I've seen the cut. It's 4.5 hours long (There's ultimately a 10 hour cut that only a handful of people have seen). Anyways, the 2.5 hour movie is a fun version. In the 4.5 hour version you really see how much of a "cold hard bastard" this guy is. He's just cold and hard and therefore a villain.
@@jnkz987 He had way more than one line in this movie (and this scene). He also introduced himself to Paul, asked Daniel if H.W. was okay after the explosion, and discussed sending him off to the school for the deaf. Who REALLY got the short end of the stick was the actor who played Abel. This was far and away the most dialogue he got and it all got cut.
Jorn Krantz, Not Available- You're both wrong. It was Paul Sunday who got the short end of the stick. He is a GREAT actor and only got one brief scene. That guy should've gotten waaaay more screen time.
@@bookeblade I mean, I wasn't complaining about not including it in the first place. I just meant imagine the film being so good that even the cut material like this is this good that it almost stands alone as a short film or something. It was probably just cut for pacing rather than length, the film is already nearly 3 hours.
5:27 I love how Daniel spoke what he truly felt about Abel and Eli AFTER he heard that the fishing was successful. There's definitely a reason for that. He knew he's officially in the jackpot and will have no repercussions and I feel like he wouldn't have said anything otherwise. You can tell that he wanted nothing more than to just tell Abel that all of his religious talk was nothing but pointless drivel but he held it back until he can make sure the fishing was successful without any "blessing". It was almost like a reassurance of his beliefs - gave him all of the confidence he needed.
That's not right. The moment Daniel knew he hit the jackpot was during the oil fire. He already had what he needed from Abel by purchasing the land. This is just a nice opportunity to put him in his place and Daniel can't resist because he despises his weakness and religion. This scene was before the fire because HW isn't deaf.
@truemangibson That's a fair point. I think you're probably right but I also STILL think that I have a point too. Either way I think he was still looking for some reassurance and a confident reason to insult him and once he got it, that's when he did so.
It just occurred to me that this is what Abel meant when he said "I tried" to Eli (after Daniel beat him up ) and Eli responds with "you didn't do anything except sit down".
What a great scene and a shame it was cut from the movie: "I think Eli is a lunatic. And I think you're a weak little man, Abel, and I'm glad to have your land, and er, make a living off it, where you couldn't"
@@mitchjust6688 One charlatan isn't an indictment of a 2,000 year old religion. Eli being a con artist is a testament to Eli's character, not the teachings of Christianity.
@@vladimirhorowitz Also I think I read somewhere about Paul Sunday being true to the word of God and became rather successful while at the same time had some desire on revealing how much of a charlatan his brother Eli really is. Eli's leadership of "his" church doesn't seem to stem from good honest intentions but from prideful ambitions. His move on mentioning "You Abandon Your Child", seemed like he wanted to gain leverage and a sense of power over Daniel instead of actually saving him. Paul is the chosen one, intelligent and righteous while Eli is not as smart as his brother and is very prideful and full of himself to the point of labeling himself as a prophet.
I've watched this movie perhaps 20 times... and I cannot believe I've not seen this deleted scene until now. It's crazy how much is cut from movies that are considered masterpieces. Like, everything in this segment is revealed later in the movie, through good / visual storytelling. But to have the eye for recognising scenes, and perfectly good whole segments, that can be scrapped... that takes a genius. A true masterpiece.
You got two years on me!! One of my favorites.. if not, number one! My Pop and I watched it probably a dozen times together... I'm thankful we did, it reminds me of him ❤🙏🏼
The writing is just so fucking great. Can't Imagine writing something this great and cutting it out. The way he structures and tells the story of the 'fishing', with that great final scene to highlight the whole thing. Damn, Paul. How much more can I learn from you. He's such a great writer. I can't say it enough. Sometimes I forget but this is a nice reminder.
No matter how good, every work of art needs to get its point across to the attention span that has given the work access to its precious time. Attention spans are growing ever shorter, so if this movie were even made today, it would be butchered even more in the service of telling its story concisely.
@@billplaney2585 your taste is a work in progress. Products do get more concise over time but u have to take the time it was made into account. This was perfectly paced. Also it's a DRAMA
@@mjxtacreaixe I guess Paul Thomas Anderson is not as brilliant as he thinks too since he cut that scene out, mister brilliant. It was BORING and it would damage the terrific pacing of the film. Put up with it or educate yourself.
