The opening of the movie sets the viewer up for a bit of a shock later on; all those lush rolling green fields of Maryland give way to a desolate and bizarrely placed Gothic mansion in the middle of a Texas desert. One wonders what Leslie Benedict REALLY thought, because she never let on that this might have been a mistake. But they say love is blind, even if marriage is an eye opener. For my part, I was left wondering what the cattle ate out there to stay nourished, they certainly looked healthy. But of course, that wasn't the point. "Giant" was one of the earliest epic bordering films to examine racial intolerance and present a strong independent woman, and the scenes that play to those sentiments are the best in the story.
I had only the faintest of knowledge about the film, generally cited as a final showcase for one of it's stars, James Dean. What surprised me the most was the presence of such a fine supporting cast behind Dean, Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor. Mercedes McCambridge excels with limited screen time as Bick's (Hudson) manly sister, while Carroll Baker and Dennis Hopper appear as the adult Benedict heirs, each off in their own direction to the consternation of their father. It's always interesting to see Dennis Hopper, especially in very young early roles, to see how he developed his chameleon like ability to morph into virtually any type of characterization.
It's fair to say that the movie's three plus hours virtually flies by, and one wonders how long it could have gone if the film hadn't lopped off years between scenes. On the flip side, that might also be the picture's greatest downside. Even though continuity is never lost, it's somewhat disorienting to see a family age by almost a decade at a clip, as there was plenty of room for additional character development in between. That's probably why more than once I thought that the picture might have benefited from a serialization of sorts, along the lines of say, "Dallas", other similarities notwithstanding. Is there any way to overlook the connection between Jett Rink's (Dean) prominent initials and those of the eldest son of the Ewing clan?
The movie ties up a lot of connections by the time it's over, like Jordy's (Hopper) 'Country Doctor' medical kit and his adult life's ambition. The best though came near the finale when Hudson's character Bick Benedict transcends his chauvinistic and bigoted past to take on the proprietor of 'Sarge's Place'. It was the redeeming moment worth waiting for, set to martial music and inviting the viewer to cheer on the man who was getting his butt whipped. It's a scene that best captures the spirit of "Giant", as if defining each of it's principal players as a giant in their own right.
I had only the faintest of knowledge about the film, generally cited as a final showcase for one of it's stars, James Dean. What surprised me the most was the presence of such a fine supporting cast behind Dean, Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor. Mercedes McCambridge excels with limited screen time as Bick's (Hudson) manly sister, while Carroll Baker and Dennis Hopper appear as the adult Benedict heirs, each off in their own direction to the consternation of their father. It's always interesting to see Dennis Hopper, especially in very young early roles, to see how he developed his chameleon like ability to morph into virtually any type of characterization.
It's fair to say that the movie's three plus hours virtually flies by, and one wonders how long it could have gone if the film hadn't lopped off years between scenes. On the flip side, that might also be the picture's greatest downside. Even though continuity is never lost, it's somewhat disorienting to see a family age by almost a decade at a clip, as there was plenty of room for additional character development in between. That's probably why more than once I thought that the picture might have benefited from a serialization of sorts, along the lines of say, "Dallas", other similarities notwithstanding. Is there any way to overlook the connection between Jett Rink's (Dean) prominent initials and those of the eldest son of the Ewing clan?
The movie ties up a lot of connections by the time it's over, like Jordy's (Hopper) 'Country Doctor' medical kit and his adult life's ambition. The best though came near the finale when Hudson's character Bick Benedict transcends his chauvinistic and bigoted past to take on the proprietor of 'Sarge's Place'. It was the redeeming moment worth waiting for, set to martial music and inviting the viewer to cheer on the man who was getting his butt whipped. It's a scene that best captures the spirit of "Giant", as if defining each of it's principal players as a giant in their own right.