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Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Carroll Baker, Mercedes McCambridge ... see more see more... , Jane Withers , Sal Mineo , Chill Wills , Dennis Hopper , Judith Evelyn , Paul Fix , Rod Taylor , Earl Holliman , Robert Nichols , Alexander Scourby , Fran Bennett , Charles Watts , Elsa Cardenas , Carolyn Craig , Monte Hale , Mary Ann Edwards , Victor Millan , Mickey Simpson , Pilar del Rey , Maurice Jara , Noreen Nash , Napoleon Whiting , Ray Whitley , Tina Menard , Fernando Alvarado , Barbara Barrie , Ray Bennett , Richard Bishop , Tex Driscoll , George Dunn , Ella Ethridge , Bill Hale , Mark Hamilton , Paul Kruger , Charles Meredith , Tom Monroe , Julian Rivero , Slim Talbot , Max "Alibi" Terhune , Felipe Turich , Natividad Vacio , Rush Williams , Sheb Wooley , Steven Kay , John Garcia , Eddie Baker , Juney Ellis , Maxine Gates , Guy Teague

George Stevens' sprawling adaptation of Edna Ferber's best-selling novel successfully walks a fine line between potboiler and serious drama for its 210-minute running time, making it one of the few ep... read more read more...ics of its era that continues to hold up as engrossing entertainment across the decades. Giant opens circa 1922 in Maryland, where Texas rancher Jordan "Bick" Benedict (Rock Hudson) has arrived to buy a stallion called War Winds from its owner, Dr. Horace Lynnton (Paul Fix). But much as Bick loves and knows horses, he finds himself even more transfixed by the doctor's daughter, Leslie Lynnton (Elizabeth Taylor), and after some awkward moments, she has to admit that she's equally drawn to the shy, laconic Texan. They get married and Leslie spends her honeymoon traveling with Jordan to his ranch, Reata, which covers nearly a million acres of Texas. Once there, however, she finds that she has to push her way into her rightful role as mistress of the house, past Bick's sister, Luz (Mercedes McCambridge), who can't accept her brother's marriage or the changes it means in the home they share. Also working around Reata is the laconic ranch hand Jett Rink (James Dean) -- from a family as rooted in Texas as the Benedicts but not nearly as lucky (or "foxy"), Jett is dirt-poor and barely educated at all, and he fairly oozes resentment at Bick for his arrogance, although Luz likes him and for that reason alone Bick is obliged to keep him on. One thing Jett does have in common with his employer is that he is in awe of Leslie's beauty; another is his nearly total contempt for the Mexican-Americans who work for them -- Jett and Bick may have contempt for each other, but either one is just as likely to dismiss the Mexican-Americans around them as a bunch of shiftless "wetbacks." Luz feels so threatened with a loss of power and control that she decides to assert herself with War Winds, yet another "prize" that Bick brought back from Maryland that resists her authority -- then decides to ride the stallion despite being warned that no one but Leslie is wholly safe on him, and spurs him brutally in an effort to break him, which ends up destroying them both in the battle of wills she starts. After Luz's death, Jett learns that she left him a tiny piece of land for his own, on Reata, which he refuses to sell back to Bick, preferring to keep it for his own and maybe prospect for oil on it. Meanwhile, Leslie and Bick have their own problems -- Leslie can't abide the wretched conditions in which the Mexican families who work on Reata are allowed to live, taking a special interest in Mr. and Mrs. Obregon and their baby, Angel; but Bick doesn't want his wife, or any member of his family, concerning themselves with "those people." Leslie's humanity and her independence push their marriage to the limit, but Bick comes to accept this in his wife, and in four years of marriage they have three handsome children, a boy and two girls, and a loving if occasionally awkward home life. Meanwhile, Jett strikes oil on his land -- which he's named Little Reata -- and in a couple of years he's on his way to becoming the richest man in Texas, getting drilling contracts on all of the land in the area (except Reata) and making more money than the Benedicts ever saw from raising cattle. Bick is almost oblivious to the way Jett grows in power and influence across the years and the state, mostly because he's got his own family to worry about, including a son, Jordan III (Dennis Hopper), who doesn't want to take over the ranch from him, but wants instead to be a doctor; an older daughter, Judy (Fran Bennett), who wants to study animal husbandry and marry a local rancher (Earl Holliman) and start a tiny spread of her own; and a younger daughter, Luz (Carroll Baker), who's just a bit man-crazy and star-struck by the movies.The American entry into the Second World War and the resulting need for oil forces Bick to go into business with Jett and allow him to drill on Reata, and suddenly the Benedicts are wealthy enough to be part of Jett Rink's circle, which includes the governor of the state and at least one United States senator at his beck and call -- and Luz develops a serious crush on Jett, who likes his women young and is especially attracted to her, as Bick's and Leslie's daughter. Young Jordan marries Juana, a Mexican-American nursing student (Elsa Cardenas), and his father accepts it begrudgingly, with help from Leslie. The war kills Angel Obregon (Sal Mineo), a death that even affects Bick, but the Benedict family gets through it wealthier than ever and grows some more with the birth of Jordan IV to Jordie and Juana. When the family attends a gala opening of Jett Rink Airport, which concludes with a dinner honoring Jett's success, however, young Jordan's wife is humiliated by Jett's racist edicts, and he is beaten up by Jett's men after punching the oil baron. Seeing this, Bick challenges his old rival to the fight that's been brewing for a quarter of a century and wins by default, Jett being too drunk to defend himself or to hit; he's also too drunk to make the grand speech that was to climax the celebration, and he ends up alone in the ballroom. The Benedicts have it out with each other, young Jordan accusing his father of being as much a racist as Jett, and Leslie caught in the middle between her husband and her son. It looks like the Benedicts may lose each other, until an encounter with a racist diner owner forces Bick to stand up and get knocked down (more than once) defending his daughter-in-law and his grandson. Seen today, Giant seems the least dated of any of James Dean's three starring films, in part because it addresses issues that remain relevant more than 50 years later, and also because it has the best all-around acting and the best script of any of the three. Taken in broader terms, it's even better, with two of the best performances that Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson ever gave, and perhaps the second best of Hudson's whole career (after Seconds) -- the only unfortunate element at modern theatrical screenings is the tendency of younger viewers, who only know him in terms of the revelations late in his life of his being gay, to laugh and snicker at elements of Hudson's characterization; but his work is so good that the titters usually fade after the first 30 minutes or so. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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85% liked it

