Punch-drunk Love – Criterion (UHD)

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson and Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Country: United States
Running Time: 95 min
Year: 2002

“What’s your favourite film?” It’s a question that most people will have been asked at least once in their lives, and for some people, it’s a simple question. For others, it can be like choosing a favourite child. While my answer flip-flops constantly, there’s a series of films that will always remain up there as a possible go-to answer. Buffalo ‘66. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Blue Velvet. Dog Day Afternoon. Punch-drunk Love. In many ways, Punch-drunk Love is my favourite of the bunch and I can’t even begin to express the excitement when I heard about Criterion’s plans to release the film on 4K UHD. I missed out on the Columbia Classics box-set that Sony included the film in, so I immediately knew I had to cover it for the site. Apologies in advance if I ramble on in this piece, but the film’s incredibly special to me. 

Punch-drunk Love is the fourth film from filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, a name that most people will be familiar with for his acclaimed features like Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread and The Master. PDL has always felt like an anomaly in his filmography for how different it is, compared to the traditional PTA feature. It’s a 90 minute romantic-comedy starring Adam Sandler. Nowadays, people are more familiar with Sandler’s dramatic chops thanks to films like Uncut Gems, Reign over Me and Hustle, but at the time, this seemed like such a bizarre casting choice. Anderson went on record stating that he wanted to do it because he loves Sandler’s comedies and it’s completely obvious when watching Punch-drunk Love. 

The film follows Barry (Adam Sandler)  a salesman who owns a business selling a series of assorted items, such as plungers, and his blossoming romance with Lena (Emily Watson), while he deals with harassment from Dean Trumbell (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), a man who owns a mattress store and operates a sketch phone-sex line behind the scenes. 

There’s few films quite like Punch-drunk Love, in particular due to how it makes me feel. The entire experience feels like a rollercoaster, opening with Barry on a quiet, awkward phone call in regards to a promotion involving pudding. Moments later, we’re startled by a car accident that’s played like a jumpscare of sorts and I think it perfectly summarises the experience the viewer’s in for. Anderson’s never scared to pull the rug from under the viewer, incorporating gorgeous artwork from Jeremy Blake at intervals in the film that have a surrealist feel to them, and then putting you on the edge of your seat with Jon Brion’s eccentric score. A lot of people said that Uncut Gems made them feel overstimulated and anxious during their viewings of that film, and I think the same can be said for Punch-drunk Love. Brion’s anxiety-inducing score is one of my favourites, perfectly placing us into the mind of Barry during these moments where he doesn’t quite feel in control of what’s going on. Whether it’s his sisters treating him like dirt, or the troubles that the phone-sex line which he called in a moment of loneliness are being forced upon him, the score nails that anxiousness perfectly. 

It’s never explicitly mentioned in the film, but Barry seems to be neurodivergent, with hints of him being autistic or having bipolar disorder, and it’s one of the most authentic portrayals of this I’ve seen in a film. It nails the little ticks, the moments where you’re trying to express yourself but can’t find the right words so well that I wish it was brought up more in conversations. Fear not, for this is no I am Sam. There’s also the fan theories about the film regarding it being an unofficial Superman origin story, that may sound silly at first, but there’s multiple similarities between the superhero and Barry’s story. Super-strength, a love interest with the initials LL, Barry’s blue suit and Lena’s red dress forming the basis for the Superman costume, there’s a lot that makes it feel more intentional than you’d expect. 

The performances across the board are excellent, with Sandler giving his best work here. In a lot of ways, the character of Barry isn’t too different to what you’d see in a typical Sandler film. A man who wants to be with a woman but has emotional outbursts throughout. It almost feels like Anderson is taking that Sandler formula and flipping it on its head, while giving us a compelling, realistic character to root for at the same time. Watson’s delightful as Lena, offering the inverse of Sandler’s loud moments with her delicate performance. Phillip Seymour Hoffman deserves a mention too, despite only being in around four scenes in the film. His antagonistic performance is impossible to look away from, with a particular phone call scene involving him and Sandler that might be one of my favourite pieces of acting ever. You’ll know it when you see it. 

I could continue gushing about the film, but for those who haven’t seen it, I wouldn’t want to spoil the experience of watching it for the first time. Punch-drunk Love is one of the most beautiful pieces of filmmaking I’ve experienced in my life. It always makes me tear up with its third act. It’s something that takes a lot out of me with each viewing, but makes me feel in ways that few films are able to. For most, I doubt it’d be their favourite Paul Thomas Anderson film, and I completely get it. It’s nowhere near as epic in scale to something like There Will Be Blood, but this smaller, more personal tale means the fucking world to me. It’s perfect in every way and implore everybody to give it a shot. Even if you think the concept of a rom-com starring Adam Sandler seems unbearable, I promise that it’s worth watching. If you can’t tell, I might love this film. Full marks for one of my favourite films. Watch it, watch it, watch it!

