Punch-Drunk Love [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Paul Thomas Anderson

Overview

Adam Sandler and Emily Watson star in Punch-Drunk Love, an odd romantic comedy from gifted young director Paul Thomas Anderson. Sandler plays Barry Egan, a shy sad-sack with a great deal of repressed anger that occasionally bursts forth in sudden violent outrages, who falls in love with Lena Leonard (Emily Watson), a co-worker of one of Barry's seven sisters. After calling a phone-sex line, Barry is extorted by bad-guy Dean Trumbell (Anderson regular Philip Seymour Hoffman), who eventually sends four goons to assault Barry and get the money. This film was screened in competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, where Paul Thomas Anderson was named Best Director.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/15/2016
UPC:	0715515188913
Original Release:	2002
Rating:	R
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:35:00
Sales rank:	3,844

Special Features

Restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by Director Paul Thomas Anderson, with 5.1 Surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack Blossoms & Blood, a short 2002 piece by Anderson featuring Adam Sandler and Emily Watson, along with music by Jon Brion New Interview with Brion New piece featuring behind-the-scenes footage of a recording session for the film's soundtrack New conversation between curators Michael Connor and Lia Gangitano about the art of Jeremy Blake used in the film Additional artwork by Blake Cannes Film Festival Press Conference from 2002 NBC News interview from 2000 with David Phillips, the "pudding guy" Twelve Scopitones Deleted Scenes Mattress Man Commercial Trailers Plus: An essay by filmmake, author, and artist Miranda July

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Adam Sandler	Barry Egan
Emily Watson	Lena Leonard
Philip Seymour Hoffman	Dean Trumbell
Luis Guzman	Lance
Mary Lynn Rajskub	Elizabeth
Lisa Spector	Susan
Nicole Gelbard	Nicole,Richard/Brother-in-Law
Mia Weinberg	Gilda
Karen Hermelin	Anna,Kathleen
Robert Smigel	Walter
Hazel Mailloux	Rhonda
Ashley Clark	`Georgia,' Phone Sex Sister
David Stevens	David,Jim,Nate,Mike D.
Rico Bueno	Rico
Salvador Curiel	Sal
Jorge Barahona	Jorge
Ernesto Quintero	Ernesto
Larry Ring	Steve/Brother-in-Law
David Schrempf	Customer No. 1
Seann Conway	Customer No. 2
Julius Steuer	Mechanic
Carol Martinez	Phone Sex Girl No. 1/Utah
June Sepulveda	Phone Sex Girl No. 2/Utah
Andrew Higgs	Restaurant Manager
Rogerlyn Kanealii Wakinekona	Lena's Apartment Receptionist
Catherine L. Cooley	Flight Attendant
Michael Immel	Man on Plane
Ross Lasi Tanoai	Cab Driver
Jonathan Loughran	Wrong Number
Sissy Lake	Hula Dancer
Marie Irwin	Lena's Nurse
Esther Imade Balogun	Receptionist Nurse
Tom Bornt	Dean's Employee
Mary Kilmartin	D&D Mattress Customer
Alan Parry	Member of After Eden Band
John E. Beck	Member of After Eden Band
Eddie Wayne Howell	Member of After Eden Band
Taylor J. Thomas	Member of After Eden Band
Bobby Bluehouse	After Eden Sound Man
Kaila	Member of Ladies K Band
Ku'Ulei	Member of Ladies K Band
Jon Brion	Composer

Technical Credits

Paul Thomas Anderson

Paul Thomas Anderson	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
Tim Alexander	Special Effects
Lou Carlucci	Special Effects
Allan Graf	Stunts
Jeff Jarvis	Special Effects
Steve Kelso	Stunts
Cassandra Kulukundis	Casting
Daniel Lupi	Producer
Joanne Sellar	Producer

Editorial Reviews

A sweet yet anti-romantic comedy sharing some of the quirky sensibilities of The Royal Tenenbaums, Punch-Drunk Love marks a major creative step for both writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson and star Adam Sandler. The story centers on regular schlub Barry Egan (Sandler), who is so beaten down by life and his seven sisters that he is prone to obscene fits of rage. When Barry finds himself in a budding relationship with the more normal Lena (Emily Watson), the movie mulls the question of whether or not his personality disorder will jeopardize their love. Punch-Drunk's brilliance doesn't come from its plot, though, as evidenced by meandering subplots involving extortion, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and a whole lot of pudding. Rather, what makes this surprising film such a dizzy ride is its unremittingly warped sense of humor and Anderson's masterful use of Sandler. Unlike Happy Gilmore getting a laugh for beating up Bob Barker, here Barry, while on a date, gets booted from a restaurant because he chooses to vent his frustration on the establishment's restroom. What used to be funny for Sandler is suddenly tragic. Still, as he opens up to Watson and tries to get "better," we see that Barry is a much deeper, more emotional character than any Sandler has played before. Does that make for a big laugh or a romantic tear-jerker? The film's absurd romantic theme song -- Shelly Duvall warbling as Olive Oyl from the soundtrack of Robert Altman's Popeye (1980) -- might indicate that it's supposed to be a bit of both.

Barnes & Noble - Tony Nigro

While Punch-Drunk Love is aggressively idiosyncratic, it most certainly fits thematically with Paul Thomas Anderson's other works. Hard Eight is about a man creating a new family in order to overcome the guilt he feels for destroying his own; Boogie Nights is about creating a new family to escape the dysfunction of one's biological family; and Magnolia is about confronting and making peace with family members. Punch-Drunk is about a man so emotionally henpecked by his seven sisters that only the love of a woman can get him to break through the layers of defensiveness he has constructed around his inner self. Adam Sandler is superb as Barry Egan. Anderson has successfully integrated the violent subtext of Sandler's comedic persona and transformed that element of his personality from something that gets laughs into something that engenders sympathy and communicates deep psychological issues. Anderson's precise framings as well as his superb feel for sound and music are on display throughout the film. The style and substance of the film meld superbly throughout, but never more so than during the extended shot involving Barry talking to a phone sex operator. The single take communicates his lonesome existence by revealing the sparsely decorated rooms, while Sandler's performance in the scene expresses his desire to change as well as the difficulty he faces in his attempts to make those changes. The whole film is tight, controlled, and utterly charming. Disquietingly odd and richly emotional, Punch-Drunk Love continues to show why Paul Thomas Anderson may be the most interesting filmmaker of his generation.

All Movie Guide - Perry Seibert

1/2
Anderson orchestrates a comic romance like no other. The effect is intoxicating. Sandler and the movie will knock you for a loop.

Rolling Stone - Peter Travers

In this movie, you'll see Sandler like you've never seen him. He doesn't metamorphose into Kevin Spacey before your eyes. But he gives -- and this is easy to declare, and I don't care if they quote me -- the performance of his life.

Washington Post - Desson Howe

1/2
The film is exhilarating to watch because Sandler, liberated from the constraints of formula, reveals unexpected depths as an actor.

Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert

Entirely unpredictable and marked by audacious strokes of directorial bravado.

Variety - Todd McCarthy