I really wish I had been around in the 50s when Hollywood worked overtime to entice filmgoers to leave the comforts of their TV screen and return to spending quality hours in front of a bigger screen. As soon as Lucy et. al. had insinuated themselves in the living rooms of our nation, movie studios realized that they need to offer bigger and better entertainment in local theaters. So, as a result, you wind up with Cinemascope, stereophonic sound, and images that completely surrounded the theater patron. All those Looney Tune cartoons and Pete Smith specialties wouldn't cut it anymore. You could now probably see them on television any way.
"Giant" was a product of this era. A three hour plus movie that transported the viewer to a world probably never seen previously. When the heartland of Texas in the early part of the century was essentially uninhabited. Sandy. Desolate. Tumbleweeds aplenty. What you experience as you watch the twentieth century saga of the Benedict family unfold is indeed the history of a state. And a country. When ranchers were forced to become oil men almost overnight. Moreover, you get snapshots of the modernization of our world as well as changes in the mores of our country, especially with regard to racism and marriage.
My favorite alltime directors are Billy Wilder and Alfred Hitchcock, and you will see them both duly represented as this list progresses. But, for the sheer telling of a purely cinematic story, there are no better dream weavers than David Lean and George Stevens, who won the Best Director Oscar of 1956 for "Giant." In this film, every shot has a purpose. Every angle moves the story a little bit farther down that dusty Texas road near Reata.
Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor give arguably their best film performances ever. And, in what was ultimately the end of his career trilogy, James Dean gives an interesting edge to what was an underwritten role. This is probably the only weak link in the movie. But, at the same time, he still commands two amazing film moments. Watch what he does in the scene where he listens to the other ranchers trying to talk him into a sale of his land. Dean sits silent, simply playing with a rope. But he still says so much. And pay close attention to the scene where he confronts Hudson after his character strikes oil. Every move and nuance is amazingly calculated.
I actually came to see "Giant" after watching the Dallas TV series, which is seemingly built upon the same premise. As a matter of fact, the protagonist of "Giant" is Jett Rink...JR. Get it? But all similarities end there. "Giant" digs deeper into its characters than the oil drills featured in its landscape. Everytime I watch it, I focus in one of the actors. And I always see something new every single time.
That must be what happens when art patrons look at paintings over and over at the Getty Museum. And, isn't that what film is all about?
Dinner last night: French Toast at Dupar's.
1 comment:
I have a few problems with "Giant" which I've seen three times, including this year. Number One Problem is that block of wood named Rock Hudson. We now know how Rock got into the business and it wasn't through acting skill. Stiff is an understatement, and he's as much a Texan as my Aunt Helen.
Problem Number Two is the fake and distracting old age makeup used extensively in the film's second half. Did they hire someone from the local high school to age the stars? It's a major flaw in an otherwise meticulously produced "A" picture.
Problem Number Three is the very dated treatment of racism, which was gutsy for its time but today reeks of condescending, Hollywood liberalism.
Dean and Taylor's performances work most of the time. More Chill Wills would have helped. The location shooting adds a lot of local color, especially that big house in the middle of nowhere. It became a film icon.
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