Film:  

Punch-drunk Love arrives on 4K UHD Blu-ray February 10th via Criterion. They previously released the title on Blu-ray in the UK, so this release brings over all of the content on that initial release while offering a native 4K presentation of the film, with Dolby Vision HDR. Criterion’s Blu-ray has always been one of my go-to discs for highlighting the best that Blu-ray has to offer, with an outstanding transfer and audio mix but somehow, Criterion were able to blow it away with this release. Image quality is phenomenal, giving you the chance to notice every piece of detail you’d want from the film, with extremely high bit-rates and perfect HDR implementation. Seeing Lena’s red dress with Dolby Vision is one of the most stunning things I’ve seen on the format. The Dolby Atmos audio mix is unbelievable too, taking an already great mix on the Blu-ray release and improving it to take full advantage of your audio set-up. It’s a flawless audio and video presentation and I couldn’t recommend it enough. Note: The transfer seems to be identical to the one included in Sony’s Columbia Classics box-set with the film, so it might not be essential if you already own that disc. The following extras are included:

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Paul Thomas Anderson, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack

One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features

Blossoms & Blood, a short piece by Anderson featuring Adam Sandler and Emily Watson, with music by Jon Brion

Interview with Brion

Behind-the-scenes footage of a recording session for the film’s soundtrack

Conversation between curators Michael Connor and Lia Gangitano about the art of Jeremy Blake

Additional artwork by Blake

Cannes Film Festival press conference

NBC News interview with David Phillips, the “pudding guy”

Scopitones

Deleted scenes

Mattress Man commercial

Trailers

English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

PLUS: An essay by filmmaker, author, and artist Miranda July

Cover by Dustin Stanton

All of the bonus features included on this release are identical to Criterion’s previous release, which was reviewed on the site back when it was released (read that review here) so I’ll go over each extra briefly.

Blossoms & Blood is a twelve minute short film of sorts, incorporating unused footage from Punch-drunk Love, alongside Brion’s score to create a companion piece that’s a stunning watch. It won’t be for everyone, but fans of the feature should absolutely give this one a watch to highlight the more surrealist tendencies of PTA. 

The interview with composer Jon Brion is an interesting, insightful piece that lasts for 27 minutes. It features Brion talking about how unique the process of scoring Punch-drunk Love was compared to a typical production. Hearing him talk about the process of getting the harmonium for the film is delightful. It’s a great watch. Also included is a 10 minute piece of Brion composing the film at Abbey Road Studios that’s another treat. Brion’s extras are fantastic. 

There’s a 20 minute conversation with curators Michael Connor and Lia Gangitano about the art of Jeremy Blake, who created some fantastic artwork for Punch-drunk Love. It’s an interesting piece by Connor and Gangitano, who clearly have a great admiration for Blake and his work. Worth a watch. The video piece with Blake’s additional artwork runs for 3 minutes. 

Twelve scopitones are included and collectively run for 6 and a half minutes. 

There are two pieces centered around the Cannes Film Festival press conference. The studio interviews last for 7 minutes and feature the cast and Anderson discussing the film. The press conference runs for 37 minutes and features the cast and crew answering questions about the film from an audience. Both of these are great but the press conference is by far the standout, featuring an excellent variety of topics such as where the title comes from, what inspired PTA to direct a romantic film as well as the casting of Sandler. Hearing PTA state “E.T. is pretty sexy” was hilarious. 

The interview with David Phillips on NBC News is a great inclusion. Phillips was the key inspiration for Barry’s pudding purchases for the flying miles and this five minute interview features Phillips explaining how he discovered the loophole. A fun watch. 

Two deleted scenes are included, titled The Sisters Call and “Are you from California?’ and are sourced from what seems to be a DVD print of the film. They’re both fascinating but you can see why they were cut for pacing issues. Together, they run for around ten minutes. 

The Mattress Man commercial is hilarious and features Phillip Seymour Hoffman in character as ‘the Mattress Man’ as he advertises D&D Mattress. It’s only a minute long but features an incredible fall that has to be seen. 

Three trailers are included. 

I wasn’t provided with a copy of the essay by Miranda July but it seems to be identical to what was included with Criterion’s Blu-ray release.

Criterion’s 4K UHD release for Punch-drunk Love doesn’t add anything new in the extras department, but the native 4K transfer is a must for fans of Paul Thomas Anderson or the film itself. A must own release.

Disc/Packaging:  

Where to watch Punch-drunk Love