Review Riding Giants (Special Edition)

Riding Giants (Special Edition) Best Review

This is a great artistic documentary on one aspect of surfing. I liked THE ENDLESS SUMMER better, though. For those of us who never have, and never will, surf, we expect to get some enjoyment out of a film that takes us there . . . that helps us feel what it might be like to be on the waves. Big wave surfing is more active and demanding than most other forms and the movie expresses well the hyperactive side of that. My only complaint is that the camera angles flash and dart so much that the viewer rarely gets the meditative feeling that must also come along with surfing, and that is as deeply addicting as the risk-taking side of the sport. Many action movies now dart and flash too much, and don't allow the viewer to get into the moment along with the player/actor. When I watch a surfing movie, I want to know what it feels like to ride those waves for a while . . . The camera mode doesn't let us go beyond passive observer here. ENDLESS SUMMER does a better job. That's the only reason for the missing star, because otherwise, the music, documentary, and film of the awesome waves were all spectacular!

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Riding Giants (Special Edition) Overview

From its early Hawaiian roots to its current status as a recreational lifestyle enjoyed worldwide, bigwave surfing is given the definitive exploration by acclaimed director Stacy Peralta (Dogtown and Z-Boys).

Riding Giants (Special Edition) Specifications

Riding Giants is more than another blissfulsurfing movie. It's an outstanding documentary about one era in American alternative lifestyles, when surfing was well-suited to a radical culture of social dropouts. Using an amazing array of amateur film clips, shot for the most part in Hawaii and California from the late 1950s and early '60s, director Stacy Peralta traces the rise of surfing's appeal to young men looking to test themselves in an unorthodox (and sexy) milieu--of "living life to the fullest," as former surfer-turned-screenwriter John Milius (Big Wednesday) puts it at one point. Lengthy chapters on the glories of Oahu's Makaha and the "superstition and dread" that accompanied the big-wave challenge of Waimea Bay are riveting and sometimes heroic, particularly told through the memories of surf legend Greg Noll. Great material, too, about the deadly wonders of surfing Mavericks, California, where the rocks will get one if the violent tides don't. --Tom Keogh




Stills from Riding Giants (Click for larger image)

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Customer Reviews

Not a a Surfer? - Cuenta P. Banamex - Mexico
No problem, this blue ray can be watch by
everyone, tells us the story
about how big surfing starts,my girlfriend dosent even like
the water! and im not a hardcore surfer,but she love this Movie*Documentary
some footage was transform into a HIDEF so qaulity in some parts in not that great,
anyway....
youll enjoy every minute of it...
Regards all from Cabo...



Great wave action, and a whole lot more - Grant Kennedy -
The focus is on the three people who have had the biggest impact on big wave surfing. It explores the heroism, along with the fears and failures, that come with tackling something really huge and formidable. The director does an impressive job getting people to tell their story in a very personal way. The result is a series of stories about multi-faceted people rather than two-dimensional stereotypes. The movie includes historical photos, cool drawings, great music, and a few stories you can relate to if you've done any surfing. These guys have done things most of us will never get a chance to do, but so many of the stories told ring true and can be generalized to our collective human experience.

If you watch the special feature about The Making of Riding Giants, it gives an idea of how this came about organically through an interview for another project. It also gives insight into just how much time and labor is required to make a movie as interesting to watch as Riding Giants.



Surfing - BlueSky -
Great! Loved the documentary format. Great commentary. Great surfing footage and lots of it. Wished it didn't end, but then I can always watch it again.

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Oct 11, 2010 05:52:05

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