Gigante

George Steven's epic western GIANT, based on Edna Ferber's roman-fleuve about a wealthy Texas rancher household that spans over decades, rightfully won him a second Oscar for BEST DIRECTOR, but this is the sole trophy out of the picture's 10 nominations (although Mercedes McCambridge's coattail nomination is a fluke in hindsight, she has nothing to wield but a frosty front), mostly lost out to Michael Anderson's less time-honored AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1956), another taint forever besmirches the Academy's credibility.

The couple under the limelight is Jordan "Bick" Benedict Jr. (Hudson), the said rancher and his wife Leslie Lynnton (Taylor), a socialite from Maryland, who must adapt herself to the a completely different lifestyle but never flinches from her modern view of treating their Mexican employees (yes, they are referred as wetbacks) with equal respect, which collides with Bick's more entrenched racist frame of mind, and this "progressive East Coast vs. traditional Western Inland" leitmotif maintains as the pillar of the film and later evolves into Bick's epic defeat of his paternalistic arrangement in relation to their three children. Throughout, it is Bick's glacial change of his old-world attitude that flourishes during all the long years, Rock Hudson gives an endearingly no-nonsense impersonation that not unlike his first name, becomes a bedrock of the film, a pretense-free Texan learns to brave a new world that beyond his widest imagination and eventually transmutes into a better person, a titular "giant" in the end, even he is beaten up for standing up for the right cause, why it is so inspiring because it is a personal victory, and means the world to them, good deeds must be carried out no matter how formidable adversity looks, who can refute that?

Taylor, on the other hand, dazzles in Leslie's bluff honesty and impeccable integrity that makes us root for her right out of box, Leslie's life orbit is less tectonic, but incredibly, both she and Hudson acquit themselves convincingly under their senior makeup, to parent fresh-faces like Dennis Hopper and Carrol Baker, and a strong sense of affinity between the two never get attenuated, not even during their not-so-infrequent spats.

Of course, the biggest selling point is James Dean in his final picture, although for sentimental reasons, he received his second posthumous Oscar nomination in the leading actor category, but his indecipherable upstart Jett Rink is a substantial supporting character in the whole picture, and he would be a shoo-in to win if he could have competed in the category where his character truly belongs, however, his name had already become too big a legend to be relegated at that point. His portrayal of Jett, emphatically registers a false layer of insouciance that defies operatics, vaguely masks his touching vulnerability and troubling uneasiness towards the unattainable object of his desire, Leslie, whose footprint inadvertently strikes gold for him, but whose heart he can never conquer.

Thus, it is the black gold that sounds the death knell of the Western genre as we know it, Stevens and DP. William C. Mellor employ stunning imagery to exhibit the burgeoning modernization that invades the vastness where materialistic gain lies beneath and beckons, as an answer to the prior un-warped long shots which retain the Old West in its most august splendor, the cattle herd sequences, or the majestic take on Benedicts' singular mansion for instance, but at the end of the day, it is the story's sagacious message that transcends its racist, patriarchy milieu, and makes GIANT a culturally, historically and aesthetically significant American tome that takes us through an elemental learning-curve of open-mindedness and righteousness that flouts the specious "winner takes it all" precept, without forging its tangy nostalgia for a bygone era.

I'm no stick, but I have a colleague who is just ginormous, and listening to the guy eat is one of the reasons why I sometimes push away from the table. He sounds like he's death rattling when he eats potato chips.

Now, don't get me wrong, I think the world of this friend, but he needs to work a bit on the celery, breathe deeply between bites, and stop getting his fingers wet from slobber.

You're wondering where the hell I'm going with this, aren't you?

George Stevens' Giant is the cinematic equivalent of watching my friend eat snack food (and everything else that's not nailed or glued to the lunch table). It's so wheezy and falumpy and gasbaggish that, after three and a half hours of pork rinds and soap suds, you're ready for the movie-watching equivalent of a lap band around your stomach. Stevens takes so long to tell you that

a) Texas is a really big state

b) Ranching families are guaranteed to produce weird kids if the dad and mom are Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor

c) James Dean sure could mumble up a storm

d) Oil rigs suck

e) Bigots suck more

When the credits rolled at our house, and Rock Hudson finally figured out that the future of Texas actually included Mexicans (shock!), I looked around at the wife and daughter. We all had that glazed gaze that comes from too much cinematic goo and grease.

Our breathing was labored, our guts were bloated, and our fingers were all slobbery

Burp!

I am a sucker for long, sprawling epics about history or social issues. Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago are films I could watch on repeat. Now we can add 1956's Giant to the list. It's one of the only films to tell the story about Texas and how the state transitioned from the old-fashioned cattle/cowboy era to the modern oil industry. I adored every minute of this three-hour and twenty-one minute feature. Yes, it's long but it is a film that has big, ambitious ideas and characters you'll come to know and fall in love with.....just as I did.

The film is based off an Edna Ferber novel. If you are familiar with her work, you'll know that her books capture social injustice issues such as racism. In her book this movie was adapted from, she gave us big ideas to think about along the lines of racism and women's rights. From the 1920's to 1940's, the Mexican Americans on the ranches were treated with contempt and just a tad better than slaves. Also, the idea of a woman coming into an industry dominated by men and speaking her mind freely was something nearly unheard of. Like the book, the movie tackles these ideas and rather successfully. After all, the early-to-mid 1900's were changing times for the Lonestar State. I think the screenplay, written by Ivan Moffat and Henry Ginsberg, captured the tone and spirt of her vast epic.

