GIANT
($27) is a film classic as big as the state of Texas. Directed by George
Stevens and based upon the novel by Edna Ferber, GIANT is pure
cinematic magic that tells the multi-generational story of a wealthy Texas
family across the first half of the twentieth century. Rock Hudson stars
as cattleman Bick Benedict, who weds easterner Leslie Lynnton (Elizabeth
Taylor) after a whirlwind courtship, and returns home with her to his
family’s ranch which sits on more than a half million acres of Texas
wilderness. Although very much in love, the relationship proves difficult,
as Bick has to adjust to being married to a headstrong easterner, while
Leslie learns to deal with the inherent racism and sexism that has been
bread into her cattleman husband.
Although
Bick tries throughout the course of GIANT to hold onto the only way
of life he has ever known, time has a way of changing things. The first
change comes when former cattle hand Jett Rink (James Dean), who strikes
oil on an adjoining piece of property he has inherited, signaling that the
land that Bick prizes so highly can no longer be solely tied to his way of
life and the cultivation of cattle. Other changes come in the form of Bick
and Leslie children, who want to live their lives as they see fit and
reject what their father has tried to build and maintain for them.
Finally, in the film’s climatic scene, Bick finally stands up for what’s
right, even when it goes against his own nature; realizing that his age
old prejudices affect both his children and grandchildren. The cast of GIANT
also features Carroll Baker, Jane Withers, Chill Wills, Mercedes
McCambridge, Dennis Hopper, Sal Mineo, Rod Taylor, Judith Evelyn, Earl
Holliman and Paul Fix.
Warner
Home Video has made GIANT available on DVD in a 1.66:1 wide screen
presentation that HAS NOT been enhanced for playback on 16:9
displays. Right up front, I have to say that this presentation does a
disservice to every fan of this movie that owns a wide screen monitor.
There is no good reason why GIANT could not be presented with a new
16:9 enhanced 1.66:1 transfer, especially when one considers that other
major studios are providing them, as well as some of the smaller specialty
labels. As it stands, those with 16:9 displays are either forced to watch GIANT
in the middle of their screens with black bars around all four sides, or
to digitally blow up the image to fit their monitor- I myself went for the
latter option, which modified the aspect ratio to 1.78:1, without any
noticeable compromises to the film’s compositions.
The
existing transfer itself is reasonably good, although blowing it up
digitally introduces additional digital artifacts and magnifies the faults
in the image. Sharpness and detail are good for an un-enhanced transfer,
but could have been better if Warner had taken advantage of the extra
resolution offered in 16:9 enhanced mode. There is some softness in the
image unrelated to the presentation format, which stems from the quality
of the film’s vintage 1956 optical work. Additionally, colors are
somewhat problematic due to the films WarnerColor origins. Hues can look
nicely vibrant at times with appealing flesh tones, or somewhat off
kilter, especially any time an optical fade occurs. Blacks usually appear
pretty accurate and whites are clean. Digital compression artifacts are
well concealed in the 4:3 mode because the lengthy film has been wisely
spread across both sides of a DVD-18, although they do become apparent
when the image is blown up digitally for viewing on a 16:9 display.
GIANT
comes with a Dolby Digital 2.0 channel soundtrack that decodes to standard
surround. The mix isn’t particularly directional, but then again, the
talky nature of the drama doesn’t lend itself to too much
directionality. Where the track excels is in giving Dimitri Tiomkin’s
wonderful score a wider and more "epic" sense of scope by
spreading it across the forward soundstage and mildly wrapping it around
into the rear channels. Fidelity is good considering that GIANT was
released in 1956, but it isn’t outstanding, even for that particular
period. Dialogue reproduction is usually very good, with almost everything
coming across in a crisp, intelligible manner. A French monaural
soundtrack is also encoded onto the DVD, along with English, French and
Spanish subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which feature access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as the supplemental
materials that have been spread across both DVDs of this two-disc set. On
disc one, film critic Stephen Farber, screenwriter Ivan Moffat and George
Stevens, Jr. (son of the late, great director) are on hand running audio
commentary track, which proves to be informative, analytical and rather
enjoyable despite its great length. Also on the first disc is George
Stevens: Filmmakers Who Knew Him. This is a really solid and
informative forty-five minute program comprised of interviews with other
directors, who share stories and their insights on the director of GIANT.
On
disc two, one will find the bulk of supplemental programs and features. Memories
of Giant is a fifty-minute program from 1998 that features recent
and vintage interview footage with cast, crew and various others that
looks back on the making of GIANT and the personalities involved
with the production. From 1996 is Memories of Giant, which
runs fifty-five minutes and features interviews with a number of the same
individuals, but the focus of this program is on the nuts and bolts of the
making of the film in Marfa, Texas. The New York Premiere Telecast
and the Hollywood Premiere run thirty minutes and five
minutes respectively, and provide a time capsule look back at a who’s
who of the entertainment industry in the mid-1950s. Giant Stars Are
Off to Texas features a bit of newsreel footage of the cast’s
departure celebration before leaving for the film’s location shoot. Stills
and Documents offers separate files of photographs and
memorandums from the production. Behind-The-Cameras: On Location in
Marfa, Texas and Behind-The-Cameras: A Visit With Dimitri
Tiomkin are two brief segments from the fifties TV show that focus
on GIANT. Four trailers, production notes, a George Stevens
filmography, plus a cast & crew listing close out the supplements.
No
question about it, GIANT is a great motion picture. As for the DVD,
it is something of a mixed bag. The supplemental section is phenomenal,
but the presentation is less that what it should have been. There is no
problem if one watches GIANT on a 4:3 monitor, but anyone intending
to watch it on a big screen 16:9 display will feel short changed because
the DVD lacks the critical extra resolution that the DVD format can
provide.
