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Best Blu-ray Discs of 2008 8

by Jason Rowan on January 6, 2009 at 12:01 AM



'There Will Be Blood'

The gist: The gripping, lovingly-detailed tale of the rise of a heartless oil prospector swept the awards in '08, nabbing an Best Actor Oscar for Daniel Day Lewis for his truly riveting performance. Following events from 1898 through 1927, the film is a masterful study of the era, and Director of Photography Robert Elswit's captures the luminous landscape of the turn of the century West. It's a feast for magic hour lovers.

Why it's on our list: The Blu-ray transfer captures Elswit's luminous camerawork, largely with natural light, and the subtle hues come through in this format. Short on extras, save for one gem -- a (ca.) 1923-26 Bureau of Mines educational movie that livingly details the process of early .'The Story of Petroleum' was obviously available to the filmmakers and informed their entire production design -- it's like watching outtakes from 'Blood.' It's a fascinating and thorough glimpse of a time and a new industry, with great animation and a score, like the film, by Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead -- watching some of the animation explaining how petroleum is extracted from the earth is almost like a lost Radiohead video...

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