Here are some customer reviews of
Riding Giants (Special Edition)
: Imagine yourself falling from 50 feet into rapid water that spins you around as if you were inside a coin operated laundry machine. The currents in the water are strong enough to break your neck through whiplash, or pull your arms out of their sockets. You do not know what direction is up or down in the dark water as you can feel your lungs screaming for oxygen. This while the surf leash that is connected to your ankle and your surfing board yanks on your leg as if your leg were about to be pulled off the body. In your mind you hope your surf leash has not been caught in some rock on the bottom, as you begin to pull on the leash hoping it is the direction toward the surface. Then you see it appear out of nowhere, light followed by air, which again fills your lungs. You say to yourself, "Wow, lets find another wave to ride." Riding Giants is a story about individuals that continue to seek the big waves.
The sport of surfing is a leisure activity to many as they go to the beach in order to catch a good wave upon which they wish to surf without wiping out. Films have been made such as Endless Summer (1966), North Shore (1987), and Blue Crush (2002) and they all depict surfing in one way or another. However, these films do not depict the lifestyle or philosophy behind catching the big wave as meticulously as Riding Giants.
The director Stacy Peralta who brought the world of cinema Dogtown and the Z-Boys (2001), a documentary about the south Californian subculture that brought the world the evolution of skateboarding, documents the life of some daring surfers and why they are looking for big waves. Peralta is a devoted surfer and skateboarder who knows how to capture these moments as she brings a fearsome adventure to the audience through a well-made documentary. The waves that these surfers want ride with their surfboards will most likely cause fear leading to tremors as the waves are as tall as five story houses.
The documentary begins with a quick 2-minute history lesson illustrating one thousand years of surfing history and how it once was banned through missionaries that thought the relaxed mingling of sexes and the little clothing on surfers was outrageous. It is after this quick and rather amusing introduction that surfing of giant waves begins as the story displays some of the pioneering surfers.
Riding Giants displays generations of big wave surfers as it evolved from regular surfing where people ride small four feet waves to extreme surfing where people ride 50 foot waves. These individuals are fully aware of what they are doing and the dangers that come with big wave surfing as they began to seek new locations to surf. Some of these locations were considered too dangerous such as Waimea Bay, which once had urban legends intensify the fear for the area. Nonetheless, the world got its first big wave representative through the no-nonsense Greg Noll who wore his rebellious black and white stripped swimming trunks with a no-fear attitude as he surfed Waimea Bay.
In present time Laird Hamilton is the world's leading big wave surfer as he began to use smaller surfing boards and jet skis to increase the ability to catch bigger and bigger waves. Hamilton's ideas has also brought a sense of teamwork to the surfers where they require each other for survival in case of a wipe-out. Unfortunately has the world also seen many tragic accidents such as Mark Foo who drowned at Mavericks outside San Francisco after having wiped out after a second surf. Despite these tragic losses the surfers continue to surf as they are aware of the dangers, but it is the danger that provides the opportunity for these select few to fully live life as the are looking to ride the next wave.
As an avid beach goer/swimmer/rollerblader, I was so blown by this movie! I have never surfed before, but this movie is so inspirational, that I think one of these days I ought to try surfing even if just for the small waves. It takes a ton of courage and experience to be able to surf like the best surfers featured in this film.
I didn't know that surfing originated more than a thousand years ago in Hawaii, and it was banned by some conservative/religious group. It was reintroduced to the world as a tourism feature attraction a century ago. Greg Noll was the first legendary surfer who pioneered the surfing lifestyle in Waimea in the '50s. Then surfing became mainstream and spread to California when numerous surfing movies were released in the '60s and '70s. The number of surfers had grown from hundreds to millions.
Jeff Clark was one of the bravest and greatest surfers, and he was the first to master Mavericks surfing in the rocky shores of Northern California, and soon attracted some of the best Waimea surfers to catch those waves. It took the life of a veteran surfer named Mark Foo, and the experience shocked many fellow surfers. By the '90s, Hawaiian born Laird Hamilton, who had been trained by his step-dad since he was a kid, had grown up to become the best-known and bravest surfer. He was the first to ride the most dangerous waves and survived it, but left him shocked by the experience.
The film featured numerous interviews on the best surfers, and they talked about their experiences before, during, and after their most memorable times when driven by the sea. It also chronicles the evolution of the surf boards throughout the decades.
I really enjoyed this film, and it was well made, and very entertaining and informative as a documentary.
