| Collector's Corner July 2003
 Giant
- Starring: Elizabeth Taylor,
Rock Hudson, James Dean, Carroll Baker, Jane Withers,
Chill Wills, Mercedes McCambridge, Dennis Hopper, Sal Mineo,
Rod Taylor, Earl Holliman, Alexander Scourby
- Directed by: George Stevens
- Theatrical release: 1956
- DVD release: 2003
- Video: Widescreen (letterbox)
- Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
- Released by: Warner Home Video
When you see Giant, you have
those figures that are bigger than life. There is nobility, strength, and power in them.
And you walk out and say, "My goodness, I am proud to be a human being . . .."
When the interest and the emphasis is put on human characters, human dilemmas, and how to
solve them, or human aspirations -- those films will live forever.
-- Director Rouben Mamoulian
Giant is the story of a land-wealthy
traditionalist Texan, Bick Benedict (Rock Hudson), his proper but indomitable wife, Leslie
(Elizabeth Taylor), and their surly and sullen ranch-hand, Jet Rink (James Dean). Bick
meets Leslie while buying a horse from her father in Maryland. They fall in love, marry,
and head for Bick’s Texas ranch, Reatta. Coming to dusty West Texas is a bitter
awakening for Leslie after her comfortable life in verdant Maryland. Add to that the
problem that Bick’s feisty sister, Luz (Mercedes McCambridge), is willing to fight to
keep her position as the "head woman" of the house. Leslie is also troubled by
Bick’s poor treatment of Mexican workers and his belief that women belong in the
sewing circle. When Luz dies as a result of a stupid temper tantrum, she leaves some of
her share of Reatta to Jet Rink. Jet discovers oil on his land and becomes an overnight
billionaire. He will use his money to go to any lengths to destroy Bick, take over Reatta,
and win Leslie’s heart.
Giant is a three-and-a-half-hour epic film covering
three generations and their lives across 30 years. To casual observers, it might simply
appear to be about the historic Texas fights between oilmen and ranchers. Hidden just
beneath the surface is the conflict between progress and tradition. What makes Giant
a classic has nothing to do with epic grandeur. The story could be set anywhere that two
men disagree enough to fight. The central story is really about a family and how they cope
with life’s constant flux. It is an intimate tale, inhabited by loving people trying
to forge their extended family into something good and positive, all the while having to
face the pressures of tradition, wealth, and the outside world.
George Stevens directed and produced Giant. A
30-year Hollywood veteran with some genre-defining films to his credit (Swing Time, A
Place in the Sun, Shane), Stevens was jolted from his pre-WWII comedies to offer more
thoughtful stories. This happened when he worked for General Eisenhower during WWII. He
filmed most of the carnage you may have seen of Dachau in historical documentaries.
Stevens found that, after filming piles of emaciated corpses and sun-bleached skeletons,
he just couldn’t make broad comedies any more. After WWII, he made movies that were
both touching and tragic, but any humor in them was gentle and based on kind-hearted views
of human foibles.
 Some actors didn’t care
for his perfectionist methods. Stevens would ask for take after take, shooting from myriad
angles, trying to catch light and darkness in ways that would enhance the story. James
Dean, especially, hated multiple takes and would constantly complain. With just two films
behind him, Dean was already acting the spoiled prima donna. Stevens, a direct man, would
confront Dean, who would then sulk and bad-mouth other members of the cast and crew behind
their backs. Stevens, in as diplomatic terms as possible, told the Saturday Review that
Dean "had the ability to take a scene and break it down; sometimes he broke it
down into so many bits and pieces that I couldn't see the scene for the trees, so to
speak. I must admit that sometimes I underestimated him, and sometimes he overestimated
the effects he thought he was getting. All in all, it was a hell of a headache to work
with him.... From the director's point of view, [Dean] isn't the most delightful sort of
fellow to work with."
Even if he drove a few actors crazy, Stevens had the total
respect of other directors. One of the founding members of the Director’s Guild, his
peers loved him both for his painstaking attention to detail and his complete
unwillingness to compromise quality. They loved him even more for setting the standard
that it was OK to defy the studio bosses like Jack Warner. In letters to Stevens (included
on the second DVD), Warner would beg, plead, and cajole, then give regular lectures on how
to make a successful film. A lecture from Warner or a whining actor didn’t scare him.
After his war experience, where he had seen true horror, Stevens would steadfastly stand
up for his beliefs. The cast and crew willing to work within Stevens’ system loved
him -- they knew that the final product would be worth it.
Stevens cast Giant with two big-name stars (Hudson
and Taylor) and an up-and-comer (Dean). Though only 23 years old, Taylor was already a
major star, garnering top billing and the biggest salary ($175,000). She had been a star
since her 12th birthday (National Velvet) and had already worked with Stevens in A
Place in the Sun. Stevens had originally wanted Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn for the
role. Kelly might have worked well, but I think Taylor was the best possible Leslie.
Taylor’s portrayal has a depth of feeling and verisimilitude that might surprise
younger viewers. Yes, later in life, she did develop into a publicity-seeking neurotic,
but her work in Giant is wonderful and deserves high praise. When she’s got
her chin stuck out, ready for a fight with her husband, or when she’s nurturing her
children, you tend to forget Taylor the icon and think of Leslie the character. Chapter 32
shows Leslie and Bick, each standing up for their children in the most loving and
respectful way. Taylor’s acting is the best kind: invisible.