The film was directed by George Stevens. If that name sounds familiar to you, maybe you have seen 1951's A Place in the Sun or the lovely 1936 film, Swing Time. Stevens handsomely directed the film and put together a very worthy cast. In his long career creating tons of good movies, it's hard to believe that he only won one Academy Award. That was for this movie and he deserved it. This is one of those movies that stand the test of time.

Giant tells the story than spans over two decades. It tells the story of poverty versus wealth, along with racial discrimination and deep feelings such as prejudice. All of this is centered around one Texas ranch- The Reata. The Reata is ran by his cattle baron Jordan Benedict (Rock Hudson) and his sister, Luz (Mercedes McCambridge). They run a tight ship and treat the Mexican Americans on their farm with disdain. When Benedict travels to Maryland to buy a beautiful stallion, he meets the even more beautiful Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor). The two get married and Leslie moves to the ranch where she makes it a life goal to institute social changes. Then there is the ranch hand, Jett Rink (James Dean) who is jealous of Jordan's success. When he strikes oil, he instantly becomes a billionaire. Not just these central characters, but how will the entire family take in all of these changes?

I loved the performances in the film. This film garnished Rock Hudson his only Academy Award nomination. He has always been an undervalued actor, but I loved his performance. There was a sequence towards the end, a fistfight at the cause of social injustice, and that shows his capability. Elizabeth Taylor previously worked with George Stevens in 1951's A Place in the Sun and showed how talented she was. Even though she was not Stevens's first choice for this picture, she once again rose to elite level. Then we have James Dean. Dean had his career cut extremely short due to his untimely death toward the end of this film's production. Stevens had another guy come in to dub the actor's lines which may have been why the film took more than a year in post-production. He captured the distrust of Jett Rink very well and easily showed that money cannot guarantee happiness. You may recognize other faces here. Dennis Hopper as Jordan's son, Carroll Baker as Jordan's daughter, and Rod Taylor as Sir David Karfrey.

The film is so beautiful to look at. Cinematographer William C. Mellor gave the deserts of Texas its own beauty. I felt so alive and even romantic gazing at the Texan landscape. I truly felt transported to another time and place. The music by Dmitri Tiomkin fits the epic format easily with recognizable themes.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed the vast movie that is Giant. It's one of the few early movies that gives it due to social causes like racism and women's rights. It harshly criticized the way of Texan life. I found it ironic that many Texans actually adored the movie when it came out. But based off an Edna Ferber novel, of course these themes will be prevalent. Beautiful landscapes, powerful acting from the lead trio, and great direction are just some of the reasons to see the movie. The movie tackles multiple generations, so be prepared to fall in love....or possibly hate some characters.

My Grade: A

In 1920s, a wealthy Texan cattle rancher (Rock Hudson) travels to East Coast in order to buy a prize horse. There he meets a woman (Elizabeth Taylor), the daughter of his soon-to-be business partner, who he ends up marrying after a quick romance. The movie follows their lives down in Texas as the seasons change and the old ways begin to give ground to the new century.

Giant is an epic. It covers years and years of time and deals with all the prominent themes and problems of those decades. Things like oil business, racial issues, societal status, responsibility of the rich to the poor, and so many others, make an appearance and are addressed in turn. Taylor's character is the voice of the new age, while Hudson's is the voice of the old and their interactions are the driving voice of the film.

And it works. It is a very interesting film to follow if you know anything about that particular span of history. The film is over three hours long, and can thus cover a lot of ground and give each subject its due time. Though that can be a problem as well. It is a very slow film, with deliberate, calm pacing. Nothing much really happens most of the time, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that things happen very slowly. Personally I found the film to be perhaps a bit too slow and deliberate, but if old epics are your thing, you'll definitely get what you're looking for.

Giant is to be applauded for its vision. It set out to tell a family saga in its full glory and in that regard it definitely delivers. From modern point of view it can a bit tedious, but I cannot in good faith condemn it for that.

The plot: Texas ranch owner Bick Benedict (Rock Hudson) travels to purchase a prize horse, but falls in love at first sight with the owner's pampered daughter Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor). He woos and wins her quickly, they marry, then travel back to his isolated ranch.

Leslie, after a rough start, proves herself quite the force of nature. Ranch hand Jett Rink (James Dean) falls into unrequited love with Leslie, uttering, in one scene, one of my favorite lines in the film, something like, "Mrs. Benedict, you sure do look right good enough to eat, yeah, good enough to eat...." (voice trails off and he looks like he's going to lick his lips) - and then when he strikes it rich with oil, he takes his bitterness out in several ways.

With a stellar supporting cast including Mercedes McCambridge, Sal Mineo, Carroll Baker, and Dennis Hopper, "Giant" is the original miniseries before anyone knew what a miniseries even was...except this is of course a classic film of the big screen, not a TV movie.

Directed by George Stevens, the sprawling epic (201 minutes, but it goes fast, believe me) beautifully covers two generations of family and a variety of issues, including marriage, family, childrearing, social snobbery and racism, the latter two being covered especially well. When in the mood for a well-paced, involved, alternately funny, sad, heartwarming, and emotionally fulfilling epic, "Giant" always fits the bill for me.

My favorite bit of trivia - Liz Taylor and Rock Hudson became fast friends on the set, and indulging together in partying/drinking binges most every night, after filming stopped. In the scene where the two are watching a marriage, the two actors had to stop during the filming several times to take turns going outside to throw up, as both were terribly hungover from the previous night's revelries.