Best Paul Thomas Anderson Movies Ranked For Filmmakers

Best paul thomas anderson movies ranked

11. "Cigarettes and Coffee" (1993)

PT Anderson’s "Cigarettes and Coffee" was made on an ultra-low $10,000 budget. Yet, despite its small scope, this short has a lot of character. Anderson's script and shot choices, here, are an early showcase of the writer-director's rigorous attention to detail.

BEST PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON MOVIES RANKED

10. Junun (2015)

BEST PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON MOVIES RANKED

9. "Anima" (2018)

Another collaboration between PT Anderson and a member of Radiohead—this time the band's frontman, Thom Yorke—"Anima" is an eye-popping visual trip. This short film delves into the subconscious, taking inspiration from philosopher Carl Jung’s interpretation of the dream state.

BEST PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON MOVIES RANKED

8. Hard Eight (1996)

PT Anderson is the first to admit that Hard Eight didn’t turn out exactly how he wanted.

"I just bluffed my way through it," Anderson told Marc Maron on Maron's WTF with Marc Maron podcast. "I should have had a 90-minute movie and I cut together this two and a half hour thing. I didn't have enough time to cut it properly." Eventually, he managed to cut the film down to a version he was moderately satisfied with.

Production obstacles aside, Hard Eight turned out quite good. It's loosely based on the plot of "Cigarettes and Coffee": Both films begin in a roadside diner with tobacco smoke and cups o' Joe in spades. But Anderson fleshes out the narrative at feature length by showing us events that are relegated to mere backstory in his short.

BEST PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON MOVIES RANKED

7. Inherent Vice (2015)

Inherent Vice may better suited with the title Incoherent Vice. This bizarro pseudo-satire, based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon, is about as narratively obtuse as stories come.

Yet, there’s something about the film’s style that's simply irresistible. Composer Jonny Greenwood recorded the score alongside the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the result is infectious. But the film's visuals—expertly crafted by Anderson and cinematographer Robert Elswit—are what truly put it over the top.

BEST PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON MOVIES RANKED

6. Magnolia (1999)

New Line Cinema gave Paul Thomas Anderson complete creative control after the success of Boogie Nights, which resulted in the deeply personal, yet somewhat flawed Magnolia.

Although Anderson gives us an intimate look at the lives of nearly a dozen characters in his home area of the San Fernando Valley, the film's scope proves too wide for those separate character threads to work seamlessly together. 

BEST PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON MOVIES RANKED

5. Boogie Nights (1997)

Boogie Nights put Paul Thomas Anderson on the map, announcing him as a force of nature within the American filmmaking landscape. The film unflinchingly recreates the milieu porn industry of the 1970s and '80s, with all its graphic sexuality and expressive characters. Ultimately, Boogie Nights is a uniquely American tragedy on the dueling forces of love and hedonism. 

BEST PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON MOVIES RANKED

4. The Master (2012)

The Master is PT Anderson’s deconstruction of cultist psychology,  modeling the new age movement it depicts after L. Ron Hubbard’s founding of Scientology. The film boasts an excellent cast that includes Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams.

All three stars give riveting performances, but it’s Hoffman who steals the show in one of the last films before his untimely death. As cult leader Lancaster Dodd, he commands each frame with fervor, all the while conveying the deep insecurities that plague his character.

BEST PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON MOVIES RANKED

3. Punch-Drunk Love (2012)

There’s so much to love in Punch-Drunk Love, a film that may well contain the best performance of Adam Sandler’s legendary career. Punch-Drunk Love is a romantic-comedy by definition, but is full of nuanced drama as well.

Sandler is often associated with his bumbling roles in cheesy comedies—unfortunate considering the impressive range he displays here. As the emotionally frustrated Barry Egan, Sandler's performance in Punch-Drunk Love makes us feel as though he's up against the entire world.

The film's oft-brutal dramatic moments never weigh it down, and that's what ultimately enables it to subvert the rom-com formula. 

BEST PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON MOVIES RANKED

2. Phantom Thread (2017)

Anderson’s most recent feature, Phantom Thread, reaffirmed his status one of cinema's preeminent modern masters. Phantom Thread is a wonderfully realized character study that delights and harrows audiences in equal measure. 

The delightful: production designer Mark Tildesley's set dressing and costume designer Mark Bridges' character clothing, which both masterfully convey rich period detail. The harrowing: the film's ending, which makes its sometimes slow-burn pace well worth sticking through.

BEST PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON MOVIES RANKED

1. There Will Be Blood (2007)

There Will Be Blood is one of the greatest films of the 21st century. The movie stars Daniel Day-Lewis as an ambitious oil driller who becomes embroiled in the ongoings of a complicated California settlement. 

Much of There Will Be Blood revolves around the epistemological quandary of faith versus knowledge and the religious and capitalistic structures that surround them.

Up Next

Paul Thomas Anderson Directing Style

Now that we’ve ranked PT Anderson’s best movies, why don’t we dig deeper into his style as a director? In this article, that’s exactly what we do, by looking at how he uses technique to create singular visions. Up next, we have “Paul Thomas Anderson Movies and Directing Style.”

Up Next: PT Anderson Style →