No one has ever considered Rock Hudson to be a great actor.
He knew his strength came from a beautiful face and imposing height. Yet, Hudson does a
wonderful job as Bick Benedict in Giant. His character, more than any other in the
film, changes as a human being. He starts as a conservative traditionalist, looking at the
Mexicans as lower-class citizens, and women as suitable only to stand by their men. By the
end, he is heroic. There’s an old saying regular readers will recognize: When one
actor is great, it’s great acting. When all the actors are great, it’s great
directing. Stevens was a great director who crafted a wonderful performance from
Hudson. For a great example of how Stevens created Hudson’s acting, check chapter 28.
In one of the saddest moments in the film, Leslie is back in Maryland, supposedly for her
sister’s wedding, but truthfully to begin a separation from Bick. As the marriage
vows are taken, Bick slowly appears behind Leslie. Stevens times the camera movement to
wring every iota of melancholy out of the scene. Hudson ends up looking like a great
actor.
Of course, everyone remembers James Dean. The myths are
apparently quite different from reality. In my research for this piece, the majority of
the sources described Dean as obnoxious, mean-spirited, and self-centered. Many thought he
was talented enough to forgive his personal shortcomings. But it wasn’t just Stevens
who disliked Dean. Hudson, Chill Wills, and James Dean all had to share a house. Hudson
couldn’t stand Dean, stating that Dean never had a pleasant word to say about anyone
or anything. Chill Wills, à la what Belushi does to Stephen Bishop in Animal
House, got so upset at Dean’s guitar playing that he jerked the guitar from
Dean’s hands and smashed it into pieces.
 Dean was addicted to speed, so the studio, wanting to protect its assets,
contractually bound him to stay out of fast cars during the filming of Giant. As
soon as he was freed from filming, he went back to California, jumped in his Porsche
Spyder, and went racing up the highway to a track in Salinas. He died in a violent crash.
The rest of the cast was still in Texas, watching the day’s rushes, when they found
out Dean was dead. Everyone was stunned. Death bestowed immortality on James Dean. The
picture of him sitting with his boots propped up on the front seat of Bick’s Rolls
Royce is as iconic as any picture in the history of film. But do you realize the man made
only three films? I wonder what kind of an actor he would have become.
Today, there is something fascinating about watching Hudson
and Taylor, both products of the antiquated studio system, versus James Dean and his
modern use of Stanislavski and Strasberg’s "method" acting. For those
unfamiliar with method acting, it uses the actors’ personal experiences to make a
more three-dimensional character. Dean would tell fellow cast member Dennis Hopper that he
should smoke a cigarette, not act like he was smoking a cigarette. These distinctions were
deeply meaningful for the actors that used them (Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, and many
others). The rest of the cast and especially directors found it tedious and
unprofessional. There is no discounting the fact that Dean’s performance, mannered as
it is, is extremely powerful during the first two acts. He becomes less believable as he
ages and becomes a corporate tycoon.
This leads to the one significant weakness of Giant.
In a film where characters age 30 years, a director has two choices: use different actors
for different ages, or use makeup. Stevens chose makeup. Asking us to believe Dean and
Taylor, both 23 years old and Hudson at 29, are in their 60s, is asking a lot. Carroll
Baker, who plays Leslie’s daughter, was actually older than Liz Taylor! The actors do
as good a job as can be done. But today’s audiences will have to overlook this flaw.
The most common complaint about Giant is its length.
Personally, I would have loved to have an extra hour. How do you cover three generations
in 200 minutes? As it is, certain parts of the film seem rushed, like the lost 15 years
when Bick and Leslie’s kids go from toddlers to teenagers. Even at 200 minutes, the
story never feels bogged down or bloated. How many 200-minute films can make that claim?
Warner Home Video has given us a breathtaking mastering of Giant.
Visually, the outdoor shots have the texture and color of the area around Marfa, Texas.
Indoor shots have a burnished richness without being overly detailed through edge
enhancements. I was initially worried about the use of letterboxing (versus anamorphic),
but Giant was shot in spherical 35mm, so even in a theater they would have used
matting, the same technique as letterboxing. The sound is clear and undistorted.
Giant stretches over two sides of a disc. The break
point is well chosen and we get a much better picture from the additional space. Each side
has extras, my favorite being the interviews with several distinguished directors who knew
Stevens. The second disc features two documentaries (apparently shot at the same time),
lots of background information, and four different trailers. Many of the extras come from
the old laserdisc. By the way, that deluxe laserdisc sold for $99.98! The DVD has a better
picture, more extras (stills and letters, scenes from the premieres), and costs $26.99.
When Giant was released in 1956, Louella O. Parsons
said, "It’s another Gone with the Wind, and one of the all-time great
pictures." Over the years, Hollywood has produced hundreds of epics, most of which
are eminently forgettable. The ones we remember are the epics with an intimate story
painted over an epic backdrop: Lawrence of
Arabia, The Godfather, Gone
with the Wind. Giant belongs on that list.
...Wes Marshall
wesm@hometheatersound.com |
