Giant (1956)
Film:
DVD:

Written by Fred Guiol & Ivan Moffat, based on the novel by Edna Ferber
Directed by George Stevens
Starring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, Carroll Baker, Chill Wills

Features:

• Running audio commentary by George Stevens, Jr., screenwriter Moffat & critic Stephen Farber
  
• Introduction to the film by George Stevens, Jr.
  
• George Stevens: Filmmakers Who Knew Him documentary
  
• Memories of Giant featurette
  
• Return to Giant featurette
  
• New York Premiere telecast
  
• Hollywood Premiere featurette
  
• Project kickoff newsreel
  
• Production stills gallery
  
• Production documents gallery
  
• Behind the Cameras: On Location in Marfa television snippet
  
• Behind the Cameras: Dimitri Tiomkin television snippet
  
• Trailers: original from 1956, "book" trailer from 1956, reissues from 1963 & 1970
  

Released by WB
Rating: PG
Region: 1
Anamorphic: No.

My Advice: Rent it.

Welcome to Reatta. It's a ginormous ranch in Texas, owned by Bick Bendict (Hudson). While in Maryland looking to buy a horse, he comes across Leslie (Taylor)--and is immediately smitten. The feelings are returned, and the two end up married. Leslie returns to Texas and quickly has to adjust to life out in one of the flattest places on Earth. The hours, the heat, the animal heads used as food--it's a little much for an East Coast girl to take. Couple that with the fact that Bick's sister, Luz (Mercedes McCambridge), doesn't think the marriage is such a great idea--and you've got a problem. Then add in the fact that ranch hand Jett has got a thing for bride Leslie, and you've got another problem. It's a sprawling epic of Texas that spans two generations and involves oil, power, racism and money--and some good old fashioned lust thrown in for good measure.

It's easy to see why this film has gotten as much play as it has. Classic Hollywood epics just have cinematic street cred that never seems to run out. Even in the proper context, though, the film itself does one thing well: sprawl. It moves slow and develops things, yes, but its mission to show up greed and racism make the film stumble over its own feet. This is nowhere more evident that in the final shot of the film, in which--in case you didn't get it--the point of the film is driven home with a pneumatic tool.

Sure, the film is a decent enough watch--but what fascinates me even more than the big spectacle and the ham-handed story are the performances. They make a lot of this in the special features--as well they should have--but the trio of stars that anchor this monster are extremely impressive. First, they're just plain good on their own--but as the film progresses, the characters age, and you've suddenly got a 23-year-old Liz Taylor playing a woman three times her age--and doing it damn well. The same goes for Hudson and Dean. They took the three young actors and let them play the parts into old age, and they're so good that what few flaws there are with the makeup (and compared to For the Boys, it's flawless) you easily overlook. Taylor and Hudson do very well, yes, but to me the standout is Dean. That's not just because this was his last film (he died a couple of days after his portion was wrapped), but because his screen presence is amazing. The scene in which he comes into some land and keeps it despite a room full of people trying to talk him out of it--just flat out brilliant.

The special features that accompany the DVD fall into two categories: "look backs" and archival information. The archival stuff is extremely extensive--and a little surprising. For example, in the series of documents presented here you get Jack Warner's notes wanting the film trimmed and quibbles that Stevens and the studio were having--I'm a little surprised that stuff like this was let out, especially in facsimile form. There's also footage from the premieres, which is nice to have in digital form...not to mention an interesting glimpse back to how films used to be kicked off. There's also a couple of Behind the Cameras segments that are heavy on the cheese but again, of interest to see how films were promoted back in the day. The interplay between the host and musical composer Tiomkin is such rehearsed spontaneity that it's almost laughable. No wait--it is laughable, certifiable.

By "look backs," I'm talking about the series of reminiscences, interviews and whatnot that comprise everything else. First of all, you get a better than average commentary track. Director's son Stevens (who worked with his father on the film) provides the bulk of information, balancing praise for his father with actual good solid data. This will be par for the course for the rest of the features, let me say here: even the Filmmakers Who Knew Him, which on the surface would appear to be the perfect opportunity to blow smoke, does a fine job of walking the line between hero worship and actual stuff worth hearing about--anecdotes and the like. Moffat in the commentary presents some good information about the writing process and the set bits that Stevens the Younger wasn't around for, and Farber is primarily there to ask the questions you or I would want to. So it's a nice balance.

The two large docus that comprise the bulk of disc two are fairly interesting, although I'm not sure why they didn't just combine them and make one uber-long bit. For a three-hour movie, that's almost to be expected. They do reuse some video/interview snippets between them, and they don't really differ themselves that much in my view. There's three basic topics going on with these two: 1) Stevens was a director god; 2) Dean's death sucked and really affected the cast; 3) the three leads were amazing. There's a lot of that going around, although you do get some other unexpected treats: like an interview with Hudson where he reveals that the secret to the success of he and Taylor's first day of shooting is the fact that they were immensely hungover.

All in all, if you're a fan of the film, then you're going to love this DVD. They've thrown the kitchen sink at you as far as features go--looking over the list, I'm not sure what they left out. So don't wait for a better edition, this is it. If you're unfamiliar with the film, then it's worth at least a rental to see the performances.