Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5991 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-08-22
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Hindi
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 97 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Riding Giants is more than another blissful surfing movie. It's an outstanding documentary about one era in American alternative lifestyles, when surfing was well-suited to a radical culture of social dropouts. Using an amazing array of amateur film clips, shot for the most part in Hawaii and California from the late 1950s and early '60s, director Stacy Peralta traces the rise of surfing's appeal to young men looking to test themselves in an unorthodox (and sexy) milieu--of "living life to the fullest," as former surfer-turned-screenwriter John Milius (Big Wednesday) puts it at one point. Lengthy chapters on the glories of Oahu's Makaha and the "superstition and dread" that accompanied the big-wave challenge of Waimea Bay are riveting and sometimes heroic, particularly told through the memories of surf legend Greg Noll. Great material, too, about the deadly wonders of surfing Mavericks, California, where the rocks will get one if the violent tides don't. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

Synopsis
Giving a history of surfing that stretches from the early 1940s to 2004, RIDING GIANTS is director Stacy Peralta's examination of surfing as a lifestyle, a risk-taker's delight, and a space for increasing innovation and modernisation. From the California coastline to the dramatic wild waters of Hawaii, big waves are the aim of some of the top surfers in the sport--Greg Noll, Jeff Clark, and Laird Hamilton. Beginning with old footage of the first surf boards which were long and heavy and made for riding small waves without much movement, and taking viewers through the sport chapter by chapter, this comprehensive documentary shows how the faces of the sport change with advances in surfboard technology. Bit by bit boards become smaller and 'beach bums' are more readily accepted by society. The film offers a comic look at cult films like GIDGET and the music of surf guitarist Dick Dale--pop culture influences responsible for introducing the sport and its lifestyle to the mainstream. The most fascinating moments of the film come in its final quarter when Hamilton and his buddies discover the key to tow-in big-wave surfing and break through all imaginable boundaries. RIDING GIANTS shows some true daredevils doing what they do best, and its magnificent photography, comprehensive interviews, and insider perspective are truly a marvel to behold.

Customer Reviews

The Finest Surf Movie Ever Made?
There is absolutely no need to have ever taken the slightest interest in surfing to enjoy this movie. I have never been interested in surfing, but when i caught this movie by accident on TV i was spellbound. Captivated from start to finish.
I've watched quite a few surfing movies since, nothing comes close to this. Buy it, Keep it, Enjoy it many times and show it to all your friends.

Blimey...
What an amazing film, charting the rise of surf culture in California and Hawaii through the '50s and '60s, starting with the early long and heavy board proponents of the sport. It was the era of the beat generation, only this offshoot was dedicated to the hedonism of beach culture and surfing, living off the land, and generally dropping out. Loads of high-quality amateur footage show the progress towards bigger and bigger waves - I don't even surf, but some of these monsters are utterly awe-inspiring. It follows the surf bums as they scour Hawaii's northern reaches for bigger and bigger breaks, landing at last at Waimea where Greg Noll rose to become the finest big wave rider of all.

For me, the film really took off when it moved to California and the insane Maverick break - a mile or two off-shore (close to San Francisco) in rip tides and freezing water, 30ft waves - a break ridden by one single hero for FIFTEEN years, before it came to wider attention! Then onto Jaws in Hawaii (60 - 80 ft waves!!), where tow and surf was born, and then onto the three-mile offshore breaks with even bigger waves. I'll leave the finale for you to discover!

I found this a truly mesmerising film. If documentaries about extreme sports and the lifestyles that go with them is your thing, this is unmissable.

Riding Giants
Riding Giants is a documentary made at the right time for preserving the history of big wave surfing. The movie was produced recently and the possibilities and techniques of filmmaking in the 21st century were exploited.

The various characters themselves take the viewer through the story most of the time. As the characters do not all relate to each other face to face, this narrative technique prevents the film from taking on its own personality, in contrast to Bruce Brown's Endless Summer movies which have taken on their own personalities so well.

At first viewing the special effects usually used in action movies seem confusing. These effects range from waves breaking fast forward to a flash appearing when a narrator snips his fingers after making a point. I am not sure whether the special effects are irritating or contribute to showing what surfers experience.

The film gives some time to exploring the psychology of surfers and what made them do what they do. This the film does very well without this aspect of the film becoming overwhelming. Pitty only that the movie focuses almost exclusively on America and Americans - big wave surfing has gone worldwide by now!

Riding Giants was well made, but is not a classic.