'Inherent Vice' director Anderson among the modern greats

I saw "Magnolia" in January 2000 in Champaign and my moviegoing life changed forever.

For three hours, I felt as if I had been transported back to the '70s, that era of sweeping, substantial films, a time when movies were made primarily for grown-ups. It was fiercely funny, incredibly sad, cinematically thrilling and rough around the edges. I was in love.

That's the power of writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson, whose latest film, "Inherent Vice," opens today in select theaters. Anderson's early films wear his deep affection for Martin Scorsese and Robert Altman on their sleeves, but the Studio City native has crafted a distinct, singular vision in the 2000s and beyond.

Here's how I'd rank PTA's six previous films:

6. "The Master" (2012) - Anderson swings for the fences in this gorgeous, but impenetrable, tale of a burned-out war vet (Joaquin Phoenix) seduced by a man who starts his own religion (Philip Seymour Hoffman). The parallels to Scientology are unmistakable, the 70 mm photography is luminous, and the performances are perfect - but what does it all mean? We may watch it a hundred times and still grasp for the answer. (Stream on Netflix; buy from iTunes, vudu)

5. "Hard Eight" (1996) - Anderson's first film is a Reno crime story about an old gambler with a secret (Philip Baker Hall), his unlikely protege (John C. Reilly), a cocktail waitress (Gwyneth Paltrow) and their dangerous new friend (Samuel L. Jackson). It's a compelling yarn told by four great actors, a perfect prelude to loftier films ahead. (Currently unavailable)

4. "Punch-Drunk Love" (2002) - Audiences expecting a typical Adam Sandler comedy were baffled by this off-putting, almost avant-garde love story about a rage-filled introvert (Sandler) who cashes in frequent-flier miles earned by buying pudding to follow a quirky acquaintance (Emily Watson) to Hawaii. Hoffman looms large in a small role as a mattress salesman/phone sex scammer. Yes, this is a strange one. (Stream on Netflix; rent from iTunes, YouTube)

3. "Boogie Nights" (1997) - Anderson's mainstream arrival, the beginning of Mark Wahlberg's movie stardom, Burt Reynolds' comeback, perhaps the defining role of Julianne Moore's career - "Boogie Nights" does for the porn industry what "GoodFellas" did for the mob. An instant classic, yet only the third-best film on this list. (Rent or buy from iTunes and Google Play; rent from Amazon or YouTube)

2. "There Will Be Blood" (2007) - Daniel Day-Lewis was the shoo-in of all shoo-ins at Oscar time for his portrayal of Daniel Plainview, an early 1900s oil tycoon who may be the ultimate capitalist. There are no fewer than four indelible sequences in this epic film, culminating in a final confrontation between the almighty dollar and The Almighty in, of all places, a bowling alley. (Stream on Netflix; rent or buy from iTunes, Google Play, vudu)

1. "Magnolia" (1999) - Tom Cruise's performance as a sex-fiend self-help guru got all the attention, but Reilly's performance as the clean-living L.A. cop at the center of Anderson's drug-fueled family saga is the true wonder. This film is alongside "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Amadeus" as one of my all-time favorites. (Buy from Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, vudu)

• Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald copy editor and a tireless consumer of pop culture. Follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.