2008 Woodie Awards
Dr. McEwan sheds light on There will be Blood
Matthew Howard
Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: Life!
Every semester for about three or four weeks, the Muhlenberg Film Studies Program teams up with the Civic Theater of Allentown to bring a discussion forum to the movies. For three weeks this semester, three well-respected Film Studies professors will lead discussion groups following the screening of independent films. This week was the first of a three week series.
As Associate Director of the film studies program, Dr. Paul McEwan led this week's discussion following a showing of Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood.
On Wednesday, Dr. McEwan brought his seven years of film analysis expertise to the citizens of Allentown. The film, combined with the discussion afterward, made for one of the most enlightening and enjoyable movie experiences the Allentown community has ever participated in. It was a whole new way for the general public to appreciate all the subtle pieces that go into the art of film and the messages in each one.
Film critics across the country have thrown around the words "epic" and "masterpiece" to describe Mr. Anderson's film. Dr. McEwan summed up his feelings on the film with his quote: "It sounds funny to say that a film is about 'America,' but this one is."
Set in California at the turn of the century, Daniel Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview, a gold miner who, purely by accident, discovers oil on his land. He realizes the value of the oil and begins his own drilling company with his partner and son H.W. (Dillon Freasier).
One night, a young man named Paul Sunday (Paul Dano) visits Plainview's office. Paul sells Plainview information about his family's ranch, which he says has an ocean of oil underneath it.
Plainview and H.W. travel to the Sunday Ranch and, while pretending to hunt quail, confirm what Paul had told them.
That night, Plainview negotiates the sale of the ranch with Paul's twin brother, Eli (also Paul Dano) in exchange for $10,000 towards the building of the Church of the Third Revelation; Eli is the charismatic preacher and faith healer of the town. But despite all of his prosperity, Plainview cannot escape his flaws.
As Associate Director of the film studies program, Dr. Paul McEwan led this week's discussion following a showing of Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood.
On Wednesday, Dr. McEwan brought his seven years of film analysis expertise to the citizens of Allentown. The film, combined with the discussion afterward, made for one of the most enlightening and enjoyable movie experiences the Allentown community has ever participated in. It was a whole new way for the general public to appreciate all the subtle pieces that go into the art of film and the messages in each one.
Film critics across the country have thrown around the words "epic" and "masterpiece" to describe Mr. Anderson's film. Dr. McEwan summed up his feelings on the film with his quote: "It sounds funny to say that a film is about 'America,' but this one is."
Set in California at the turn of the century, Daniel Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview, a gold miner who, purely by accident, discovers oil on his land. He realizes the value of the oil and begins his own drilling company with his partner and son H.W. (Dillon Freasier).
One night, a young man named Paul Sunday (Paul Dano) visits Plainview's office. Paul sells Plainview information about his family's ranch, which he says has an ocean of oil underneath it.
Plainview and H.W. travel to the Sunday Ranch and, while pretending to hunt quail, confirm what Paul had told them.
That night, Plainview negotiates the sale of the ranch with Paul's twin brother, Eli (also Paul Dano) in exchange for $10,000 towards the building of the Church of the Third Revelation; Eli is the charismatic preacher and faith healer of the town. But despite all of his prosperity, Plainview cannot escape his flaws.