Description:
Rated: PG13
Synopsis: The set piece of this hyperbolic ode to surfing is Laird Hamilton's 2000 trip to Tahiti, where a monster wave provided the opportunity for what the movie portentously calls "the most significant ride in surfing history." If you're inclined to regard the sport as important and its practitioners as heroic, you'll likely enjoy this beautifully photographed documentary, which presents Hamilton as a towering figure. Certainly he's responsible for much of the sport's current popularity: A fierce competitor who seems genuinely driven, he's a popular cover boy who's landed modeling assignments and lucrative endorsement deals that include an American Express commercial. Writer-director Stacy Peralta depicts Hamilton and his fellow surfers as not only dedicated but even obsessive, chasing the biggest waves with the single-minded determination of Captain Ahab pursuing Moby-Dick. Peralta's images testify to the physical battering surfers undergo, and the onscreen participants pay tribute to brethren who lost their lives while riding the big waves. Some viewers will think it foolish that people are willing to risk everything for this pastime, but Riding Giants clearly espouses an uncritical point of view that holds surfing to be a noble endeavor. Regardless of how much importance one places on the sport, it will be impossible not to be moved by the truly spectacular footage captured by Peralta with state-of-the-art photographic techniques. And we predict some will find it positively mesmerizing.


With the documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, skater-cum-filmmaker Stacy Peralta introduced viewers to the history of the West Coast skateboarding culture and made a huge splash at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, taking home both the Documentary Directing Award and the Documentary Audience Award. For this follow-up effort, Peralta leaves the land for the sea, focusing his lens on the world of surfing. Narrated by Sean Penn, just as Dogtown and Z-Boys was, Riding Giants attempts to trace the origins of surfing and also explore the growth and progress of surf culture. Among the surfing luminaries who chime in on topics varying from the business of the sport to "the big wave" are Laird Hamilton, Greg Noll, and Jeff Clark. Hoping to find the critical success akin to its predecessor, Riding Giants premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Matthew Tobey


PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES:

Presentation: Wide Screen
Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
Features: Commentary by director Stacy Peralta and editor Paul Crowder; Commentary by writer Sam George and surfers Greg Noll, Jeff Clark and Laird Hamilton; Deleted scenes; Fuel TV's Blue Carpet Special; Making of Riding Giants; Previews
Language: English, English
SubTitles: Français
Editions: Special Edition
Time: 1 Hour 41 Minutes