Giant

source: Giant

"Giant" met the lush, sprawling Edna Ferber novel on its own level… Detailing the history of a Texas royal family, the movie, like the novel, is a monument to myths about Texas size, wealth, and vulgarity A well-bred lady from Virginia, Liz is the outsider who marries the big, strong, thick-headed ruler of a family dynasty (Rock Hudson) and who stubborn1y refuses to lose her own notions of right and wrong In choosing as his bride this independent woman who won't conform to Texas folkways, Hudson selected a wily and persevering antagonist, a lady with a mind of her own who challenges, and loves him every step of the way… At the end, when he fights the owner of a roadside diner who will not serve his Mexican daughter-in-law and grandchild, Liz can count the twenty-five-year battle hers… Playing the liberal to her husband's reactionary, she's succeeded finally in educating her man… It's one of the few occasions when Taylor's the wise teacher rather than the recalcitrant pupil The marriage—a prototype for the Taylor ménage, in which tenderness and turbulence are closely mixed—is set against the evolution of Texas from old-fashioned to modern… As horse-loving Virginia deb, as new bride, as threat to her husband's mannish domineering sister, as young wife and mother, as patrona of the ranch who would rather talk politics with the men than chit-chat with the women, as the unattainable mistress of Jett Rink's dreams, as dignified, middle-aged champion of American-Chicano integration, Liz is at the center of the epic canvas, and it's a wise and charming performance Stevens again shots the stillness of her serene beauty, but he also explores the temperament of the Taylor spitfire… Leslie Lynnton is one of Taylor's strong heroines, one of the few women she's played who, if they absolutely had to, might make it on their own

source: Giant

Trailer—Giant

Giant

Long but engrossing, entertaining adaptation of Edna Ferber's bestseller about a Texas cattle rancher marrying New England bluebood and bringing her out to his spread; James Dean (uneven in his final film role) plays a long-time family conflict. Quite well-directed by Oscar winner George Stevens, who sorts this story out for us in both formidable and lively terms. The introductions to the many characters are smooth, and after a timid start the plot really gets cooking (however fiery Mercedes McCambridge, as a jealous ranch caretaker, is lost far too soon). Only in the last reel, with Dean overacting in silly old age make-up, does the narrative falter, showing the melodramatic underpinnings of the piece while dispensing with the flair. Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor are nearly flawless, supporting performances by the first-rate cast (Carroll Baker, Sal Mineo, Dennis Hopper, Rod Taylor) also terrific. *** from ****

Strange what time does. I wasn't in a hurry to see Giant again. I had a fuzzy memory of the film. I remembered James Dean but I also remembered the length and the pace. Now in 2018 it had a completely different effect. I was riveted from beginning to end. Elizabeth Taylor ! How is it that I didn't remember the groundbreaking aspect of her character. She's a woman of the future tied by marriage to a reactionary past. I was born in Italy but I've been married to a Texan for 23 years. I know Texas well and I know the difference between Texas and New York as well as Texans who never left Texas and Texans who have lived and traveled elsewhere. Giant, made in 1956 tells us that without partisan bias. That's how it was and how, in many respects still is. James Dean, magic, of course Rock Hudson is terrific but it is Elizabeth Taylor's film. Carroll Baker, Dennis Hopper, Mercedes McCambridge and Sal Mineo are moving parts of this arid and beautiful landscape.