Just a footnote: the yacht Freddy first encounters Wadsworth on is the USS Sequoyah, a former Presidential yacht. I am very fond of this film and a Navy vet. The torpedo coolant Freddy consumes is a wood alcohol and actually killed or brain damaged many sailors in WW2.

Watched it for the fourth time recently. It’s one of my all-time favorites and I could talk about it for hours.

I rewatched this film before this review so i could compare what was seen, and the contrast between sea and land along with the magician charming his way into the kingdom analogies/symbolisms missed me completely. But now "seen", adds more layers to this film to appreciate. This is one of those rare films where all of the elements come together brilliantly into a masterpiece

I love the opening of this film. It was one of those moments where I realized I hadn't heard a single word of dialogue, but I was already engrossed just by the visual storytelling.

Boy, you sure show a lot of depth in your reviews, Josh. I've been so impressed with your reviews, I joined Letterboxd because of you. No doubt, The Master, is a very well crafted film, and I love the three main actors. But this movie was very uncomfortable for me and I'm not sure I can get past that to watch it again.

Yet another movie I overlooked on release that I have added to my list of movies to watch... soon.

I think that one of the strongest moments in the entire movie is its ending (Freddy's dialogues with Master and the prostitute). It shows that Freddy is finally cured and he doesn't need a master anymore. Thus, the question the movie asks is: Why and how did that happen?

There is a lot going on ... 'master'ful balance b/n Joaquin and Phillip (my fave performance by him) ... Greenwood score for sure (just like There Will Be Blood), awesome! ... so interesting you mention Best Years of Our Lives, one of my absolute favorites, never made that connection! I've seen this movie 3-4 times and I always find it so captivating that I really even haven't broken it down/conceived of it in its cinematic elements. Rivals TWBB as a film experience. Your analysis of the sea and travel in this movie is fantastic, and yes one can assess the Scientology element, but i've frankly never considered it, in the sense that there's so much depth in general here about religion, psychology, and human experience (not to mention addictions) that specific identification wasn't needed. Great association with Clockwork Orange, never occurred to me neither. I think the overall odd or absurd ongoings and discussions in the movie is intoxicating in itself; inhabiting the strange worlds and perspectives of these characters in a cult-like envelope. The relationship between Freddie and Dodd and how they mirror secret sides of themselves in this post-war, religious, and the complex and evolving sociological setting of 'America' seems nearly bottomless for interpretation. Again your analysis is absolutely fantastic and the choice of movies you've brought in as references and comparison points is brilliant - you've certainly got me excited to view and live in the world of this film again!

It was so interesting for you to connect this movie and the Thin Red Line because both of these movies probably had the strongest cinematic impact on me in the last twenty years. Both movies are the tops, masterworks imo. Hoffman and Phoenix were incredible. I became a Joaquin Phoenix fan because of this movie. I will go see anything directed by PTA.

Love The Master.

Great deep analysis really liked it! I loved the movie.

Love the comparisons to classic Hollywood films. Hadnt thought of Citizen Kane

You looked at this film from a lot of different angles, with many references which I'd never considered before. I agree that the film 'synchs up a lot with film history'. You mention both classical and New Hollywood films. The narration in The Master's trailer, which mentions that the veterans have a 'condition' that other people will not understand, and that they also have a responsibility, and they might open a filling station or grocery store or raise chickens, is taken from an actual informational film commissioned by the US war effort, directed by John Huston. Huston is a director who both made films that define classic Hollywood and, in the sixties and seventies, films that reflect the vernacular of New Hollywood, with Under the Volcano and Wise Blood each having themes, such as alcohol and living as an extroverted 'character', and religious fanaticism and mental instability and drifting, that resonate with The Master. Huston was a big adapter of literature, and PTA has been described as a particularly literary American director. Since I read the novel The Moviegoer I have associated its protagonist's idea of what he calls "the search" with that of "the cause" in The Master, even though they don't have much specifically in common. One thing that PTA has spoken of as a theme in The Master is how, in the post-war moment in which it takes place, there was simultaneously so much interest in outward-looking, expansionary technology, summed up by the space race, and in inward-looking development, as seen in the ascension of psychoanalysis in America, and also in a phenomenon like Scientology. To me, The Master resembles a Jack Nicholson seventies road movie more than an actual mid-forties Hollywood movie. But, as you say, it is a difficult film. Everything I mentioned so far is more so something that glancingly reflects what The Master itself actually is like. It's a very memorable film, but I don't think it actually works that well. Licorice Pizza seems to have disappointed some of PTA's fans because it is so much less memorable a film than The Master, but I think that on its much more simple terms, it is a film that works, while it's less clear that The Master does.

Hi, I love your content! It would be great if you would do an Inherent Vice review. Like most people, I think, I just can’t figure out what is going on with the film.

Thanks so much, Josh. I really love this film, and you have given me many more things to consider. I like your approach. First video of yours that I have seen. Subscribed! Looking forward to more. The intelligent comments being added here are a tribute to your insightful approach.

I guess might point of reference might be laughable, but watching this movie (years ago) I thought that it best captures the energy and duality of the Sagittarius sign. Both male figures represent the different sides of this archetype, one being the philosopher (higher self) and the other being the savage/free man (lower self), but also magician. What I like about how they are represented is that Freddie is supposed to be the shadow side of the archetype and Dodd, the brighter side, but the film gives them equal shades of light and dark.

Please make one episode of There will be blood

Masterpiece, for me same level of There Will be Blood

Can we all agree that Joaquin Phoenix might have just a little bit of talent

A

I had mixed feelings on this one, it's undoubtedly very well made, beautifully photographed film with a lot of allusions to various things. I never felt it transcended the sum of it's well made parts, it just kind of spluttered to a halt. I know I'm going to be in a class of one here, but I found Phoenix's (and to a lesser extent Seymour-Hoffman's) constant scenery chewing irritating, no nuance at all, you always know they are ACTING!