Paul Thomas Andersonmade his featurefilmdebut in 1996 withHard Eight , and his report as one of the most intensive and methodical current American moviemakers has preserve to grow since then . His films enjoin the stories of role desperate for belonging and happiness . He ’s made both ensemble dramas and deep eccentric studies , relying on draw out chronological sequence and dark humor to push his narratives .

Anderson has summon directors like Stanley Kubrick , Robert Altman , and Martin Scorsese as influences . Like these other filmmakers , Anderson often collaborates with the same actors . Here are his moving picture , ranked from worst to best based on their Rotten Tomatoes freshness .

Inherent Vice (2016) - 73%

establish on a novel by American author Thomas Pynchon , Inherent Viceis a colored comedy about a tidy sum - smoking private centre named Doc . The earth of 1970 Los Angeles is on full display here , from the hippie to the cult to the various illicit nub .

Joaquin Phoenix stars as Doc , and he ’s indorse up with performances by Josh Brolin , Owen Wilson , Reese Witherspoon , and Benicio Del Toro . Some audiences observe Paul Thomas Anderson ’s layered and complex narrative style here confusing , but others find it an interesting way to highlight the drug - woolly-headed nature of Doc ’s aliveness .

Punch-Drunk Love (2002) - 80%

Paul Thomas Anderson wanted to make his own rendering of a musical love story along the demarcation ofSingin ' in the Rain , andPunch - Drunk Loveis the goal result . StarringAdam Sandlerin one of his first dramatic roles , the movie tell the story of a lonely man with severe social anxiousness .

Sandler ’s character , Barry , is set up on a escort by his sister - in - natural law with a cleaning lady named Lena , played by Emily Watson . The two fall for each other , but , after Barry is wrap up up in an extortion scam after call a phone - sexual urge hotline before he fit Lena , things get complicated . Darkly capricious , this may be one of Anderson ’s more hopeful films .

Magnolia (1999) - 83%

A dense ensemble film that traces and connect the lives of various people in the San Fernando Valley of California , Magnoliafocuses on coincidence , bad luck , and loneliness . Theatrical stories weave in and out of each other until the heroic movie come to a dramatic close .

The roll includes Tom Cruise , Melinda Dillon , Philip Baker Hall , Philip Seymour Hoffman , Ricky Jay , William H. Macy , Alfred Molina , Julianne Moore , John C. Reilly , and Jason Robards , and its popular soundtrack features songs from singer - songwriter Aimee Mann .

Hard Eight (1996) - 83%

Anderson ’s feature film entry is acrime dramastarring Phillip Baker Hall as a gambler in his 60 making his way to Las Vegas . Along the agency , he meets a unseasoned man nominate John , played by John C. Reilly , and the two smithy a bond .

It wrick out , though , that Hall ’s character , Sydney , has a dark past times , one more machine-accessible to John than is ab initio obvious . voiceless Eightdemonstrates Anderson ’s ability to dig deep into multiple fibre while constructing intricate web of connexion between them .

The Master (2012) - 85%

A moving character study loosely base on the living of Scientology inventor L. Rob Hubbard , The Masterfocuses on the paradoxical qualities that motivate man to roleplay immorally . Philip Seymour Hoffman meet the processed and integrated Lancaster Dodd , head of a religious movement known as The Cause , while Joaquin Phoenix plays the chaotic and uninhibited Freddie Quell , a WWII veteran who gets suck into Dodd ’s chemical group .

Despite their oppositional attitude and styles , the two men have much more in coarse than they ’d like to admit : they ’re ego - beat back , greedy , and ego - serving . Anderson brings mid - century America to life in this electrifying drama .

There Will Be Blood (2007) - 91%

Another menstruation drama , There Will Be Bloodis based on the novelOil!by Upton Sinclair , and it tells the story of Daniel Plainview , a silvery miner turned oil tycoon . Plainview ’s level of success is mired by descent , deception , and familial negligence .

Daniel Day - Lewis won an Oscar for his performance of Plainview , but Paul Dano ’s endure role as a corrupt and persuasive young preacher received equal amounts of praise . With its stunning motion-picture photography and a haunting soundtrack from Radiohead ’s Jonny Greenwood , There Will Be Bloodis conceive one of the best celluloid of the twenty-first century . It also make one of the most - parodied lines in movie history : " I tope your milkshake . "

Phantom Thread (2018) - 91%

Anderson ’s most recent cinema is another powerful character study that contain blank space in mid - one C England . Daniel Day - Lewis , in his final role before retreat , stars as an obsessional and idiosyncratic women ’s clothing interior designer name Reynolds Woodcock who takes on a raw buff and muse , a foreign waitress named Alma . Sir Joshua Reynolds lives in a enceinte manor with his sister , Cyril , who handles his day - to - day affairs .

prostrate to meltdowns and tantrums , Reynolds ’s career takes off while his personal relationship with Alma becomes pregnant with problems and tenseness . The power struggle that subsist in family relationship are brought forth with Anderson ’s signature finesse and approach here , and Alma and Reynolds are eventually able-bodied to figure out a way to make their family relationship work .

Boogie Nights (1997) - 93%

Anderon blew audiences and critics forth with his 2nd feature , an ambitious ensemble film that dives into the burgeoning smut vista in seventies and eighties Los Angeles . boogie-woogie Nightsstars Mark Wahlberg , Julianne Moore , Burt Reynolds , Don Cheadle , John C. Reilly , William H. Macy , Philip Seymour Hoffman , and Heather Graham .

Related : Paul Thomas Anderson ’s Net Worth

Wahlberg plays a high school drop - out nominate Eddie who catches the attention of pornography director Jack Horner , played by Reynolds . After donning the name Dirk Diggler , Eddie becomes an over - night industry superstar . However , his fame leads to a living of excess and drug habituation , fuel by the toxic the great unwashed around him .

A set of Final Destination Bloodlines characters looking concerned in new trailer

Junun (2015) - 100%

Anderson ’s least - known film is also the one with the highest rating on Rotten Tomatoes . Jununis a documentary film that captures the fashioning of an record album namedJununby the Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur , Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood , the Indian group the Rajasthan Express , and Radiohead ’s producer Nigel Godrich .

Greenwood frame the soundtracks for four of Anderson ’s films , and this documentary film spotlight his musical brain as he collaborates with other artists to make this grandiose album . The record album was made in Rajasthan , India at Mehrangarh Fort , and Anderson used a lagger to capture overhead image of the scene .

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Inherent Vice

Lina and Barry have dinner together at a restaurant in Punch Drunk Love

Magnolia

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Master

Blood

Phantom Thread

The characters group together for a family photo in Boogie Nights

Junun

Movies

Paul Thomas Anderson