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Someone on Cigarettes and Red Vines had a solid theory on the two posters thusfar - Phoenix's character is very creative with his alcoholic concoctions, as shown in the trailer - the first poster could represent the "torpedo juice," as he put it, while the second poster represents drunken vision from drinking it. But we'll see, of course.

Just to complete the cycle of speculation about the film's runtime, it's been confirmed by the Venice Film Festival to be 150 minutes, or 2 and a half hours, on the dot.

This L.A. Times article has some more detail on reactions from the screening. One reaction:

I wasn't disappointed by the performances. I did feel the editing showed some mysterious gaps in explanation, as certain important scenes did not have any lead-up to them or you were left wondering where a certain character suddenly appeared from.

My father had an issue realizing who's child H.W. is the first time he saw There Will Be Blood, and I had some momentary confusion about whether or not Eli Sunday was actually the 'Paul Sunday' who visited Plainview to tip him off to their oil. It becomes clear pretty quickly that they're twins, but I have noticed that Anderson's recent trend of very economical editing (There Will Be Blood is a film that is quite long but one that is as tight as a drum - there's no more room to cut that film down despite its length) might be to his detriment in some cases. But it's also possible that Joyner wasn't following along closely, or that what was shown wasn't the final cut that'll be screening in Venice, since there was some runtime confusion (many said it was closer to 2 hours and 10 minutes long). So we'll see.

I'm glad to hear that it's got such a monster length, it seems like a subject that requires it

Very excited about this new project. I'm still trying to determine if there's any contextual significance to the release poster. The new poster probably reflects the drunken-ness of each character—how they're seeing the world around them in a bug-eyed way, a world where duplicity abounds. Not to mention the intoxicating effects of The Master's new philosophy and textual influence!

The latest poster image is essentially the three main characters as seen through a prism, indicating that they are multifaceted or have numerous sides to their personalities. Given that the first poster image appeared to be a bottle, I took the second one to represent a view through a beveled decanter (in keeping with the alcohol motif).

FINAL FINAL runtime released: 137 minutes (aka 2 hours and 17 minutes).

Good news for Boston area folks: it looks like this will be playing in 70mm at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, to open Sept. 21. (I've got some other obligations that weekend, unfortunately, but I'll definitely be reserving tickets for the following weekend as soon as they go on sale.)

Special early screening in Chicago goes on sale in 5 minutes. It's tomorrow night at the Music Box.

Only $10 a ticket! Buy them here.

Some disturbing, stalkerish comments on that last youtube video...

Just got back from the Chicago screening.

Really wonderful film. Despite the long run time and big subject matter, the story really feels like a blip in the lives of the characters. Sort of a series of slow revelations about their personalities through different situations and interactions. The typical ridicule and critique that Scientology usually generates is brought up, but only as a way of building up their world and showing why they have such need for insularity. The actual criticisms the film makes to run much deeper into the mentalities of the people involved and I would say extend far beyond just Scientology.

I also thought it was great that they could pull out ridiculous lines like

Spoiler

"If I see you in my next life, you will be my sworn enemy"

And have them play completely seriously without getting so much as a peep out of a rather giggly audience.

Ultimately I wished the film had been much much longer, but I was extremely satisfied with everything that was in it.

" ....and while Anderson has hinted before at a pessimistic worldview, “The Master” may be his most subtle example of such, while leaving viewers to decide within his brilliant, disorienting latest whether he actually means it in the end."

The Playlist review of "The Master."

Apparently there were two surprise 70mm screenings in New York last night at Film Forum and Museum of the Moving Image.

I hope they hold a 70mm screening somewhere bigger - nothing against Film Forum, Music Box or MoMI, I love 'em all, but it seems a shame to shoot something in 70mm and have it confined to relatively small theatrical screens. Availability of 70mm projectors may make that tough, but still...

A bit random, but I'm glad Jeremy Renner left this. It's probably going to be a great role for Joaquin, but I'd imagine if Renner took it he'd be type-cast as "the crazy guy" for the rest of his life.

hearthesilence wrote:I hope they hold a 70mm screening somewhere bigger - nothing against Film Forum, Music Box or MoMI, I love 'em all, but it seems a shame to shoot something in 70mm and have it confined to relatively small theatrical screens. Availability of 70mm projectors may make that tough, but still...

Have you been to the renovated MoMI? The main screen there is enormous. Not quite Imax but definitely one of the biggest I've ever seen in an art house or repertory theater.
As for Film Forum, I'm 99% sure they're not equipped to play 70mm, and the screens there are indeed quite small, (handkerchiefs, as they say in France) so I'm a little surprised by this news.

FerdinandGriffon wrote:

hearthesilence wrote:I hope they hold a 70mm screening somewhere bigger - nothing against Film Forum, Music Box or MoMI, I love 'em all, but it seems a shame to shoot something in 70mm and have it confined to relatively small theatrical screens. Availability of 70mm projectors may make that tough, but still...

Have you been to the renovated MoMI? The main screen there is enormous. Not quite Imax but definitely one of the biggest I've ever seen in an art house or repertory theater.

MoMI? I don't know, I was there to see The Man with the Golden Arm just last year and I thought it was comparable to what I'd see in theater 3 or 4 at BAM. A decent size, certainly bigger than Music Box in Chicago, but I think I can see Promethesus at the Regal right now on a much bigger screen that isn't IMAX.

I Lost My Ship and there's a screening in San Fransisco tomorrow. :-"

Exclusive poster at last night's San Fransisco screening

A little bird told me that there was a 70mm DTS showing of THE MASTER at BAFTA a few days ago. So there is a 70mm print in the UK. I wonder which London cinema will be showing it when it comes out in November?

Release information (is being updated as info comes in)

Clip that Amy Adams brought with her to Letterman last night

Wow, awesome that it's playing Silver Springs, I thought we were gonna have to go out of state to see this in 70mm