Géant

I am of the opinion that it is impossible to make a bad film out of an Edna Ferber book. Her backgrounds are epic and she creates characters who fill the backgrounds that their stories take place.

Such is the case of Giant and the story of Bick Benedict, Leslie Lynnton, and Jett Rink and all the Texans here, native and transplanted. Giant's story begins with Bick Benedict coming to Maryland to buy a prize stallion and in a whirlwind courtship, marrying and bringing back the stallion and it's owner as well who becomes Leslie Lynnton.

Benedict as played by Rock Hudson is co-owner with his sister Mercedes McCambridge of one large piece of Texas real estate named Reata which makes the Ponderosa look like a homestead. 595,000 acres Hudson modestly states to the Lynnton guests at dinner. He's also incurred the jealousy of one of his ranch hands, James Dean as Jett Rink who envies Hudson in all things including his new bride.

Hudson and Dean were both up for Best Actor in 1956 losing to Yul Brynner in The King and I, but I've always felt that this was Elizabeth Taylor's film. Liz showed what she could do in George Stevens's A Place in the Sun and unfortunately she went back to MGM and got a bunch of films that were really beneath her talents. It was George Stevens again who even though he wanted Grace Kelly in the part first, got a great performance out of Elizabeth Taylor. Although she's overawed at first by the Texans and their ways, she warms gradually up to the role of mistress of Reata and brings a touch of compassion and humanity to Reata and its people.

The leading man was also borrowed by Warner Brothers. Rock Hudson got his one and only Oscar nomination for this role. His character of Bick Benedict ages and grows in every way. Maybe because its Rock Hudson playing the part, but I think it's Hudson innate and underrated skill as a player that makes you know there's a latent decency that's eventually going to overcome the bad things he was brought up with.

Of course Giant marks the early tragic farewell of James Dean as player. In one terrible accident that claimed his life James Dean went from rebel actor to eternal legend. Jett Rink was the final piece of his performing career and only a hint of what we could have expected from him. He's a dirt poor ranch hand, as poor as the Mexicans, who mostly work at Reata, but he doesn't identify with them at all. When he strikes it oil rich, he's just put in a position where he can now inflict terrible things on those people he feels superior to.

When film fans talk about Giant they talk about the differences between Hudson and Dean. Hudson starts out rich and prejudiced, Dean is poor and prejudiced. Dean strikes it rich and becomes an oil billionaire, but it's brought him no happiness, just richer surroundings to be miserable in. The difference is that Hudson had Taylor and the children they both had. Their lives together, Taylor's love and devotion and his children's respectful rebellion made him see things differently and grow as a person. If Dean had an Elizabeth Taylor, things might have worked out better for him in a personal sense.

George Stevens won the only Oscar that Giant got that year, for Best Director. The all-star extravaganza Around the World in 80 Days won for Best Picture, though I think Giant has stood the test of time a lot better. Then again Stevens had an Edna Ferber epic story to work from and as I said before, you can't ever go wrong with one of her stories.

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.

Based on a novel by Edna Ferber, Giant is an appropriately Texas-sized western/generational saga that parallels familial evolution with the changing socio-economic nature of the United States over an approximately 30-year period from the 1920s through the film's present, and by extension, a turn of the (20th) century mentality segueing into a more contemporary outlook. It is filled with excellent writing, fabulous direction and technical elements, outstanding performances, gorgeous photography, and plenty of depth via subtly implied philosophical ideas.

At its heart, Giant is the story of Jordan "Bick" Benedict (Rock Hudson), heir, along with his sister, Luz (Mercedes McCambridge) to a family cattle ranch that exceeds half a million acres. As the film opens, Bick has traveled to Maryland, ostensibly to purchase a horse from Dr. Horace Lynnton, who has a sizeable ranch of his own, but also perhaps to search for a wife. Whether the latter was his initial intention or not, he ends up finding a spouse in Dr. Lynnton's opinionated and somewhat irascible but beautiful daughter, Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor). Bick moves Leslie from the rolling green pastures that she calls home to the huge, dusty plains of Reata, his Texas ranch.

