There Will Be Blood is a story loosely based on a novel by Upton Sinclair, about a ruthless oilman in the late 19th and 20th century California during the oil rush. There Will Be Blood received critical acclaimed and was on almost every critic’s list as the best film of the year. The film went on to earn eight Oscar nominations, winning two for Best Cinematography and Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis.

There Will Be Blood is a film that isn’t for everyone. It’s at times slow moving with a plot that jumps around and makes no apologies for it. The film centers on the friction between oil man/entrepreneur Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) and a local town preacher/charlatan of Little Boston, Eli Sunday (Paul Dano). It is with these two characters and their performances that makes this film shine and worth watching. Actor Paul Dano, who you may remember as the teenager that made a vow of silence from Little Miss Sunshine, should have also been nominated for his wonderful portrayal of the cunning preacher.

Now available on DVD (but not on blu-ray because Paramount studios was HD exclusive), the movie is available on both one and two disc sets. The packaging for the two disc set is worth the money alone. The discs comes in a nice cardboard case with a beautiful black and white photo of Lewis’ Daniel Plainview. The discs are housed in a nice pull out book that is supposed to look like a bible. It’s nice sometimes to see the care they take in the packaging. The only bad thing of the packaging, is the fact the discs are in the slip covers and I suspect that the disc can easily get scratched with repeated removing.

Disc one contains only the feature, but disc two has a few extras to help flesh out the characters but overall feels kind of light. There is a “15 Minutes” of a collection of vintage stills that teeter back in forth of shots from the film to help show where they found their inspiration and overall art direction. This appears to be here instead of any featurettes or a documentary. Which seems strange for a film that has been so highly acclaimed.

Also included are two great deleted scenes, dallies and nicely produced trailers. The deleted scenes last about ten minutes and are actually worth catching. The dallies are an extended and alternate take of the restaurant scene with Plainview and the employees of Standard Oil.

The extras are rounded off by a short silent film from 1923 entitled “The Story of Petroleum,” that shows the process of the oil business. It’s entertaining but feels like one of those informative filmstrip movies you watched in school as a kid.

There Will Be Blood I found at times boring and confusing. Yet, I think it’s one of those films with repeated viewings I would find to really enjoy. It’s a tough film that takes you on a journey into one’s own obsession and even madness. It’s unfortunate that the director had on interest in participating in a commentary track. I think I would be tempted with a second viewing if one was available. Regardless, There Will Be Blood is a well made film with extraordinary performances about a history of our country that is not as well known.

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