GIANT
($27) is a film classic as big as the state of Texas. Directed by George
Stevens and based upon the novel by Edna Ferber, GIANT is pure
cinematic magic that tells the multi-generational story of a wealthy Texas
family across the first half of the twentieth century. Rock Hudson stars
as cattleman Bick Benedict, who weds easterner Leslie Lynnton (Elizabeth
Taylor) after a whirlwind courtship, and returns home with her to his
family’s ranch which sits on more than a half million acres of Texas
wilderness. Although very much in love, the relationship proves difficult,
as Bick has to adjust to being married to a headstrong easterner, while
Leslie learns to deal with the inherent racism and sexism that has been
bread into her cattleman husband.
Although
Bick tries throughout the course of GIANT to hold onto the only way
of life he has ever known, time has a way of changing things. The first
change comes when former cattle hand Jett Rink (James Dean), who strikes
oil on an adjoining piece of property he has inherited, signaling that the
land that Bick prizes so highly can no longer be solely tied to his way of
life and the cultivation of cattle. Other changes come in the form of Bick
and Leslie children, who want to live their lives as they see fit and
reject what their father has tried to build and maintain for them.
Finally, in the film’s climatic scene, Bick finally stands up for what’s
right, even when it goes against his own nature; realizing that his age
old prejudices affect both his children and grandchildren. The cast of GIANT
also features Carroll Baker, Jane Withers, Chill Wills, Mercedes
McCambridge, Dennis Hopper, Sal Mineo, Rod Taylor, Judith Evelyn, Earl
Holliman and Paul Fix.
Warner
Home Video has made GIANT available on DVD in a 1.66:1 wide screen
presentation that HAS NOT been enhanced for playback on 16:9
displays. Right up front, I have to say that this presentation does a
disservice to every fan of this movie that owns a wide screen monitor.
There is no good reason why GIANT could not be presented with a new
16:9 enhanced 1.66:1 transfer, especially when one considers that other
major studios are providing them, as well as some of the smaller specialty
labels. As it stands, those with 16:9 displays are either forced to watch GIANT
in the middle of their screens with black bars around all four sides, or
to digitally blow up the image to fit their monitor- I myself went for the
latter option, which modified the aspect ratio to 1.78:1, without any
noticeable compromises to the film’s compositions.
The
existing transfer itself is reasonably good, although blowing it up
digitally introduces additional digital artifacts and magnifies the faults
in the image. Sharpness and detail are good for an un-enhanced transfer,
but could have been better if Warner had taken advantage of the extra
resolution offered in 16:9 enhanced mode. There is some softness in the
image unrelated to the presentation format, which stems from the quality
of the film’s vintage 1956 optical work. Additionally, colors are
somewhat problematic due to the films WarnerColor origins. Hues can look
nicely vibrant at times with appealing flesh tones, or somewhat off
kilter, especially any time an optical fade occurs. Blacks usually appear
pretty accurate and whites are clean. Digital compression artifacts are
well concealed in the 4:3 mode because the lengthy film has been wisely
spread across both sides of a DVD-18, although they do become apparent
when the image is blown up digitally for viewing on a 16:9 display.
GIANT
comes with a Dolby Digital 2.0 channel soundtrack that decodes to standard
surround. The mix isn’t particularly directional, but then again, the
talky nature of the drama doesn’t lend itself to too much
directionality. Where the track excels is in giving Dimitri Tiomkin’s
wonderful score a wider and more "epic" sense of scope by
spreading it across the forward soundstage and mildly wrapping it around
into the rear channels. Fidelity is good considering that GIANT was
released in 1956, but it isn’t outstanding, even for that particular
period. Dialogue reproduction is usually very good, with almost everything
coming across in a crisp, intelligible manner. A French monaural
soundtrack is also encoded onto the DVD, along with English, French and
Spanish subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which feature access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as the supplemental
materials that have been spread across both DVDs of this two-disc set. On
disc one, film critic Stephen Farber, screenwriter Ivan Moffat and George
Stevens, Jr. (son of the late, great director) are on hand running audio
commentary track, which proves to be informative, analytical and rather
enjoyable despite its great length. Also on the first disc is George
Stevens: Filmmakers Who Knew Him. This is a really solid and
informative forty-five minute program comprised of interviews with other
directors, who share stories and their insights on the director of GIANT.
On
disc two, one will find the bulk of supplemental programs and features. Memories
of Giant is a fifty-minute program from 1998 that features recent
and vintage interview footage with cast, crew and various others that
looks back on the making of GIANT and the personalities involved
with the production. From 1996 is Memories of Giant, which
runs fifty-five minutes and features interviews with a number of the same
individuals, but the focus of this program is on the nuts and bolts of the
making of the film in Marfa, Texas. The New York Premiere Telecast
and the Hollywood Premiere run thirty minutes and five
minutes respectively, and provide a time capsule look back at a who’s
who of the entertainment industry in the mid-1950s. Giant Stars Are
Off to Texas features a bit of newsreel footage of the cast’s
departure celebration before leaving for the film’s location shoot. Stills
and Documents offers separate files of photographs and
memorandums from the production. Behind-The-Cameras: On Location in
Marfa, Texas and Behind-The-Cameras: A Visit With Dimitri
Tiomkin are two brief segments from the fifties TV show that focus
on GIANT. Four trailers, production notes, a George Stevens
filmography, plus a cast & crew listing close out the supplements.
No
question about it, GIANT is a great motion picture. As for the DVD,
it is something of a mixed bag. The supplemental section is phenomenal,
but the presentation is less that what it should have been. There is no
problem if one watches GIANT on a 4:3 monitor, but anyone intending
to watch it on a big screen 16:9 display will feel short changed because
the DVD lacks the critical extra resolution that the DVD format can
provide.