22,292 ratings

Critics

97% liked it

35 critics

G, 3 hr. 17 min.

Directed by: George Stevens

Release Date: November 24, 1956

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DVD Release Date: June 10, 2003

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Stats: 1,166 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,166)

  • cosmo313
    April 30, 2012
    cosmo313
    George Stevens is lucky he made this when he did, since I doubt he'd have been able to get away with making a film that favored storytelling over running time in this day and age.

    Yeah, that's right, this sucker is 210 gloriously excessive minutes of soapy melodrama on a grand s... read morecale, covering the lives of a few generations of rivalry and love between old money Texas cattle barons and new money Texas oil tycoons during the early 20th Century. It touches upon an interesting bit of Texas history, and deals with issues of racism, classism, and female independence as well, although these last three issues don't come as revolutionary like they did in 1956.

    This is a sprawling film, and, though it does have some really good moments, I hesitate to call it a classic. It's overlong (in places), really soppy and melodramatic, a bit dated, and doesn't have the weight it could. I sure as hell dug the production aspects though, that's for sure. This sucker as great cinematography, wonderful sets and costumes, decent music, and some excellent shooting locations.

    Oh yeah, and the performances are pretty decent, too. You've got young Elizabeth Taylor putting in some solid work, a decent turn from Rock Hudson, and James Dean in his final film (he died a few days after he finished shooting his scenes) knocking it out of the park in a very histrionic performance as the rugged rogue. There's also young Dennis Hopper and scene stealing Mercedes McCambridge.

    All in all, a decent film, but nothing truly remarkable beyond the surface. It's definitely deserving of the title epic though, even if it is fluff.
  • axadntpron
    November 25, 2011
    axadntpron
    A brave, and epic film for its time. You cannot help but be amazed by its bold message, it's strong acting, and the amount of issues he tackles in this film.
  • ythelastman89
    July 30, 2010
    ythelastman89
    It might not be one of the greatest movies ever made, but it's sure important. While it might appear to be a love story on the outer shell, this is really about class structure and racism. Elizabeth Taylor's crusade as a humanitarian stretches over 25 years, as does her struggle ... read morewith her marriage and family life. When you look at James Dean's Jett, all he wanted to do was to become as rich and powerful as Bick so he could win the heart of Leslie when that was something she never admired about her husband to begin with. All the side-characters, scenery, thickness and rich storytelling really pays off. You almost feel like a Benedict by the end of the movie. The conclusion in the diner is one of the greatest and most rewarding build ups in movie history.
  • jennifxu
    October 11, 2009
    jennifxu
    Epic love stories have to be really tightly strung for me to completely feel it, and Giant does a pretty good job with it. James Dean is excellent, as is Liz Taylor. I like how it covers racism sort of subtly.
  • kenstachnik
    May 18, 2009
    kenstachnik
    Really long and occasionally brilliant, this production lives up to it's name in the scale of the story alone. James Dean's best overall performance.
  • groaningbitch
    February 20, 2009
    groaningbitch
    "giant" is james dean's final screen presence, perhaps the leastly empathetic one. it's an overlong "masterpiece" of george stevens who brings the dynamic trio of taylor, hudson and dean together to delineate a epic of texas. excessively ambitious, but the plots're teetering afte... read morer the first hour and it almost flops.

