Hard Eight: The Noble Samurai

Hard Eight, Paul Thomas Anderson's first feature film, is a case study in complex character portrayal.

[@777jones]

Good analysis. I saw Hard Eight on the silver screen in an empty theater in about 2002 in college.

[@kikosantos-us1dr]

one of my favorites movie

[@SMacCuUladh]

you don't understand movies because you don't understand people. live life for a while and then do your musings.

[@cine-mechanic8589]

On the contrary, I've been everything from secure financially to "literally" homeless. I've watched someone attempt suicide in my own apartment and have seen the souls sucked out of good friends by the Hollywood machine. Oh and I've been wrongfully imprisoned in case that wasn't enough, as well as a boatload of other existential madness that is too much to list here... I have lived far more "life" than your average human. But thanks for watching anyway.

[@SMacCuUladh]

@@cine-mechanic8589 wow, you should have a more nuanced appreciation for film if that's the case. I mean no insult by the way, perhaps you do, I just didn't feel it in this video.

[@anantambisht4895]

​@@cine-mechanic8589 that was way too much to tell to a stranger

[@ric21122]

Great analysis! Loved this movie. Masterfully done.

[@cine-mechanic8589]

Thank you

[@SECRETARIATguy224]

Great work. Enjoyed watching.

[@cine-mechanic8589]

Thank you!

[@plissken2156]

Always wondered if P.T. Anderson made Hard Eight as an unofficial sequel to the 1988 movie Midnight Run. In that movie, Philip Baker Hall also played a character named Sidney who associated with and advised mob bosses in Las Vegas. At the end of Midnight Run, Sidney's boss, Jimmy Serrano (played by the late Dennis Farina) gets arrested by the F.B.I. for racketeering. Could it be that at this point, Sidney disappeared and laid low for a few years before returning to Vegas to free-lance as a security advisor for the casinos? It would kind of make sense. Incidentally, Philip Baker Hall also plays a character named Sidney in 1996's Eye for an Eye, but that movie's plot had very little to do with that of Midnight Run or Hard Eight.

[@Hard_Boiled_Entertainment]

Supposedly it is! The story goes that P.T.A. saw Midnight Run and found himself very drawn to Hall's character, to the point where he ended up thinking about the idea of a film centered on Sidney. And the rest is history.

[@Chaoticmass]

Underappreciated movie, from an underappreciated channel. Subscribed!

[@cine-mechanic8589]

Thank you!

[@Monkeybbstaxx]

Very underappreciated. Nice analysis

[@deadlyoneable]

Great movie. Rewatched it again today. I still love the Phillip Seymour Hoffman scene. It’s one of my favorites scenes all time from any movie. I’m surprised you didn’t mention that gem within the main plot. I know it has nothing to do with it but it deserves mentioning me thinks.

[@gnolan4281]

It's not hard to understnd how this movie could put P.T.A. on the road to "Boogie Nights which was a superb job & the casting was astonishing. Bert Reynolds never did a single thing for me until I saw his flawless performance concerning the goings on in a superficial demi-monde where stars have somerhing wonderful going on down there just waiting to get out. Greetings from Colombia.

[@samfilmkid]

Hard Eight becomes even more interesting when you watch the 80's Buddy Crime Comedy "Midnight Run." PBH plays the "consigliere" to a ruthless Vegas Casino Boss/Gangster who wants revenge on an accountant who defrauded his family. Hall's character is always telling him to sit it out, to let this one go and not get involved in a case that so many law enforcement agencies are watching, but of course the boss doesn't listen to him and the boss ends up getting arrested and his whole operation shut down. The name of Hall's character? Sidney.

[@watcherofthewest8597]

better than all PTAS films except Phantom Thread and Blood. I wouldve loved to see Hall in more roles like this one.

[@FRATZROCKET]

That was great. Spot on.

[@cine-mechanic8589]

Thanks

[@donnamicci9996]

Just two days ago I saw an interview with William H. Macy and he was talking about Boogie Nights. He mentioned that he had seen Paul Thomas Anderson's first film, Hard Eight. I saw a Hard Eight last night. I thought it was excellent! The only thing is that I was curious why the Philip Baker Hall character told the John Riley character that he loved him. Any comment? By the way, very, very nice video. Nicely done!

[@AndrewIsbell]

I figured it was because he was about to kill Jimmy which was a risky endeavor and if things went wrong Sydney might have been killed, or his secret might have been leaked to John. So Sydney wanted to tell John his feelings towards him before either of those bad outcomes could occur. Of course he really did love him like a father.

[@bigkrutherford]

My second fave PTA behind TWBB

[@shessoheavy6130]

He's a great filmmaker. Underappreciated really. The masses aren't even aware of who he is. Not that they know films anyway.

[@user-uw3fr7cd9z]

Amazing analysis dude

[@cine-mechanic8589]

Hey thanks.

[@AndrewIsbell]

Great insight about how Sydney got revenge on Jimmy for forcing him to reflect, and that was the meaning of the final shot. Like the movie's soundtrack, the music in this video is great. The timbre of your voice is very nice as well. However the samurai comparison is shallow and this video would have been better if you dropped that and chose a different name

[@miguellasala5765]

Have you had any issues with using copyrighted material on your channel? Can you still be monetized? I visited some movie locations recently and want to use some movie footage inter cut on my video. Thanks,

[@llmallia]

Great Analysis!! Greetings from Argentina

[@cine-mechanic8589]

Greetings! Thank you.

[@glennjacobs6788]

Dude you need way more subscribers

[@cine-mechanic8589]

Appreciate the kind words.

[@4thlinemaniac356]

Terrible and Stupid take on such A great character and Movie. Clearly Sidney chose two people who Reminded him of the Temperament of his missing children. Feeling Alone and Far Away Sidney felt He'd helped people who Reminded him of his own children. Anybody who has burried children could identify.

[@SowingSeedsWithChristy]

I usually watch movies for mere enjoyment, on the surface, but appreciate how you broke that down.