Riding Giants

Wow! Stacy Peralta has followed up Dogtown and Z-Boys with an equally stunning documentary about the history of the big-wave surfing culture in America. Piecing together insider archival footage along with interviews from surfing legends, we are transported into the daring and free-spirited life of the early pioneers whose sheer passion for the sport spawned an industry that today touches the lives of millions.

It's getting to know these icons and their stories that gives the film its warmth. You can feel the respect Peralta has for this group as we hear accounts of Greg Noll striding from a pack of awestruck fellow surfers on the beach to singularly challenge 50-foot swells off Hawaii's North Coast. Or Jeff Clark, surfing the outrageously dangerous Maverick off the northern California coast all alone for 15 years before it was discovered and became the surfing destination in California. And the storybook history of Laird Hamilton, today's surfing icon. Hearing Greg Noll reverently refer to Hamilton as the best surfer ever sent chills up my spine.

(As an aside, Noll, Clark and others were at the Sundance screenings. Noll humbly described himself as an old, over-the-hill surfer. He was deeply moved by the audience reception of him and film. Both he and Clark were as likable in person as they were in the film.)

Riding Giants pays homage to these extraordinary athletes while at the same time rewarding us with an insight into the magnitude and terrifying power of the waves they seek to conquer, the gut-wrenching vertical drops required to get into them, and the almost unfathomable combination of adrenaline and fear that the surfers experience each time they take on a monster swell.

All this, and the movie has more. For those of us that didn't live in California in the 60's, we get an insight into the impact of surfing on American pop culture. (And, to my surprise, the impact of the movie Gidget on surfing!) Peralta also weaves in a primer on some of the technical aspects of the sport and the history of innovation in equipment. I'm not a surfer, but like the rest of the Sundance audience, I was absolutely captivated by this film. Peralta is staking his claim as the Big Kahuna of American documentaries.

There's been a spate of recent surfing movies that I seem to haphazardly run across without advance warning. I caught this treasure on digital cable this week and what a pleasant surprise it was! The focus is on the pioneers of big wave surfing from the 60's Greg Noll to our current Laird Hamilton, from Waimea Bay to Mavericks to Jaws. Hell, I could watch a movie just about Laird Hamilton - one of this generation's great athletes - so the rest is just gravy. There's loads of good surfing mixed in with interviews of past and present surfing stars, in pleasant, relaxed and unpretentious fashion. Of all the surfing movies I've seen this tells the big-wave story the best, and I think it's my favorite. Fantastic musical score. Enjoy!

RIDING GIANTS (2004) **** Documentary filmmaker Stacy Peralta's homage to big wave surfing captures the vicarious thrills and zen-like existence of the sport and its laid-back yet talented athletes and enthusiasts with some truly wonderful archival footage of practically home movies of some of the most famous board runners as well as some amazing shots of pulse-pounding, adrenaline fueled breath-takingly awesomely fierce swells of skyscraper size globally in pristine waters and paradise beachheads that ultimately will have would-be wannabes running for the incoming tides of long-ago youth. Cowabunga!

I've never touched a surfboard in my life. But I did grow up swimming competitively and am a certified scuba diver, so I have a understanding of and respect for the ocean's power and allure. That's how a Kansas guy ended up seeing the surfing documentary "Riding Giants" in the middle of November. (Why exactly a Kansas theater was one of the five screens it was on this week is an entirely different question that I can't answer.)

The title "Riding Giants" has a two-pronged meaning, referring to both the act of harnessing huge waves and the larger than life people who are obsessed with doing just that. Featuring mood-setting music ranging from ukuleles to modern California rock, this 105-minute documentary serves as a history of the sport, shaming tripe like "Gidget" and even making "Endless Summer" look like something straight out of the kiddie pool.

"Riding Giants" opens with a brief, animated, two-minute look at the first 1000 years of surfing, which ends about 1950, when the first big-name surfers began to work their magic. Using remarkable half-century old footage, the doc then follows their path to Hawaii, where surfing became not just a hobby, but a culture that was far more than the onslaught of bad surfing movies in the '50s and '60s led many to believe. The big wave surfers gradually progressed to bigger and better waves around the Hawaiian coast, where most of the surfing community was concentrated until the discovery of The Mavericks, a dangerous but glorious surfing mecca in Northern California. Eventually that locale triggered surfing's stateside explosion in popularity. But one man from Hawaii, Laird Hamilton, has sent the sport as mainstream as possible in recent years. Using teams and jet skis, Hamilton's vision and drive radically changed the mindset of what was possible as surfing entered the 21st century.