@@pab1972 It's a short film. He was right to cut it out but it stands on it's own, that's what impresses me. Shooting the scene wasn't a mistake, it was part of the journey. U are trying to establish your intelligence over PTA rather than just appreciating this short film mastrpiece. corny
This is wonderful. I do understand why it was cut, though, the more extensive interactions with Fletcher and Abel aren't consistent with the rest of the film, where they have very little to say. Also, I feel Abel's statements against Daniel with blessing the well take away from the direct rivalry between Eli and Daniel, especially since it would be Abel's only argument in the whole film
I like this a lot, but I think it was smart to remove this scene from the final cut. The film as we saw it, I think, explores the profession of oil drilling without getting too technical and losing focus on the plot and characters. What's more, the exchange here between Able and Daniel is redundant. It just explains bluntly what we already see sketched out beautifully and minimally in the actions and dialogue of these two characters in the final cut. This scene, as much as I enjoy it, doesn't add enough that's new, in my view, to justify keeping it.
2021 and the relationship between the Company Man, the Crew, and the land owner is still pretty much the same. Except its generally reversed in roles. The Company Man is the weak little man, and the land owner the, sometimes violent, lunatic
I both agree and disagree with you here. I really enjoyed this sequence and think it adds to Daniel character. I also enjoyed all the technical stuff about drilling in this time, & would have been happy to see more. But most movies run long. This scene may add to aspects of the movie, but overall it isn't needed. If this part was included it wouldn't be seen as iconic. I do support other people's opinions that a longer cut of this movie could be a good thing.
I kinda think it gives insight to what drillers or oil men deal with. We see him eating his dinner only to go back to he rig floor to over see the issue. Fishing alone is not an ideal situation for a drill crew, let alone the pressure of side show characters being persistent. I think this scene could've fit in lieu of other scenes, say, for example when the bit comes loose and kills that man. Plainview is passed out drunk on the floor and woken in the dead of night to hear the news. Then the departeds faith forces Daniel to deal with Paul. I still think it wouldn't steal from any part of the movie because we don't know when the scene would've been placed, maybe we would've already known the characters and plot, and this was just another transition from when "scene closes, BUT another confrontation arises" situation. I think it shows insight to what we don't see beyond Daniel dealing with the multi faceted issues and pressure he faces with society, himself, and even his family.
Damn. I can see why they cut it, but what a great scene!!! One can only hypothesize, but I think they didn't want to make Able look stronger than he was. But it would have been epic to have it in there just to have those final few words where Daniel calls his son a lunatic and fully shuts him down.
The movie would have been too long. It was already 2 hours and 30 minutes. This movie realistically could have lasted for 4 hrs or longer. Glad the movie came out when it did because people actually appreciated serious acting and long performances. People have such a short attention span now I think if Anderson released this today he would have been told to cut the time of the movie down. I could also have seen this as a two part movie released in the same year. Oh well at least we get to see the deleted scenes and outtakes.
At first I was like, 'I can see why he cut this scene', and Abel's blathering certainly didn't help things, but the moment Daniel says, 'I think Eli is a lunatic.' I was like, 'This is so goddamn awesome'. And then he says, "And I think you are a weak little man, Abel." And I'm like, this is effing brilliant!!!! It just goes to show how powerfully Daniel Day Lewis played this part.
Exactly, that's why I think it would have been fine to get rid of all the background about fishing and just inserted the interaction with Daniel and Abel.
Even the scenes from the cutting room floor are ace. This script is just so fucking tight. Zero fat or fluff. Best part is it really doesn't seem like it, the entire work retains a sense of grandeur and sets its own pace. But everything and every word matters to the plot chugging along. A testament to PTA and the whole crew's abilities and confidence.
If I was the editor, and I'm not, I would have only cut the scene where Fletcher, Plainview's right hand, has a conversation with the little girl. That scene ruins his "Silent Bob" mystique. He simply shouldn't talk that much. Otherwise, I would have kept everything else, especially the final scene here where Plainview behaves as if another man's weakness is contagious.
It's good that they didn't include this in the movie, i always knew daniel expresses his thoughts and feeling through his acting and facial expression , this scene has too many lines to ruin the enigma of how abel sees daniel after getting to know him more
As much as I wanted this included in the final cut, I kind of understand why PTA decided otherwise. Look at that last part. Makes more impactful when you saw Eli lashed out to his father after Daniel slapped the bitch out of him unto the mud if you didn't see this scene. Also, the very last part of the film when Daniel bullied Eli, explaining how he had gone through the land he bought from them. "DRAAAAINNAGE". Jezuz, DDL is one scary, method actor. TWBB is such a masterpiece and DDL, deserved that second Oscar. No wonder, it took five years for another win in the Academy. He needed much recuperation from getting into Plainview's crazy character. He wasn't lying when he said that doing these saps so much of his life. It's like equivalent exchange. You gave a masterful performance, but then at what cost?
