Over the last two decades, Paul Thomas Anderson has emerged as one of America's great filmmakers. Nearly twenty years ago, Anderson directed Boogie Nights at age 26, cementing a reputation as a young Scorsese of Southern California's San Fernando Valley. Now his oeuvre is one of dysfunctional families, an American past filled with greed and corruption, and some of the most memorable performances of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. This class series looks at the work of the cinematic master known affectionately to his fans as "PTA" - from his early short film work to his recent adaption of Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice.