After springing ahead, and getting up pre-dawn to give a friend a ride to the airport, I was invited to go to the movies with my friend Doug. He suggested that we see “There Will Be Blood”. I had not seen it, and I have not been a big Daniel Day Lewis fan, but he is some actor in this movie, e.g. winning the Academy Award as the best actor.
There was a period in my life when I thought I would go to graduate school in American History. I was really interested in the period from 1880-1917, e.g. a bit post the Civil War to the start of WWI.
The author of the book from which the movie is derived, e.g. Upton Sinclair was a very prolific writer during this time period. Sinclair was a pretty remarkable character. I read a number of his books, and recall writing a paper on him.
It is one of those movies that I think you need to see in a theater, because there are some really stunning visuals. As much a fan as I am of HDTV, I am not sure that this movie translates. But who knows…
And as a footnote, take a look at this piece by Anthony Arthur, it does a great job of putting the movie in a better literary context.
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