The Modern Mastery of Paul Thomas Anderson
September 19-25, 2025
Director Paul Thomas Anderson (or PTA to cinephiles) is widely considered to be one of the greatest living American directors. Over the course of only nine films spanning nearly 20 years, each of which are truly singular visions that warrant multiple viewings, PTA has introduced a world of larger-than-life characters on the brink of collapse, only to be saved by a twist of fate or destroyed by their own hubris. His films allude to a vision of 20th Century America with just a fine veneer of success, which hinges on the dynamics of family and unreliable mentors, ultimately seeking the elusive but profound possibility of connection.
This series is your chance to see eight of PTA's feature films at SIFF Cinema Downtown in advance of One Battle After Another, opening September 25.
Psst, completionist: Inherent Vice is screening as part of the series L.A. Noir: Shadows in Paradise at SIFF Cinema Uptown on November 12.
PTA: Boogie Nights
USA | 1997 | 155 min. | Paul Thomas Anderson
Now Playing - Sep 24, 2025
The rise and fall of a prodigiously-endowed performer on the '70s porno scene. Paul Thomas Anderson's flamboyant 1997 calling card movie revels in the wild success of xxxcess, before crashing to earth with a bump.
PTA: Hard Eight
USA | 1996 | 102 min. | Paul Thomas Anderson
Now Playing - Sep 25, 2025
Paul Thomas Anderson's debut is a deceptively modest character piece about a veteran gambler who takes a much younger man under his wing and teaches him how to play the system and win. Until things take a darker turn...
PTA: Licorice Pizza
USA | 2021 | 133 min. | Paul Thomas Anderson
Now Playing - Sep 24, 2025
The story of Alana Kane and Gary Valentine growing up, running around and falling in love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.
PTA: Magnolia
USA | 1999 | 188 min. | Paul Thomas Anderson
Now Playing - Sep 25, 2025
The fateful (or purely coincidental?) intertwining of nearly two dozen Los Angelinos’ lives searching for meaning in a spiteful world that unfolds over one chaotic day in Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterful tragi-comedy about dreams, despair, quiz shows, and a very special motivational speaker.
PTA: The Master
USA | 2012 | 137 min. | Paul Thomas Anderson
September 19 - 23, 2025
Joaquin Phoenix as WWII vet Freddie Quell falls into the orbit of Philip Seymour Hoffman's self-styled prophet Lancaster Dodd in this tremulous 1950s psychodrama.
PTA: Phantom Thread
USA | 2017 | 130 min. | Paul Thomas Anderson
September 20 - 23, 2025
Set in 1950's London, Reynolds Woodcock is a renowned dressmaker whose fastidious life is disrupted by a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who becomes his muse and lover.
PTA: Punch-Drunk Love
USA | 2002 | 95 min. | Paul Thomas Anderson
September 20 - 22, 2025
Paul Thomas Anderson's surreal screwball romantic comedy has a wildly experimental edge, not least in Jon Brion's audacious score, but there's something euphoric about the entire irresistible project.
PTA: There Will Be Blood
USA | 2007 | 158 min. | Paul Thomas Anderson
September 19 - 22, 2025
A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.