MovieFreak.com - Giant - Special Edition DVD Review

Giant is a movie of huge scale and grandeur in which three generations of land-rich Texans love, swagger, connive and clash in a saga of family strife, racial bigotry and conflict between cattle barons and newly rich oil tycoons. It's also one of the most beloved works of director George Stevens, who won an Academy Award for this film, one of the 10 Oscar nominations the film earned.

Giant is more than just a star-studded drama. The three leading characters, played by Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean, are featured greatly in the novel (by Edna Ferber) and script (by Fred Guiol and Ivan Moffat). The performances of all three actors make the characters come across as realistic and important. Taylor is beautiful, endearing and heartwarming. Rock Hudson and James Dean both hold their ground in scenes with Taylor. The chemistry between all of them is amazing and important. The integrity of the actors and their performances are one of the film’s best parts. George Stevens’ direction is very grand, setting up each scene and shot with a great deal of care and detail.

The film also benefits from its look and themes. The cinematography and score propel Giant to great drama. The film makes great use of its location that happens to be Texas, a state of beautiful lands. Some of the themes explored in the film are love, marriage, family, birth, death, racial bigotry and others. Giant is a big film. Its scale is grand, kind of like an epic. There are just so many elements contributing to this, I think it’s just terrific. Sure, the film is not without its share of difficulties, such as the pace and running time. At roughly three hours and 22 minutes, Giant would have benefited from some editing or tightening (some areas in the film are a little repetitive, but alas, it’s not a big problem).

However, Giant, like Once Upon a Time in America, relies on building its characters and story, which sometimes takes a little longer, but in the end is the kind of thing making the film worth every minute. Giant’s focus on the three main characters is integral and important, and director George Stevens make sure that focus is presented in the best way possible, but also creating a scope that is not limited to any one thing.

Warner Bros. presents Giant in an all-new digital 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. This transfer is terrific, by all means. Print quality is pretty up to date and looks as clean as ever. Grain shows up only in a few instances, while the colors look beautiful. Color detail is pretty good, too. Dark tones and black level are not too bad. Overall, Giant’s video presentation is very good and deserving of the digital transfer.

Warner Bros. presents Giant in English Dolby Stereo. This presentation is as good as the video presentation; updated to a very nice, deserving and clear soundtrack. Dialog scenes are clear and easy to understand. Dimitri Tiomkin’s score comes across very nice, engaging the viewer. Giant is also available is a French Dolby Stereo soundtrack.

Before anything else, George Stevens, Jr. gives a very generous 3-minute introduction to the film, talking about his father and the film’s status in history and memory.

Feature Commentary – A really good film deserves a commentary and Warner Bros. brings together three people to talk through the three-plus hour film. First up is Film critic Stephen Farber, who deconstructs the film in various stages and elements. Screenwriter Ivan Moffat recalls his script, talking about the translation from the novel to the film. And then there is George Stevens Jr., who dominates the track with his recollections, thoughts, personal stories, etc. These three make for great conversations in-between spots of silence. Overall, a deserving commentary that is worth listening to.

Documentary "George Stevens: Filmmakers Who Knew Him" (~45 mins) – Here we have Joe Mankiewicz, Warren Beatty, Frank Capra, Alan J. Pakula, Rouben Mamoulian, Robert Wise, Fred Zinnemann and Antonio Vellani all commenting on Mr. Stevens. It’s great to see these people remembering a director such as Stevens in the most positive and appreciative light.

Memories of Giant (~50 mins) – This documentary is everything the title suggests. People involved with the production remember stories and facts about the filming and everything else. It’s a little on the light side, but the information and occasional spliced footage makes this documentary a really nice recollection of the life and times of the production.

Return To Giant (~55 mins) – This is another documentary, but more about the filming of Giant. Don Henley narrates this documentary that includes film clips, footage of the locations (as they exist now), archival behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews, with people such as George Stevens, Jr., Rock Hudson, Dennis Hopper and others. Overall, the information present is informative and enjoyable.

New York Premiere TV Special (~28 mins) – From the old days, Chill Willis and Jane Meadows host this coverage of the New York premiere as the stars show up and walk down the red carpet. This is a nice archive reel and offers a fun recollection of the old Hollywood days, even if nothing exceptional is revealed here.

Hollywood Premiere Featurette (~4 mins) – This is really just clips of the premiere in addition to some narration. It’s short, but totally appreciative and cool to have on this DVD release.

Behind the Cameras: On Location in Marfa, Texas (~6 mins) – Gig Young hosts this feature that reveals information about Marfa, plus how the production changed the town, etc. Nothing extraordinary here, but decent nonetheless.

Behind the Cameras: A Visit with Dimitri Tiomkin (~7 mins) – An interview with Tiomkin, plus he plays the piano. It drags on a little too long and is not very exciting.

Project Kickoff Newsreel (~1 min) – It’s a newsreel clip of the cast attending a promotional dinner, that’s all. Footage of James Dean is included, which is great to see.

Production Stills & Documents Gallery – 50 behind-the-scenes photos are available in a montage while the documents pertain to paperwork of the production such as letters, budget notes, etc.

Rounding out the extras are extensive production notes, trailers (a lot of them), George Stevens filmography, awards and the standard cast & crew feature.

You can select to view the film with optional English, French and Spanish subtitles. The DVD’s menus are interactive, but not animated. The 201-minute feature is organized into 56 chapters over two discs.

Giant is an effective drama and character study. It’s about many things, really. George Stevens gets all of it across in a respectable and dramatic way. This DVD release is fantastic, boasting really nice video and audio presentations. The extras department is loaded, including some good documentaries and a worthy feature commentary. Giant comes highly recommended.

THE MOVIE	8
THE VIDEO	8
THE AUDIO	8
THE EXTRAS	8
OVERALL (not an average)	8