In the process, she ends up turning his world upside down. Luz sees Leslie as a threat to their routine, an interpretation that Leslie doesn't exactly try to deny. Leslie integrates herself into the daily workings of Reata and initiates changes in the way Bick and Luz behave towards their mostly Mexican staff, among other things. Bick and Leslie have children, but they're not exactly keen on following the family tradition. Other challenges and perhaps the strongest cultural change in the film comes via Jett Rink (James Dean), who goes through a gradual transformation from his early status in the film as a dirt-poor, uneducated ranch hand.

At a three and a half-hour running time, and covering decades in the lives of many different characters, Giant is nothing if not sprawling. But this is the kind of sprawl that works. Unlike most sprawling films, the cast of characters in Giant actually turns out to be relatively small, we always have a clear idea of who each character is, and every event leads to the next in a very tightly-written, logical manner.

In fact, one of the more unusual but laudable aspects of Fred Guiol and Ivan Moffat's script is the way that characters will mention something in an almost off-the-cuff manner before we immediately cut to the full realization of the previous comment. For example, Leslie and Bick are barely courting before we see them married. Other examples--Leslie goes from telling Bick that she's pregnant to having the baby in the next instant; Bick says that he's going to fly in a plane low over a particular hotel--just for dramatic effect with respect to a certain character--and in the next shot, this is just what he's doing. The first couple times this happens, it's almost a bit unnerving because of its uniqueness. We figure that the characters are in the middle of a dream sequence. But it quickly becomes apparent that the device is designed to enable large time span passages in an instant, and for the overall structure of the film, it works perfectly.

Given that structure, it was also unusual in this era to pick younger actors who would then have to be aged 30 years or so (the more standard procedure was to pick middle aged actors who could be made both younger and older through make-up and lighting). But Hudson, Taylor and Dean are perfect. Dean is especially impressive as he undergoes the most significant transformation. All three of his major films are almost heartbreaking to watch; he was an incredible talent but didn't have a chance to do much with it before he tragically passed away. But all three principal cast members are at the top of their game here; each is able to do a bit of scene stealing if they want. It creates a lot of energy throughout the film and enhances the occasional tensions in the script.

The smaller roles are perfectly filled as well. I was particularly amused with Dennis Hopper among the supporting cast. Hopper portrays Bick and Leslie's son, Jordan III. This was his first major role, and he meshes well, but at the same time, you can easily see the more infamous Hopper ala Easy Rider's (1969) Billy, Blue Velvet's (1986) Frank Booth, or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2's (1986) Lieutenant "Lefty" Enright.

The cinematography and production design are consistently beautiful. The stark Texas landscapes (filmed primarily in the town of Marfa) couldn't have more impact. The Benedict home is oddly Gothic and a bit eerie in its exterior (especially post-Psycho, 1960), and lushly gorgeous and Victorian inside. Later scenes give the interior a redecoration to match changing fashions.

Giant is extremely engaging in its soap-operatic family drama, but just as captivating for its subtle handling of important social themes. Leslie's respect for the Mexican ranch hands and servants parallels the slowly and occasionally painfully evolving public opinion about different ethnicities that is still developing. She also tries her best to usher in a bit of woman's liberation, open-mindedness in child rearing, and many other "progressive" attitudes. She's a symbol, in some ways, of Northeastern (U.S.) thinking filtering across the country in the early part of the 20th Century.

Giant is heavy on symbolism in many ways. Jett Rink's newfound fortune isn't just a personal transformation, but it symbolizes changing technology and the necessary adaptations to remain viable economically; it's a move away from a more agrarian existence. There is also pithy commentary on World War II--just look at who returns in one piece and who doesn't, and the different attitudes towards this.

It would probably take a book to just give an adequate analysis of this film. It goes without saying that you need to see Giant if you haven't already.