Think weve all had moments like this. Someone chastises you when youre weak, vulnerable and then things work out for you and you can tell em to shove it.
Great scene but can see why not needed as the film already told you how the relationship between the characters is. But interesting about the time taken to find the source x
Disagree with you there. I always wondered why Abel and Daniel never had any more screen interactions after the introduction. I know Eli takes over in that aspect, but I still found myself wondering how Abel saw Daniel once he got to know him better... and now I know. Always felt that part was missing and frankly, Daniel reflects better off Abel than he does Eli because Eli is a crook (aswell), while Abel is an honest, god fearing man. And that dynamic is way more interesting. Having goodness translate to weakness,at least in Daniel's eyes.
How come they didnt include this on the movie? Every scene of daniel day lewis is Gold!!! Atleast now ive seen it..always good...always great acting..daniel day lewis..greatest!
A movie that puts the vice of avarice and the vice of faith into collision and none pay off. The only redeeming aspect of anyone's interactions is family and that even when such a minimal amount of true connection is presented it can still bear fruit.
I can see why he cut these scenes, they don’t add enough to the overall story. The absence of these scenes don’t make the film any less meaningful, so why keep them?
"This was omitted on my new theory that you could omit anything if you knew that you omitted and the omitted part would strengthen the story and make people feel something more than they understood." - Ernest Hemingway
The revelation in the end where "superstition loses" made more impact without this scene, could be lame if it could be disproven the second time in the end.
Yeeeah i can see how this didnt get included . I m glad this scene never came out .. it could ve turned the whole movie into a religion related one , plus , Daniel never had to say what he was really thinking about ; he just let his acts and silence do the talking .. this scene would ve been just an excess
Disagree with you there. I always wondered why Abel and Daniel never had any more screen interactions after the introduction. I know Eli takes over in that aspect, but I still found myself wondering how Abel saw Daniel once he got to know him better... and now I know. Always felt that part was missing and frankly, Daniel reflects better off Abel than he does Eli because Eli is a crook (aswell), while Abel is an honest, god fearing man. And that dynamic is way more interesting. Having goodness translate to weakness,at least in Daniel's eyes.
@@Tusc9969 Definitely agree. I can only assume this scene was cut for time and pacing, but he could have easily left just the last part with Abel and Daniel in but cut out the background about "fishing" and Fletcher's conversation with Mary. I think this was a really important interaction, but obviously the film stands on its own without it.
@@sebm3029 but compared to Daniel, he was. Abel might've not been the best parent but Daniel was a horrible human being who was antisocial, a crook and a scoundrel who used his own adopted son to lie and manipulate others, not to mention a cold blooded murderer.
As a big fan of this amazing movie, cutting all this was the correct choice. Much of this is redundant, and it's not on par with the theatrical version. It's interesting to see, though, and makes me appreciate editors as they make or break a movie.
I like this scene. When he first starts talking in the beginning of the movie and says “we’re not like the other guys fishing their tools out of the well for months”. Or something to that effect. I see now how that could happen..... Would have been greet in the film
They should have kept this part in the movie. It depicts some of the important, unknown, aspects about the work that was involved in oil drilling. It also shows how Daniel became so hateful of people. Last, this scene shows how pushy American Christians are with their religion; so counterproductive too. Daniel's response to Able is gold. All, pushy religious people should be taught to keep their religion to themselves; otherwise, if they want to get involved in other's business, they should start paying taxes. Daniel is also an evil bastard - a great depiction of American capitalism. People like Daniel and Able are meant to be.
as interesting as the fishing stuff is, everything around it kind of makes the subtext of the film text, spelling out things we already know daniel thinks of abel and eli. interesting deleted scene, but glad paul cut it
I think this is a fun scene but a bit of a detraction and a little unnecessary. The finished film is perfectly tight and concise. This scene didn’t add anything to the plot or characters that we didn’t already know. I see why Anderson chose to take it out.
Plainview was a snake who took advantage of an ignorant ideological community. A dogmatic religious person is truly the highest form of ignorance. They think everything that does not conform to their linear simplistic minds is a backslide when in fact in life things events challenges facts business issues are not that simple. These people were truly ignorant and paid for it. The real winners were Paul who did the deal with Daniel and old man Bandy was content and at peace with himself and was the only other deciple who could negotiate with Daniel.
