Philip Seymour Hoffman is synonymous with Paul Thomas Anderson | TIFF 2021

Adam Nayman overviews the two-decade collaboration between director Paul Thomas Anderson and his great friend, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman — from PTA’s feature directorial debut, HARD EIGHT, to the culmination of their work together in THE MASTER (Anderson’s self-proclaimed favourite film that he’s made).

This November 25–28, Adam Nayman returns to TIFF Bell Lightbox for the four-film programme “Paul Thomas Anderson: Evolution of a Master.” Size matters in the films of Paul Thomas Anderson, and the increasing visual and thematic scope of his work is illustrated by these 35mm and 70mm presentations tracing his evolution from big, unwieldy indie-cinema talent to a refined, mature American master. From the pyrotechnical brilliance of his sophomore breakthrough, Boogie Nights, to the elliptical psychic case study of The Master, to the wry fairy-tale riffage of Phantom Thread, Anderson has always crafted images strong and detailed enough to match his ideas. With introductions by critic Adam Nayman, author of the acclaimed 2020 book Paul Thomas Anderson: Masterworks, and a screening of David Lean’s 1949 romance The Passionate Friends, a major influence on Phantom Thread, this series seeks to honour these movies’ monumental accomplishments.

For tickets, visit tiff.net