History Film / ThereWillBeBlood

* BludgeonedToDeath: At the end of the film, Daniel [[spoiler:beats Eli on his head to death with a bowling pin.]]

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: The milkshake speech is this, combined with some general EvilGloating. "You're just the afterbirth that ''slithered'' out on your mother's ''filth''! They should have put you in a ''glass jar'' on the mantlepiece. Stop crying you sniveling ass! Stop your nonsense!"

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Milkshakes aren't a random, unexpected example of AnachronismStew: Milkshakes (at least whiskey and whiskey cream-based ones) have been around by that name since the early-to-mid 1880s, and are appropriate for a metaphor by an alcoholic oil baron. PTA also based that line off of an actual quote from U.S. Senator Albert Fall during an oil-related Congressional hearing in the 1920s; it amused Anderson that a term such as "milkshake" would be used as an analogy in a senator's testimony.

** The wordless openning is very reminiscent of "The Dawn of Man" in ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'', with (black) oil marking the advance to a complex, new and destructive era, just like the (black) monolith.
** Lines such as "You're just the afterbirth that slithered out on your mother's filth! They should have put you in a glass jar on the mantlepiece" sounds almost verbatim like an insult out of [[Film/FullMetalJacket Sgt. Hartman's]] mouth.

** The [[https://i.imgur.com/xQff8eL.gif final shot]] shares the exact convergent perspective and simetry with the [[https://media3.giphy.com/media/J4V0cmwb0xInC/giphy.gif elevator scene]] from ''The Shining'', with the blood also
coming from the left half of the screen
** Daniel's conclusive sentence "I'm finished" evokes Alex's "I was cured alright".

** As it turns out, the milkshake-drinking-as-oilfield-drainage metaphor is actually paraphrased from the 1924 testimony of Sen. Albert Fall, who was convicted of bribery for selling off oil-drilling rights in what became known as the Teapot Dome scandal. One of them men who bribed him was Edward Doheny, the real-life inspiration for both Plainview and his fictional precursor in ''Oil!'', James Arnold Ross.

** In the end, the movie lives up to its title. Civilized men return to their animal selves, brutality reigns, blood is had--blackout to credits with a rollicking performance of a Brahms Violin Concerto so you can dance your way out of the theater.
** Done earlier in the film for the opposite effect - seemingly mundane scenes are accompanied by a relentlessly foreboding soundtrack.
* SteelEarDrums: Averted with H.W. He is at ground zero for a massive natural gas explosion and slams his head against a building, with the potential brain damage exacerbating the hearing loss from the explosion.

* AssholeVictim: As their conflict is a clear cut case of EvilVsEvil, it's hard to feel sorry for [[spoiler: Eli Sunday]] when Daniel kills him.

** The [[https://i.imgur.com/xQff8eL.gif final shot]] shares the exact convergent perspective and simetry with the [[https://media3.giphy.com/media/J4V0cmwb0xInC/giphy.gif elevator scene]] from ''The Shining'', with the blood also coming from the left half of the screen.

** The SoundtrackDissonance in which classical allegro music follows primal violence is similar to the ending of ''FilmAClockworkOrange'', and the DroneOfDread that reoccurs throughout the film invokes both ''2001'' and ''Film/TheShining''.

** The SoundtrackDissonance in which classical allegro music follows primal violence is similar to the ending of ''A Clockwork Orange'', and the DroneOfDread that reoccurs throughout the film invokes both ''2001'' and ''Film/TheShining''.

* ShoutOut: There is something elusive and very [[Creator/StanleyKubrick Kubrickian]] about the film that [[http://www.indiewire.com/2012/04/video-essay-2001the-dawn-of-blood-132192/ didn't go unnoticed]]. The wordless openning is very reminiscent of "The Dawn of Man" in ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'', with oil marking the advance to a complex, new and destructive era, just like the monolith. The SoundtrackDissonance in which classical allegro music follows primal violence is similar to the ending of ''A Clockwork Orange'', and the DroneOfDread that reoccurs throughout the film invokes both ''2001'' and ''Film/TheShining''. Analysts have even compared the plot of ''TWBB'' to that of ''The Shining'', as both revolve around a character descending into insanity [[spoiler:and eventually becoming murderously unstable]], though while ''The Shining'' focuses on supernatural evil bringing this out, Daniel Plainview's insanity is instead revealed through the dark side of human nature. "You're just the afterbirth that slithered out on your mother's filth! They should have put you in a glass jar on the mantlepiece" sounds almost verbatim like an insult out of [[Film/FullMetalJacket Sgt. Hartman's]] mouth.

