Riding Giants (Special Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Awesome action! Simply one of the best...
Review: I met Laird back in 1984 when he moved into the condo next door during his brief fling at modeling for the now defunct Surfbreaker clothing line in southern orange county, CA. Even back then at the age of 20 or so, you could tell he was destined for something great in the surfing world. He was not only in awesome physical condition, but was was easy going and friendly to those he met...and you could see he lived to surf.
Now to the film... if you are interested in the history of Big Wave surfing, you HAVE to get RIDING GIANTS! It starts with a brief history going back hundreds of years and works up to the 40's and 50's with some great footage of all the greats who made this sport what it is today. There are not only unbelievable action shots of HUGE waves from that era, but the still pictures and interviews with the legends are in themselves worth this movie.
Fast forward to the culmination of all that went before, with an amazing shot of Laird catching the most perfectly shaped HUGE heavy wave you've ever seen (Tahiti)...BUY this movie, its a must for anyone who loves the ocean!

Steve

Rating:
Summary: A review by a non-Surfer
Review: I loved this movie. Riding Giants takes a look at the history of big-wave surfing and its subculture. Peralta mixes vintage footage along with interviews from past and contemporary surfing legends. I'm pretty unfamiliar with the surfing culture, and I found this documentary to be very informative and entertaining. The surfing footage is impressive, but Riding Giants is more than just footage of surfers riding giant waves. The interviews and home movies do a great job of bringing out the personalities behind the sport, and give a deeper insight of what the surf lifestyle meant to its participants.

Rating:
Summary: That's The Way It Was -- And Still Is
Review: I surfed in high school and college -- in the sixties and early seventies -- and this is the first movie that really communicates the way it was then. It also communicates the incredible obsession that many surfers have with their sport. If you've ever surfed, or if you haven't and want to know a little of what drives surfers, this is the movie for you. Ever since I saw it, I've been thinking, if I get back in shape, maybe.....

Rating:
Summary: A documentary about passion
Review: My wife and I are skate skiers living near Tahoe and this movie, along with Step Into Liquid, was the perfect movie for a Saturday night in January after a day out playing in the snow.

This review can't match the detail or eloquence of the spotlighted reviews. What I can say is that Peralta captures the passion that grips each of the surfers he interviews. What else but passion makes a guy paddle 45 minutes through cold Northern Cali surf to surf a monstrous wave that, if it doesn't drown him, can pound his body through a boneyard? And does it solo for fifteen years? That, my friends, is the passion of someone who loves what he does without any regard for glory or fame. May we all find that one thing in life that inspires us so.

My only critique (one that I had with SIL and ES II, but that doesn't mean the movie is less than five stars) is that the movie lacks a discussion of the severe localism that plagues certain beach communities and is inconsistent with the surfing happy face presented here.

But that's nitpicking....surfing movies are meant to be fun and transporting. We loved Endless Summer II, smiled and "wowed" our way through SIL, and highly recommend Riding Giants.

Rating:
Summary: Men Who Ride Mountains...
Review: Once again Stacy Peralta(Dogtown & Z-Boys) has outdone himself. The sheer ferocity of the waves you see in the movie is just unreal. That on top of having the surfers themselves, many of whom helped pioneer the sport to where it is today, is awesome. Riding Giants is a true pleasure to watch and the job Peralta and friends does w/ the editing is great. One giant thrillride! Go get this one... it's fantastic.

Rating:
Summary: From a non surfing "surf widow"
Review: Take it from a non-surfing "surf widow" this is a truly GREAT film. I can't tell you how many countless boring surf films I have sat thru with my surfer husband- the endless droning commentary and endless footage of of one wave after another that all looks the same to a greenhorn like me. This is WAY different- the footage was unusual and the back story was really interesting. This was a film that kept me glued to the screen and wanting more. The candid interviews with the surfing greats is among the best I've seen- you really felt that you got to know and understand them and really care about them. It showed the humanity and the passion of the sport. This film has what so many of the other surfing films are lacking- real heart. This film will be enjoyable to ANYONE regardless of your interest in the sport of surfing.

Rating:
Summary: Men and women of faith
Review: This is a great film.

As this documentary unfolds, what grips you is the crystalline purity with which these men and women pursue the thing that makes them happy; makes them feel, at least for that one moment when they skim atop a liquid volcano, absolutely connected to everything. My favorite surfer, among many great legends and personalities, was Jeff Clark, who surfed the towering, icy, rock-strewn waters of Maverick, California for fifteen years by himself before anyone seemed to know it was there.

I have never surfed in my life. This film did not make me want to become a surfer. Instead, it reminded me that life is something to be loved and lived with devotion. How many films have you seen that have given you that feeling? --Mykal Banta


Rating:
Summary: Kowabunga, dude!
Review: This is, to paraphrase Jeff Spicoli, a bitchin' movie with some tasty waves. It starts with a history of surfing and proceeds to cover the early big-wave surfers in Hawaii from the 40's and 50's and moves to California where the action shifted in the 60's. The section on Mavricks in Northern California was especially good before ending back in Hawaii with present-day monster-wave surfing legend Laird Hamilton.

The photography is absolutely stunning making you go, like, "Whoa, dude! How they get that shot?" The interviews with both old and current big-wave riders were well done, very entertaining, and quite informative. All in all, a masterful movie, even for non-surfers.

If everything you know about surfing comes from watching Beach Blanket Bingo ten or twenty times, think again. See this movie and you'll never look at the ocean in quite the same way again.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely ridiculous
Review: This movie is sick. If it wasn't for the fear of being crushed to death by a 50 foot wave, I would move to Hawaii and start big wave surfing tomorrow. I watched Riding Giants last week and every day since then I have been sitting in my cubicle at working searching the net for Jaws footage. This is easily the best surfing movie ever, and probably the best documentary of the year.
Also, if I was forced to have my girlfriend cheat on me, but I got to choose who it would be with, it would be with Laird Hamilton. Hell, after a few beers I'd probably do it.

Rating:
Summary: Facinating look into the history of surfing
Review: Whether you have any inherent interest in surfing or not, this documentary is still facinating. It covers not only this history of how surfing evolved to its present form, but also how surfers were viewed by the media and the world at large, and the passions that drove these surfers to devote all their waking hours to the pursuit of one amazing wave. It allows this film to be deeply interesting on many levels. The format is also excellent, with out the use of too much overly flashy effects (which I felt detracted some what from the similiar, still excellent but inferior cinematicly, Dogtown and ZBoys). The footage and the interviews really speak for themselves.