5 Paul Thomas Anderson Movies That Are Masterpieces

Making his mark on the cinematic landscape in the 1990s, largely by channeling the sensibilities of filmmaking idols like Robert Altman and Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson instantly became one of the most interesting directors of his generation. His earlier films did have clear influences, but he did his own thing with them and made them stand out enough, before branching out a little and becoming a more distinctive filmmaker after the turn of the 21st century. This can be seen in the likes of The Master, which is difficult to compare to much else out there, and Inherent Vice, which was the first movie to have a shot at adapting Thomas Pynchon to the big screen. And then there's his newest film, One Battle After Another, which is also pretty wild and singular, having some links (again) to Pynchon, but not being a direct adaptation of Vineland (1990). It's something big and new for Anderson, and already feels like it could well be something of a modern classic.