George Stevens' 1956 epic "Giant" is the story of the Jordan Benedict (Rock Hudson), the male heir to one of the largest cattle ranching families in Texas. At the start of the film, we see Jordan traveling to Maryland to look at a horse he is interested in purchasing, There he meets Leslie, (Elizabeth Taylor) the daughter of the man he is purchasing the horse from (and the unofficial "owner" of the horse) and immediately falls in love with her. The feeling is mutual, so after an incredibly brief (two day) courtship, they marry and he brings her back to his ranch in Texas, Reatta. At first, life on the ranch is tough, particularly while dealing with Jordan's overprotective, no-nonsense sister Luz. (Mercedes McCambridge) Leslie soon adjusts, however, and the two of them start a family. Meanwhile, Jordan is at constant odds with one of his ranch hands, Jet Rink (James Dean) whom he always wants to fire, but is eternally protected by Luz. When Luz unexpectedly dies, Jet is ready to walk off the ranch for good, but discovers that Luz has bequeathed a parcel of the land to him. Partly to tick Jordan off, partly for his respect for Luz and partly so that he can have something for himself, Jett eschews Jordan's cash buyout and instead sets up a homestead on the land. Five years later, Jet strikes oil, and soon he is again at odds with the Benedicts, as Jet, having become one of the richest men in Texas, wants to buy out Reatta, while Jordan wants to keep the ranch for cattle raising, and most importantly – to keep it in the family. The next 15-20 years are spent raising their children and trying to cope with a changing family dynamic, one where the children may not want to adhere to the roles that have been pre-attributed to them, a struggle that is particularly hard for their son Jordan III (Dennis Hopper) because as the sole male heir, his dream of becoming a doctor is seemingly out of the question. "Giant" is about life, and the ever-changing role of the American family.

"Giant" is a very long film, (about three and a half hours) but this time frame is necessary because the story is so rich. Despite its running time, there are no pacing issues, and no real superfluous scenes. The cinematography is lush and rich (I never really thought Texas to be all that intriguing, but William C. Mellor's photography was exquisite. The performances by the principals were very good, particularly since they had to age 25 years in the film. This wasn't a mere makeup job, you could feel the aging in the way they carried themselves, and their facial expressions. James Dean in particular, perhaps because he had such a fascinating character, was stunning. Jet Rink is a complex character, and Dean really worked the role fantastically. I was also impressed, considering the overly idealistic Hollywood of the 1950's, that "Giant", while ending on a happy note, did not compromise its characters in any way to achieve its ending. Jordan for example, is typical old-guard Texas, and therefore looks down on Mexicans. When his son marries one, he has marginal acceptance and is always polite, but even after engaging in a fight to defend the honor of his grandson, he still expresses his woe that his grandson is who he is. Also, Leslie is an unabashed free-thinker who often challenges the Texas traditions, much to Jordan's chagrin. Throughout their years together however, she does not compromise her views and need to express them. I really liked this about the film, because it is rare for the time, particularly when the genre is melodrama.

I really liked this film, though when recommending it, have to caution because of the sheer length of the film. Watching "Giant" is an investment of time, but it is certainly a worthwhile investment. 7/10 --Shelly

This has recently played on Turner Classic Movies, and so they have been playing a short promo on the film. However, I disagree with the critics' assessment that this is a man versus woman film. Instead, this is a film about the pangs of old Texas giving birth to new Texas. Rock Hudson plays the young patriarch of a Texas ranching family, Bick Benedict, in the 1920s who goes to Maryland to buy a colt. He is instantly smitten with one of the daughters in the family (Elizabeth Taylor as Leslie) , in spite of the fact that she raises his Texas ire by saying things such as Texas was stolen from Mexico! Taylor's character is already spoken for, but she throws over her intended and she and Benedict marry on a whim.

Adjustment is hard for Leslie. The Benedict ranch is sprawling but devoid of Maryland's natural beauty. Bick's sister Luz runs the house and is not going to give that title up to some delicate East coast beauty. And when she tries to help the Mexican families that live on the ranch, she finds her husband angry with her. Ranch hand Jett Rink (James Dean in his last film role) falls madly in love with Leslie who just doesn't see it. Meanwhile Luz has always loved Jett, and that love later greatly complicates the Benedicts' lives in a very unconventional way.

Like I said, this is no man versus woman film. This is initially east coast liberal civilized values versus the rough and tumble values of what is still the Texas frontier in many ways. And it is the story of a family over 30 years as Texas changes in its values and what is important in its industry. For example, cattle ranching gives way in importance to the petroleum industry. As for changing values, Bick changes from a man who really doesn't see the Hispanics as human beings to somebody who literally takes a beating to defend the honor of one decades later.

Highly recommended as a film and as a showcase for the talents of Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean. Dean had other good showcases for his talent, but I feel Hudson and Taylor - in spite of her two Best Actress Oscars are both remembered too much for their soapy roles and not enough for their acting skills. Highly recommended.