For a moment there it looked like The Master might be the most revered film of 2012. Some even believed it had the might to get into the Oscar race for Best Picture. Now that critics and audiences have had their way with it (too twisted, too obtuse, not enough story, too obvious, etc.) people who admired the film are waiting for the decade long trek into Eyes Wide Shut/Vertigo-land of critically darling after the fact. Time will tell if that happens. But, regardless, Paul Thomas Anderson made a film of enormous breath and insight. It’s the most challenging America movie to come by in a long while. The film, for many, is only a feast in acting chops, but to me, that’s just one successful block in the big building. It deserved better in the way of criticism, but that’s not what keeps people coming back to a movie anyhow.

Here is a long video interview with Paul Thomas Anderson conducted by The Melbourne Film School. Anderson is candid and awkward as ever. If anybody has ever worked on a movie, I can’t help but believe his experiences will better reflect yours than most other filmmakers out there. Definitely worth watching.

Here’s an interview with Amy Adams discussing working on The Master:

If you haven’t seen Anderson’s early film, The Dirk Diggler Story, click below: