field.
I think “The Master” is one of the best films of 2012 because of Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman’s amazing performances. I think they both gave career best performances, and it is a shame they have no chances of winning.
It is a delightfully ambiguous film that demands multiple viewings–and even after those multiple viewings, there are dozens of unanswered questions. The cinematography and music are 2012’s best (it’s just mystifying that they didn’t receive more attention) and the performances are stunning. It’s also surprisingly hilarious, and while the emotional connection between Phoenix’s and Hoffman’s characters doesn’t grab on a first viewing, over time it becomes more and more evident just how these characters care for one another, making the ambiguous ending also a bit heartbreaking in a strange way that only Paul Thomas Anderson could accomplish.
Easily one of the most beautifully shot films of the year. PSH and Phoneix are at their very best, and the film improves on each viewing.
Malaimare’s long, fluid takes.
Phoenix’s inner animal.
Madisen Beaty’s youth and innocence that haunt Freddie Quell.
Hoffman, a powerful, verbose leader who is not as type A and far more child-like than one may think at first glance.
Greenwood’s rhythmic, modern score.
Anderson’s sense of humor and insistence on emotional nakedness. Refusing to play along with narrative conventions while invoking Ophuls and Welles.
It manipulates, hypnotizes, and rattles around your brain long after watching the film. Paul Thomas Anderson is a rarity in the modern age of cinema – a true artist with vision that never seems to waiver. I truly feel this is a masterpiece and will be embraced more as time passes by.
There is no film quite like The Master — certainly not a film from this past year. There have been myriad post-war stories, but none with this quality of direction from Anderson, Academy-recognized acting from Phoenix and Hoffman and Adams, and made available in 70mm print. It’s a cathartic love story and, like all PT Anderson films, it gets better with every viewing.
Because of the commitment of the actors to PTA’s vision.
PTA had the balls to challenge his audience through his story and visuals.
Freddie Quell told us how to get rid of crabs off your balls.
Amy Adams shows her ‘handy work’ at emptying The Master’s b…..
Best Film of the Year. The neato switch of having an audience pre-prepared for a Scientology movie only to deliver a totally different study on the psyche of the post-war American male…this was PT Anderson’s stroke of genius.
The Master was poorly advertised: what was marketed to the masses as a story about a cult religion is, in reality, a tale of a man who comes home from WWII and finds himself lost, like so many other men of that time, in the modern world. He takes solace in booze and in women, and when they get him into trouble (as they often do) he escapes only to find himself in the company of a man: a founder of a cult/religion (up to interpretation) who wants nothing more than to help him. These two men are polar opposites of each other: one is calm, collected, and intellectual; the other wild, primal and impossible to contain. By the end of the film, it is apparent that there is very little the two men can truly do for each other, and it ends with Joaquin Phoenix taking solace once again in the arms of a girl, only for the last shot to reveal that this may go on forever if he continues. Very bleak, very honest, and above all a very real look at what happens to people who lose their way. Having been lost myself for quite some time, I know the joy that such distractions provide for oneself, and their fleeting quality as well.
The scenes between Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix. Incredible.
THE MASTER is one of the best films of the year because it requires my participation. Watching it is like having a discussion with a mysterious, wise old man. You know he’s seen a lot of life, has many regrets, and holds even more secrets so you want to keep talking to him to find out more.
And the performances, directing, cinematography, and score are just top-notch. I mean, come on.
It was Joaquin Phoenix’s best role and a great PT Anderson film.
Paul Thomas Anderson.
Joaquin Phoenix.
Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Amy Adams.
Johnny Greenwood.