“I’d like to get you on a slow boat to China.”
It’s hard to think about Paul Thomas Anderson without also thinking about Philip Seymour Hoffman, and the reverse is true, too – it’s hard to give an overview of Hoffman’s acting career without also mentioning Anderson. Anderson directed six feature films between 1996 and 2012, with Hoffman having a role (sometimes small, and sometimes large) in five of them, only sitting out 2007’s There Will Be Blood.
Philip Seymour Hoffman sadly passed away in 2014, leaving the world of film feeling a little emptier, and naturally bringing to an end the collaborations between him and Anderson (though Paul Thomas Anderson did cast Hoffman’s son, Cooper Hoffman, in one of Licorice Pizza’s lead roles). Those five films the pair did together feel even more valuable now, as a result, all being of high quality thanks to Anderson’s filmmaking skills, and all featuring memorable appearances from Hoffman, always able to make the most of every second he had on screen.
5 ‘Hard Eight’ (1996)
Also starring: Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow
Within the pantheon of great Philip Seymour Hoffman performances, it’s sadly quite easy to overlook Hard Eight, given he’s only featured in it very briefly and his character is unnamed, simply being credited as “Young Craps Player.” It’s another Philip who gets to shine here in the lead role: Philip Baker Hall, who plays a senior gambler who comes into contact with a homeless man (played by John C. Reilly) who’s lost everything, and gets help from the older gambler to win back the money he’d previously lost at a casino.
Hard Eight was Paul Thomas Anderson’s first feature film, and gets a little overlooked as a result. Sure, it’s not as great as the masterpieces or near-masterpieces he showed himself capable of making in the coming years, but it’s a rock-solid directorial debut, with Hall and Reilly both being dependably good in the lead roles. Also, Hoffman does manage to steal the movie for a brief few moments when he is on-screen, perfectly playing an obnoxious and antagonistic gambler, with the film overall suggesting greatness to come, both for Anderson and for Hoffman, who then went on to have more substantial roles in four more Paul Thomas Anderson movies.
Hard Eight
- Release Date
- February 28, 1996
- Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Cast
- Philip Baker Hall , John C. Reilly , gwyneth paltrow , Samuel L. Jackson , F. William Parker , Philip Seymour Hoffman
- Runtime
- 102
- Main Genre
- Crime
4 ‘Punch-Drunk Love’ (2002)
Also starring: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Luis Guzmán
Don’t let the “low” ranking imply anything negative, because Punch-Drunk Love is still a great movie, all things considered. It’s just that when it comes to Paul Thomas Anderson movies, he’s made a handful that are even greater, and when looking at Anderson-directed movies that feature Philip Seymour Hoffman, there are a few where the late actor shines even brighter. But Punch-Drunk Love does feature more Hoffman than Hard Eight (and is a little better overall), giving the actor a few scenes to steal, rather than just the one he got to dominate in that 1996 film.
Still, Punch-Drunk Love does remain the Adam Sandler show, as he gets the lead role here and got to demonstrate how genuinely great he can be in more serious roles for perhaps the first time. He’s committed and intense in a way he isn’t usually in most of his other stuff (barring the more recent Uncut Gems), and “intense” is the word of the day when it comes to describing the movie as a whole, as it’s an artsy and anxiety-ridden romantic comedy that can sometimes be sweet, but is more often than not uncomfortable. Hoffman is great as the closest thing the film has to a main antagonist, and Punch-Drunk Love is overall a blast, and an exceedingly well-cast blast at that.
Punch-Drunk Love
- Release Date
- October 25, 2002
- Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Cast
- Adam Sandler , Jason Andrews , Don McManus , Emily Watson , Luis Guzman , David Schrempf
- Runtime
- 95
- Main Genre
- Comedy
3 ‘The Master’ (2012)
Also starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rami Malek
Out of all the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed movies that Philip Seymour Hoffman appeared in, The Master gives him the most to do, with him having almost as much screen time as the film’s lead actor, Joaquin Phoenix. Amy Adams also has a prominent supporting role, with all three providing some of the best acting of their respective careers in an odd and unsettling drama that follows a World War II veteran falling under the spell of the leader of a new religion (that reveals itself to be more of a cult).
Taking some inspiration from the history of Scientology, The Master is a character-focused film about one man’s search for meaning in his life, and his willingness to become a part of a potentially sinister group, so long as it ensures some kind of connection. It’s perhaps Paul Thomas Anderson’s slowest and least approachable movie, but could well also be the film of his that boasts the most stunning cinematography and the most powerhouse performances. Hoffman, Phoenix, and Adams are all magnetic, making The Master worth watching for the strength of the acting contained within alone.
The Master
- Release Date
- September 7, 2012
- Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Cast
- Joaquin Phoenix , Price Carson , Mike Howard , Sarah Shoshana David , Bruce Goodchild , Matt Hering
- Runtime
- 137 minutes
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2 ‘Boogie Nights’ (1997)
Also starring: Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore
Boogie Nights feels very much inspired by the sorts of rise-and-fall gangster movie storylines Martin Scorsese mastered with films like Goodfellas and Casino, though those in turn also owed something to the classic crime/gangster movies of the 1930s and ‘40s. It’s okay to remix and re-imagine certain themes and tropes so long as enough that’s new or fresh is done with them, and to this end, Boogie Nights is a success and not just a Scorsese knock-off. It feels like a movie made by a young director (Anderson was still some years off from turning 30), but in a good way, and explores an interesting group of characters and the industry they’re all involved in.
Said industry is the world of adult film, with things taking place in the back half of the 1970s, when business was booming, and during the early years of the 1980s, when things weren’t so great. It was Anderson’s first movie to have a true ensemble cast, with too many great actors here to mention. Philip Seymour Hoffman does get a solid chance to shine in a key supporting role, playing a boom operator who harbors an intense crush on the film’s protagonist, Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg), with Hoffman conveying so much through his physicality alone (the character himself is a relatively quiet/soft-spoken individual).
Boogie Nights
- Release Date
- October 7, 1997
- Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Cast
- Burt Reynolds , Julianne Moore , Rico Bueno , John C. Reilly , Nicole Ari Parker , Mark Wahlberg , Don Cheadle , Philip Seymour Hoffman , Luis Guzmán
- Runtime
- 155
- Main Genre
- Drama
1 ‘Magnolia’ (1999)
Also starring: Tom Cruise, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore
Being more mellow emotionally than Boogie Nights, but exceeding that 1997 film when it came to cast size and overall scope, Magnolia is an epic movie that also happens to be amazingly intimate and personal. Over the course of just over three hours, countless characters are explored and unpacked, all dealing with their own difficult situations and personal demons at the same time, though only some of them ever cross paths, and often for just a moment or two at that.
It’s a dense and challenging film at times, but Magnolia might also be one of the most impressive released during the 1990s, and Philip Seymour Hoffman is once again fantastic as part of an ensemble cast thatalso includes the likes of William H. Macy, Alfred Molina, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Jason Robard, Melora Walters, and Tom Cruise. Concerning the latter, Cruise is also a highlight in the film, and shares some of his screen time with Hoffman. It’s a joy to see two acting titans on screen at the same time, and they certainly have a very different dynamic here to 2006’s Mission: Impossible III, where Hoffman played a particularly menacing antagonist for Cruise’s Ethan Hunt to take on.
Magnolia
- Release Date
- December 10, 1999
- Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Cast
- Julianne Moore , William H. Macy , John C. Reilly , Tom Cruise , Philip Baker Hall , Philip Seymour Hoffman
- Runtime
- 188
- Main Genre
- Drama
This article was originally published on collider.com