That is the documentary in a nutshell, and although it may not seem all that interesting, the suitable laid-back intensity of "Riding Giants" will engross anyone who has much interest in any aspect of surfing, whether it be the water, the culture, or the sport. Writer/director/narrator Stacey Peralta ("Dogtown and Z-Boys") knows something about counterculture himself, having been among the first professional skateboarders, so he does not tell the story in the condescending tones sometimes used in describing surfing. He instead treats his subjects much like NFL Films treats the National Football League. The athlete are borderline deities, and the tone is frequently reverential. He is aided in this tone by the interviewees, who run the gamut of surfing history from the original Hawaiian crew to the Northern California ground breakers to the current crop of competitive surfers. Virtually every relevant person mentioned is interviewed, which lends credence, particularly since many viewers will have little idea who most of the people are beforehand.

Set up like a traditional documentary, Peralta's film lets the surfers themselves tell most of the stories, and he narrates when necessary to provide pertinent details. But the personalities and passion of the interviewees are what drive the picture. These guys are wired differently than most of us; there's no question about that. Their slightly irreverent but still respectful tone lets them get away with comparing the discovery of Hawaii's North Shore to Columbus stumbling upon America. An exaggeration? Of course, but the genuine emotion in their voices and faces make the words fully believable, much like a football player comparing his sport to a war.

Perfectly complementing the almost mythic personalities are the ridiculously massive and powerful waves themselves. From the surprisingly good old-school 8mm footage shot from the shore to the digital in-your-face shots from a jet ski, the photography in Riding Giants is nothing short of stunning. The waves are simply huge, and even though you may have seen quality shots in "Blue Crush", you haven't seen them on this grand and wild a scale. I guarantee your jaw will drop multiple times.

The fact that the history of the sport can be encapsulated in less than two hours gives the film a complete and satisfying feel, as opposed to something like Baseball, for which even ten hours was not enough. Those who don't have an interest in any aspect of surfing won't care for it, but even if you can't relate to the surfing directly, you will walk out of "Riding Giants" with a greater appreciation for the sport and a better understanding of what drives those who do it.

Bottom Line: "Riding Giants" effectively and absorbingly encapsulates surfing culture and history. 8 of 10.

"RIDING GIANTS"

…may have also been entitled, "RIDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS", considering not only the ridiculously statuesque height and power of the curling, H2O monsters they inhabit, but the sheer depth, width and character-breadth of the mere ubermensch who have chosen to do so.

Documentarian, Stacey Peralta has captured enough of the prime footage of big-wave riding in this stunning and jaw-dropping film (as well as its grainy, true and primordial history), to extricate the believer in anyone. And, as others have said, that's only the beginning…

Never having ridden anything larger than smooth, 8-10 ft curlers off K-38 in Sonora, Mexico in my So Cal youth, I have 'no way' of wrapping my mind around what legendary surfers such as Greg Noll, Jeff Clark, Mark Foo (sadly, deceased) and Laird Hamilton have not only dreamed of, but accomplished in their fantastic lives. Beyond the staggering mental challenge of making the decision to 'commit' to the initial drop into 50-ft moving mountains at 40 mph, there's the strength and stamina continued over almost impossibly intense, short moments to consider – along with the balance, the focus and the quick-wittedness to bring off a successful ride (not to mention the ability to hold your breath for over 2 minutes under 10,000 tons of churning, knashing, limb-ripping water during the stress of it all if you wipe out) -- 'success' in which case applies to much like that of an airplane landing; one where you are not absolutely and positively killed to death.

Along with the immensely stunning photography, the music track is a gift – and in some moments, poetic. As well, you'll totally appreciate the mono/dialogs of this film, with most of the narration done by the giant-riders themselves – making it a true documentary story. And the out-takes at the end of the film are gems.

Perhaps you've never up-righted yourself on a surfboard, or even allowed yourself to be carried along, virtually unaided, by gentle incoming swells. Maybe you don't even like the ocean. Not to worry – you'll be magically lifted away on the 'shoulders of giants.'

Excruciatingly recommended