When Texans are asked about their favorite Texas film, the answer is one of three distinct responses, usually linked to the generation they were born in.
"The Last Picture Show" is a favorite amongst those who grew up during the 1960s and early 1970s. "Dazed and Confused" is the go-to for those who grew up with fond memories of the 1970s after the haze of the decade's later years wore off. And then there's "Giant," a three and a half-hour epic starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean, which is certainly the least hip choice of the three. However, hipness is always conditional.
While "Picture Show" and "Dazed" with their two respective young directors, Peter Bogdanovich and Richard Linklater, made their mark on the Lone Star State with intimate storytelling and a fiercely independent spirit, "Giant" was everything those films weren't - a sprawling Texas-sized tale of excess, oil and revenge dished out with all the flourish of a big studio production. Yet, even with the conservative direction of George Stevens ("Shane," "A Place in the Sun") near the twilight of his career, "Giant" is unexpectedly progressive and engaging even now, a fact that is highlighted by a new two-disc set that not only preserves the historical legacy of the film, but enhances the stunning beauty of the Texas sky and everything under it with a gorgeous new digital widescreen transfer.
Based on a Edna Ferber novel, which has been eclipsed by the film version since "Giant's" first theatrical release in 1956, the
Naturally, Benedict's already delicate marriage suffers and what follows is the implosion of a once thriving dynasty and a potential one that is stillborn. But the film's most enduring quality is in its stance on intolerance towards Mexican-Americans (played by actual Hispanics as opposed to well-tanned Caucasians), a subplot in the film that can stand alone on its importance to a community that is still neglected today in most films. When Benedict, a racist, learns that his son has married a Mexican-American woman, his reaction blossoms from passive incredulity into strident activism on the part of Mexican-Americans. For the time, Elizabeth Taylor's modern take on the story's heroine was something of a revelation, but as noted several times in the usually nostalgic commentary by film critic Stephen Farber, screenwriter Ivan Moffatt and George Stevens Jr., it's the film's treatment of Mexican-Americans that was truly noteworthy.
At 200 minutes, "Giant" is undoubtedly bloated and the DVD seems from its packaging that it could've easily followed suit. If anything, the three feature-length documentaries on the discs, which add up to almost the same length of time as the feature, run the risk of being redundant. In spite of quite a bit of backpatting, each of the documentaries - "Memories of Giant" and "Return to Giant" (both of which celebrate the film's Texas roots and the making of the film) in addition to a documentary on director Stevens - finds a way to circumvent the typical prepackaged fluff on most DVDs and capture the place of Giant and its cast and crew at the time it was made and now. The publicity materials are also a hoot, with a 30-minute TV special of "Giant's" New York premiere, a shorter Hollywood premiere feature and advertising from the film's many rereleases through the years. If there are any faults to be had, they come in the addition of the copious amounts of production notes and written material, which aren't nearly as informative and hardly as entertaining as the documentaries that rehash the same material.
Although it's been a long wait for many, those who should be able to appreciate "Giant" most for the first time on DVD are of a whole new generation who can add the film to the list of their favorite Texas films.
Be the first to comment on this article!