I’ve seen this film before but I had vowed to watch it again and this time in full enriched Bluray vision.

Not only do the incredible visuals discover a proper medium to advertise the sheer scale of early 20th century Southern California, but also defines further clarity in one of the more visceral soundtracks of recent times. Those familiar with Nick Caves score in The Proposition will appreciate the gutsy, unconventional violence indicated by the music here and it clearly demonstrates the harsh reality of a time where brutal conditions ran alongside ruthless ambition where simple men became giants of discovery and industry. As the wife indicated in our co-viewing, the music was good enough to tell the story without visual aid.

As for the story itself, there’s approximately 10 minutes of dialogue free film in the beginning and testament to the storytelling pace that it takes no words to cement your attention, it really is an amazing tale that has you sympathising with the hard nosed ethic of Lewis, ridden free of all morality in his pursuit of riches.

This is Daniel Day-Lewis as you’ve never seen him before.