LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Paul Thomas Anderson: Mark Wahlberg
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Paul Thomas Anderson’s sophomore film still astonishes with its virtuosity. I’ve yet to track down Legs McNeil’s harsh book about the realities of porn production in America in the 70s, but even in the John Holmes bio on the 2nd disc of Wonderland, there are hints that a very much rose-tinted view of the era is being presented here. Until the 1980s arrive, of course, and it all goes to hell in a handbasket. The clips of John Holmes talking to camera and defending porn are as hilarious as Mark Wahlberg’s deft impersonation of them (of course, Wahlberg had access to this material, as did Anderson, which allows them to recreate the “blocking the sex scenes” incident almost verbatim).
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Paul Thomas Anderson’s oil epic will broaden out Friday to 375-400 locations in 75 markets, the stiffest test yet for the Paramount Vantage/Miramax co-venture. While early returns are strong, it is an open question whether smaller cities will spark to the film, whose 158-minute running time and dark, violent mood could be hurdles.
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Originally entitled Sydney, the film was renamed after the production company Rysher Entertainment took it away from Paul Thomas Anderson for re-editing. In the end, the director’s cut was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1996. While Anderson prefers his original title, the film has since been marketed and distributed as Hard Eight. This has been widely documented; among other resources, see Sharon Waxman’s Rebels on the Backlot (New York: HarperCollins, 2005), pp. 89-91, and James Mottram’s The Sundance Kids (London: Faber and Faber, 2006), p. 145, for further details.
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Mark Wahlberg