10 Directors Who Started Movies The Same Way

Paul Thomas Anderson loves starting his movies with a patient, gorgeous montage which introduces us to the protagonist without having them personally say much of anything at all.

Anderson most notably employed this technique in There Will Be Blood, which details the early life of Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) as a prospector in a mesmerising 14-minute sequence without a single line of dialogue being spoken.

In The Master, Anderson similarly has protagonist Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) speak just a single line in the opening six minutes - about how to get rid of crabs, of all things - while featuring him in a number of peculiar situations.

Anderson's most recent film, Phantom Thread, similarly introduced audiences to Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis) through a montage depicting the day-to-day operations of his fashion house, and it's an entire four minutes before he says anything more than a passing greeting to anyone.

It's an infinitely more interesting and creative way to acquaint viewers with a character, focusing more on what they do and how they do it rather than just talking ad nauseum.