Visionary writer-directorPaul Thomas Andersoncontinues to shake up Hollywood with his unique, Oscar-nominated storytelling on film. Ever since his acclaimed shortCigarettes and Coffeehit Sundance in the early ’90s, the now-52-year-old has been a filmmaking tour de force. Following his small-scale debut featureHard Eight, the visionary auteur made a name for himself in Hollywood with his epic dramaBoogie Nights, and the Academy has been showing him love ever since.
Updated April 15th, 2023: If you’re a fan of Paul Thomas Anderson, you’ll be happy to know that we’ve updated this article about the acclaimed director with additional content and higher quality.
Anderson hasn’t made a film sinceLicorice Pizza, and it doesn’t look like he has anything in the pipeline for the next couple of years, though he continues to work on music videos from artists like HAIM. Nonetheless, let’s celebrate this great director’s career by chronicling all of his films, and even some short films, and seeing how they all stack up against each other.
While there is an obvious ranking here, we in no way mean to imply that any of these projects are “bad.” Anderson is one of the few fillmakers who has never directed a true failure. Thus, here is his filmography, from the weakest to the strongest film.
While 2019’sANIMAis less a commercial or music video and more a short film or visualized album, the beautifully choreographed, visually stunning piece of art is accompanied by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, and his tracks,Not the News, Traffic, andDawn Chorus. The Netflix-backed picture is an evocative explosion, offering Paul Thomas Anderson’s work another dimension. It’s an interesting progression in Anderson’s extensive collaborations with Radiohead, following years of using Radiohead member Johnny Greenwood for his film scores.
10Cigarettes and Coffee
In June 2022, Phillip Baker Hall passed away at the ripe old age of 89, leaving behind a legacy in film that will be remembered fondly, not least for his role in PT Anderson’s debut featureHard Eight, a neo-noir crime drama. Four years prior to the film’s release,the director-actor duoworked on the short.Cigarettes and Coffee, a movie that would serve as a precursor toHard Eight. The film follows a group of five people, who via a $20 bill are inextricably connected. you’re able to watch the short fiilm above.
9Hard Eight
Originally dubbedSydney,Hard Eightwas a 1996 crime thriller written and directed by Anderson (but notably not produced by the then-26-year-old). It was his first feature film and is striking in terms of its modesty, especially in comparison to his later works. Nevertheless, the impressive debut features an ace ensemble of Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow and Samuel L. Jackson. We even get a splash of a soon-to-be PTA-regular: the late, great Philip Seymour in that memorable"old timer" casino scene.
In the film’s opening, we meet the mysterious Sydney (a never-better Hall), a professional gambler finding John (Reilly) outside a diner and offering to help John rig a casino for some extra cash. Following this small-scale drama that didn’t necessarily reach audiences and all critics, Anderson’s next feature,Boogie Nightsis where we really see the visionary shine.
8Inherent Vice
Inherent Viceis a term that refers to the degradation of books due to acidic ingredients in paper,and is definedas “the tendency of material to deteriorate due to the essential instability of the components or interaction among components.” Thomas Pynchon, the reclusiveMacArthur grant recipient, has built a career off extremely dense novels with meta references to literature like this. Leave it to Anderson to take on adapting Pynchon’s 2009 book of the same name. Should we be surprised, given the story’s SoCal setting?
The end result is both a faithful take on the source material and an engaging work of art. There so many side stories and plotlines throughout this neo-noir that it’s perhaps comical to a fault, and an intentionally befuddling picture with a brilliant Joaquin Phoenix. But it’s a P.T. Anderson picture, without a doubt.
7Phantom Thread
Daniel Day-Lewis' great swan song? We’ll have to take his word for it — for now. Anderson’s striking historical dramaPhantom Thread,set in postwar London, follows a twisted romance tale graced with a reliably superb score by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and sharp performances that might make you cringe — but perhaps in a good way.
Day-Lewis' fashion designer character has an obsessive streak and a supportive sister played by Oscar-nominated Lesley Manville, who will star in the upcomingseason of Netflix’sThe Crown. After a streak of back-to-back Joaquin Phoenix flicks and thenPhantom Thread, some of us Anderson diehards might be longing for those showoff tracking shots that defined his earlier works. Fortunately,LicoricePizzaprovided a few great examples.
6Punch-Drunk Love
Winner of the Best Director award at Cannes in 2002, Anderson’s art-house dazzlerPunch-Drunk Lovefeatures an unusual but fascinating performance by veteran comedian Adam Sandler as a socially awkward business owner dominated by seven abusive sisters.
Related:Why Adam Sandler’s Best Performance May Always Be Punch-Drunk Love
When a mysterious woman (a wonderful Emily Watson) enters his shuttered universe, his emotions go haywire. This genre-bending gut-“punch” is a unique film experience, to put it mildly, and it very much benefits from a trippy score by the famed Jon Brion, a frequent P.T. Anderson collaborator. Additionally, Philip Seymour Hoffman is dazzling and endlessly memorable despite his brief appearance.
5The Master (2012)
Anderson’s unforgettable character studyThe Masterfeatures three well-deserved Oscar-nominated performances. Joaquin Phoenix plays Freddie Quell, an ex-naval officersuffering from PTSDwho drunkenly stumbles into the hands of one Lancaster Dodd (Hoffman).
As a Scientology-parallel leader of a movement called the Cause, Dodd (rhymes with “god”) finds Quell irresistible, perhaps in more ways that one. He provides Quell with a surrogate family, much like Burt Reynolds inBoogie Nights, with a sharp-as-nails wife (Amy Adams) and cynical son (Jesse Plemons). Open to interpretations, this psychological trip might just leave you speechless. All hail PTA!
4Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights, featuring an incredible cast including several soon-to-be P.T. Anderson regulars, this epic drama from the then 28-year-old writer-director deservedly earns multiple Oscar nominations. Kicking off in the year 1977 in Anderson’s native San Fernando Valley, the ensemble film follows idealistic porn producer Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) as he discovers Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) and welcomes him into the extended family played by Oscar-nominated Julianne Moore, Heather Graham and more.
The impressive cinematography here nods to several classics and will tickle any film buff’s fancy. Even when the plot ultimately turns dark,Boogie Nightsremains laugh-out-loud funny and relentlessly entertaining, with one of the best enemble casts of all time.
Where does one start when discussing this epic tale? InMagnolia, the lives of several lost souls become intertwined over the course of a day in, you guessed it, the Valley. Filled with biblical references, Anderson’s 1999 opus makes no secret of grappling with large themes and issues.
Similar toBoogie Nights, certain long takes during the three-hour cinema treat will remind you why you fell in love with film art in the first place (Remember that Steadicam shot through the television studio?). Tom Cruise certainly deserved his Oscar nod - perhaps a couple other A-listers here could have used some recognition as well?
2Licorice Pizza
It’s rather befitting that one of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s most frequent collaborators, P.T. Anderson, gave his son his feature debut in 2021’s coming-of-age drama,Licorice Pizza. One of, if not thebest comedies of 2021, Anderson’s flick is a mélange of 1970s pastels, comical cameos, and two delightful debuts from Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman.
The film concerns the attempts of Gary (Hoffman), a smooth-talking schoolboy with an eye for a business deal, and Alana, an older, photographer’s assistant who becomes romantically engaged with Gary, her junior. Set against the backdrop of San Fernando Valley, Gary, and Alana gallivant around in a summery haze as they are guided by their emotions and young love.