Riding Giants is a brilliant documentary that dives deep into the world of one of the most underappreciated sports and brings to the surface a very human and raw emotion that only director Stacy Peralta could capture. Everything from the structure, to the players, to the amazing stock footage, to even the style in which this was filmed only reinforced the beauty and power behind the sport of surfing. Of all the surfing films that I have seen (Endless Summer, Billabong Odyssey, and Step Into Liquid) this was the most consistent and relevant. Beginning with the early ages of surfing (a brief history lesson) lasting all the way till Laird's infamous ride, Riding Giants goes further into the mind, heart, and soul of the sport than any of these other documentaries. How does it do this? By giving us the whole story, from start to finish, without fictionalizing or jig jagging from wave to wave.
To begin this film was structurally sound. In the other films that I have seen about surfing, you sometimes find yourself jumping from new person to new person, wave to wave, event to event, without any knowledge of why or who? In Riding Giants, we have a very small cast of veterans and newbies. This allows you to really go deeper into the mind of each one. Also, instead of just riding waves, we are handed more history and more personal insight to the world than before. This is what really attracted me to this film. I was impressed that instead of showing all these big waves (because it is a big wave movie), we listen to stories and see first hand what these surfers had to overcome to get to those waves. I loved the information about the "beach bums" or father's of surfing. I am still floored by the amazing tales of Greg Noll and his early adventures into the harsh deep blue. Then, to see him in person, talking about what was going on in his mind, only added more fuel to the fire. The straightforward structure that Peralta followed allowed me to follow and walk away with more knowledge of the sport than with any of the earlier films. Peralta shows so much emotion and passion that you cannot help but be amazed by what these brave people have done, and where the sport is going.
Add to a immaculate structure some intense and creative cinematography, and you have darn near perfect film. Using techniques that I last saw in The Kid Stays in the Picture, Riding Giants creates some scenes that almost feel as if they are jumping out of the screen. While it isn't 3D, it is that flat dimensional feeling that you get when you put two pictures on top of each other. In this film, it worked. It created more depth to the scenes, and really added to not just the shock value (man these waves were huge), but also the danger that these guys constantly faced. If it broke differently or they maneuvered wrong, these waves would kill them. Some did die, but it didn't stop the sport. It only created more excitement and more passion to do better. It is this love of the ocean and sport that leads me to my final point.
The human element. So many of my earlier adventures in the world of surfing documentaries left me with beautiful waves, but very little about the people. The films knew that people were watching for the waves, so it would basically go from wave to wave to wave and the maybe a short second about the person. This film was the direct opposite. Peralta created this masterpiece by still giving us the waves, but devoting so much more attention onto the surfers and the immortal question of why they do this everyday. What rushes through their minds, what pushes them to go further, and the bonds that are formed while out there on the wild blue yonder. I felt like after watching this film that I not only knew more about big wave surfing, but also about the emotional side to the sport. This was an element not as developed in the other films and pushed Riding Giants to a whole new personal level.
Overall, this film was brilliant. Never have I witnessed so much passion, devotion, and love wrapped in a structurally sound film. From beginning to end, I was impressed. I would be very happy if this film won the Oscar this year for Best Documentary, and to see a new rebirth in the surfing world and open more doors for films of this nature.
Grade: ***** out of *****
 surfing giants is an exelent movie about three guys who have the gut to go big wave surfing. the first, greg noll. he was an amaizing surfer and one of the earlier ones, then jeff clark he was a risky surfer. last but definitly not least larid hamilton. he surfed many places including one with amaizing waves that weren't so much that high, but very dence. the movie was rated pg-13 because of the language, otherwise the movie is appropriate for pretty much all ages. if you like this movie, then also try "step into liquid" (also rated pg-13)
the movie really motivates me to learn how to surf better. (yup, i do surf)
it was a "totally tubular" movie!
I had no real intention to see this film, but after being dragged to see it, I had to admit it was truly an incredible movie. Even though I live in a beach city, I am not exactly an avid surfer, yet I still enjoyed it a lot. This film is interesting enough to be viewed by anyone, interested in surfing or not.
The history of surfing is very fascinating and it is very cool to see interviews with the people who love the thrill of riding giant waves. The footage of the surfing is especially amazing, seeing the tiny guy riding in a monolith of water is just dream-like and truly incredible. I also loved the retro footage of 50s and 60s era surf culture, if you are in to that culture or stlye at all, I recommend this film simply for that aspect.
Another great part of the movie was the music, which I enjoyed so much I bought the soundtrack. It covers a diverse ammount of surf rock, hawaiian music, and epic rock ballads, and every piece fits brilliantly well with the visuals.
A very high-quality documentary and interesting film in general. 5 stars.
|
