There Will Be Blood (part 2)

I went to see this again last night, and my view broadened and deepened that this is one of the finest films in recent memory. I took a son who hadn't seen it before and the one who came with me the first time came too as, like me, he was keen to see it again.
The beginning has to be one of the most audacious ever attempted. Plainview is prospecting, alone, the camera follows his progress in close-up, and there's no dialogue. It's a brutal scene, and it gives us an astonishingly visceral picture of the lives of the people who forgedAmerica, and created its wealth. I noticed the sound this time - it gets you right into the heart of Plainview's world. Jonny Greenwood's music is crucial, dissonant, unearthly at times - it's the bedrock of the film.
The first time I saw the film I wasn't really aware that Paul Dano played 2 parts - Paul and Eli Sunday; I sort of knew but forgot, as Paul appears near the beginning, informing Daniel that there's oil on his family's land. Eli, of course is his brother, the preacher. It's deliberately confusing, I think, and I've seen it suggested that it's intentionally ambiguous; that we're never quite sure that Paul and Eli are distinctive characters - they could be two sides of the same person. It's an intriguing possibility, and perfectly plausible, given the intelligence and complexity with which the film is constructed.
It's a film of extraordinary richness, but I don't know if I could ever bring myself to watch it on DVD. It demands to be seen on the big screen. A masterpiece.