* DevilInDisguise: Eli is the devil in disguise.

* DevilInDisguise: Eli is the devil disguised as an angel.

* SinisterMinister: Eli Sunday is obsessed with his church, and is probably just as power-hungry as Daniel. Although he is greedy, very unforgiving, a mooch, extremely over-the-top, and clearly a wackjob, his followers are drawn to his bombastic sermons.
* SissyVillain: Eli Sunday is a cowardly, physically unimpressive SmugSnake who ScreamsLikeALittleGirl when seriously threatened. Daniel has little trouble gaining the upper hand in their conflicts.
* SmugSnake: Eli Sunday is a great example of this trope. He can be charming and charismatic but when faced with a bigger bully than himself he breaks down [[DirtyCoward screaming and crying]]. He has no trouble beating up his dad but when Daniel drags him through a pool of mud he barely tries to defend himself.

* DeniedParody: While the film is about the dual corrupting powers of capitalism (specifically oil-related capitalism) and self-centered religion, Paul Thomas Anderson maintains that it had nothing to do with the presidency of UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush.

* DogDidNotBark: Henry

* SteelEarDrums: Averted with H.W.

* SissyVillain: Eli Sunday.

* GoodColorsEvilColors: Oil equals corruption, milk equals kindness. (or "evil" and "good" if you prefer)

The story takes place in the late 19th century and early 20th, during the Southern California oil boom. It centers on Daniel Plainview, an oilman who travels the state buying people's land to drill. He is accompanied by his young adopted son and "business partner", H.W. One day he gets a tip from a young man named Paul about undiscovered oil fields on his family's land in Little Boston. As he buys up land in the town and starts drilling, tension builds between Daniel and Paul's twin brother Eli, a young charismatic evangelist who runs the local Church of the Third Revelation.

** Daniel is kind to the youngest Sunday daughter and ensures that she is no longer beaten by her father Abel for not praying. However, his motive is unclear. He could be purely altruistic to the daughter, or it could be a favor to his son (who brought it up to him), or it could clearly be to dominate the father.

* MoodDissonance: For some people, the final scene goes from hilarious to utterly horrifying when [[spoiler: Daniel murders Eli]]. [[TropesAreNotBad Yes, the narm actually makes the film better.]]

* TheEdwardianEra: Strictly speaking, the film's setting corresponds most closely to the "Progressive Era" of American history (UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt's presidency to UsefulNotes/WorldWarI), though Daniel as a character seems more suited to [[TheGildedAge a decade or two earlier]]. The finale is set in [[TheRoaringTwenties 1927]], with UsefulNotes/TheGreatDepression implied to be on the horizon.

* DeniedParody: While the film is about the dual corrupting powers of capitalism (specifically oil-related capitalism) and self-centered religion, Paul Thomas Anderson maintains that it had nothing to do with the presidency of George W. Bush.
* DevilInDisguise: Eli is the devil disguise as an angel.

* TheEdwardianEra: Strictly speaking, the film's setting corresponds most closely to the "Progressive Era" of American history (Teddy Roosevelt's presidency to World War One), though Daniel as a character seems more suited to [[TheGildedAge a decade or two earlier]]. The finale is set in [[TheRoaringTwenties 1927]], with the Depression implied to be on the horizon.

* ShoutOut: There is something elusive and very Kubrickian about the film that [[http://www.indiewire.com/2012/04/video-essay-2001the-dawn-of-blood-132192/ didn't go unnoticed]]. The wordless openning is very reminiscent of "The Dawn of Man" in ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'', with oil marking the advance to a complex, new and destructive era, just like the monolith. The SoundtrackDissonance in which classical allegro music follows primal violence is similar to the ending of ''A Clockwork Orange''. "You're just the afterbirth that slithered out on your mother's filth! They should have put you in a glass jar on the mantlepiece" sounds almost verbatim like an insult out of [[Film/FullMetalJacket Sgt. Hartman's]] mouth.