There Will Be Blood (2007): When Two Masterpieces Collided on the Texas Plains

When Paul Thomas Anderson was filming There Will Be Blood in the vast, sunburnt landscapes of Texas, he probably didn’t expect his production to literally interrupt another future Best Picture winner. Yet in one of cinema’s great coincidences, the neighboring film shoot just happened to be No Country for Old Men—directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.

During a pyrotechnics test involving a massive oil derrick fire, an enormous cloud of black smoke drifted across the horizon and spilled straight onto the Coen brothers’ set, briefly halting their shoot. Two films. Two auteurs. One accidental crossover. A year and a half later, both would dominate the Academy Awards conversation.

This surreal behind-the-scenes moment perfectly reflects what There Will Be Blood ultimately became: a towering, elemental film about ambition, destruction, and the violent birth of modern America.

A Film Born from Fire, Oil, and Obsession

Released in 2007, There Will Be Blood is loosely inspired by Upton Sinclair’s 1927 novel Oil! but Paul Thomas Anderson strips away most political ornamentation to focus on something darker and more intimate: the psychology of greed.

At the center is Daniel Plainview, played with terrifying precision by Daniel Day-Lewis. Plainview is a silver miner turned oil prospector whose rise mirrors the ruthless expansion of American capitalism in the early 20th century. He doesn’t just want success—he wants everyone else to fail.

From its opening minutes, the film announces itself as different. There is almost no dialogue for the first 15 minutes. Instead, Anderson relies on image, sound, and Jonny Greenwood’s unsettling score to immerse the viewer in Plainview’s brutal world.

Daniel Day-Lewis and One of Cinema’s Greatest Performances

It’s impossible to talk about There Will Be Blood without acknowledging Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance, widely considered one of the greatest in film history.

Plainview is not charming. He is not likable. He is not redeemable. Yet Day-Lewis makes him hypnotic. His voice—reportedly inspired by filmmaker John Huston—cuts through every scene like a blade. His posture, his stare, his explosive rage all feel carefully calibrated, yet disturbingly natural.

This performance earned Day-Lewis his second Academy Award for Best Actor, and it remains a benchmark for method acting. Plainview isn’t just a character; he’s a force of nature—much like the oil fires that blaze across the screen.

The Oil Derrick Fire: Cinema Meets Chaos

One of the film’s most iconic sequences—the oil derrick explosion—was achieved largely through practical effects. When the rig catches fire, the screen fills with roaring flames and thick black smoke, creating an image that feels biblical in scale.

During on-location testing, that smoke drifted beyond the There Will Be Blood set and onto the neighboring production of No Country for Old Men. The Coen brothers’ shoot was briefly delayed as the Texas sky darkened with industrial smoke.

The irony is irresistible: two films about violence, fate, and American brutality literally overlapping in real life. Both would go on to be nominated for Best Picture at the 80th Academy Awards, with No Country for Old Men ultimately taking the top prize.

Paul Thomas Anderson at His Most Severe

While earlier Anderson films like Boogie Nights and Magnolia were expansive and emotionally explosive, There Will Be Blood is cold, rigid, and confrontational.

The camera often keeps its distance, watching Plainview like a predator in the wild. Long takes and minimal dialogue force the audience to sit with discomfort. There’s no hand-holding here—just raw cinema.

Anderson’s direction strips America’s origin myth down to its ugliest components: exploitation, religious manipulation, and unchecked ambition. The result is a film that feels timeless and deeply modern at once.

Religion vs Capitalism: A False War

The central conflict between Daniel Plainview and preacher Eli Sunday (played by Paul Dano) is often framed as capitalism versus religion. But the film makes it clear that both men are cut from the same cloth.

Eli uses faith as a performance. Plainview uses business as domination. Each despises the other because they recognize their own reflection staring back.

Their final confrontation—culminating in one of the most quoted endings in modern cinema—is not just shocking, but inevitable. By the time the credits roll, both institutions have been exposed as tools for control.

Jonny Greenwood’s Unsettling Score

Another defining element of There Will Be Blood is Jonny Greenwood’s score, which was unlike anything heard in mainstream American cinema at the time.

Instead of traditional sweeping themes, Greenwood uses dissonant strings and minimalist repetition to create constant unease. The music doesn’t guide emotion—it disrupts it.

Though the score was controversially deemed ineligible for an Oscar due to reused material, it has since been recognized as one of the most influential film scores of the 21st century.

Awards, Legacy, and Cultural Impact

At the 80th Academy Awards, There Will Be Blood received eight nominations, winning two: Best Actor and Best Cinematography (Robert Elswit).

While it didn’t take Best Picture, the film’s reputation has only grown. It consistently appears on lists of the greatest films ever made and is often cited as the defining American film of the 2000s.

Its influence can be felt in everything from prestige television to modern character studies obsessed with moral decay and power.

Two Films, One Era, and a Shared Greatness

The fact that There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men were filmed side by side feels almost symbolic now. Both films dismantle the American dream. Both reject easy answers. Both trust the audience to endure silence, violence, and ambiguity.

That drifting cloud of smoke on the Texas plains wasn’t just a production mishap—it was a moment where two cinematic giants briefly touched.

Final Thoughts

There Will Be Blood is not an easy watch, nor is it meant to be. It’s a film that demands attention, patience, and emotional stamina. But for those willing to meet it on its own terms, it offers one of the most powerful cinematic experiences ever put to screen.

It is a story about the cost of ambition, the hollowness of victory, and the dark foundations upon which modern society was built.

And yes—there will be blood.