    the epic sets off with mighty texasian ranch baron(hudson) who discovers the breathbreaking beauty from the daughter(taylor) of a prestiged family who sells the horse he wants in the east coast. then the dashing baron walks away with the horse as stallion and the daughter as wife. but this woman is more brightful and un-tamed than what he expects, so they quarrel over their perceptions on various local customs. meanwhile the insolent, outrageous worker of his sister's (dean) harbors a severe crush on his lovely wife, and this petite worker inherits a small piece of lean land of baron's according to his sister's will, so this insignificant man gets to be the biggest texasian tycoon to emulate him.

    the first one hour of the film is highly watchable for its grappling tension between the trio, and the smoldering covet of dean's character for taylor is a great stimulant to defy rock hudson who is literarily the stance of patriachy. and mercedes maccambridge gives an impressionable cameo as hudson's rough-to-the-bone "cowgirl" sister who wants to teach taylor a lesson of how to be a competent texasian wife, but maccambridge who may be the most interesting character dies too soon to redeem the giant from being a lump of ponderous work.

    the gratuitous feast for the eye would probably be the youthful looks of taylor and hudson while james dean's boyish cuteness is shrouded by the muddy cowboy hat. when the trio play out the senile part with grey dust sprinkled over their ebony hair, the movie loses its charm. additionally, it is comically absurd to see james dean in overcoat with oversized shoulder-paddings to dwarf his height. the whole flick remains in a certain interesting light until the character began to age and their kids grow into goofy teenage bores. who cares how those kids are gonna be? give me back the dynamic trio in their glowing beauty.

    the first hour passes, the story starts to go flat with all those politically righteous issues, such as racial bigotry, the demise of ranch business and the swarming oil-pumping fever. and it's very corny and contrived to assert racial equality by having the son married to a hispanic woman, then the patriach fistfights in a local restaurant to claim the notion of civil rights. also it attempts to bare the wasted hollowness of the nouveau riche by having dean's character rot in alcoholism an his un-fulfilled yearnings for elizabeth taylor, so the shrewd capitalist who is smart enough to conquer the market insightfully must be pathetic loser who groans like a wretched baby? so the reactionary family, as long as they embrace multiculturalism, could thrive as a whole.

    oddly two actors of "rebel without a cause" also appear in the giant, dennis hopper and "plato", the rebel gay who adores dean. unfortunately the james dean formuli cannot fit into the giant, and my private doubt would be, could james dean play any other character except the stretched reflection of himself? it's like, if he seeks an appropriate niche for his idiosyncrasies, he dominates the show, if not, he vanishes into thin air carrying his personal wound to rush toward the merciless highway then passes for good without even bidding a farewell to others.

    (ps)

    as i pointed out, the james dean pattern would be eternal defiance to paternality or the void of patriachal recognitions. for the giant, it would be his repugnance to rock hudson who symbolizes the authorized patriach who possesses everything he covets but couldn't get as the void of recognition, even he's got everything, he still mourns over the abscence of the beautiful wife of hudson's that he couldn't have.

    also, the last shooting of giant is the scene dean serves tea to elizabeth taylor, but he got too god-damned nervous to pull it off, but the whole crew of 2000 men were awaiting him to finish, so he took the necessary means to get riddance of his nervousness: take a piss in front of the 2000 crew!!! dean announces, if he has the courage to take a piss in front of everyone, he would also have the guts to finish his last scene with taylor.
  • Saxia
    December 27, 2008
    Saxia
    I enjoyed this movie immensely! Although I liked Deans goofy character, Taylor and Hudson made the biggest impression on me.
    I don't want to bother you with what the movie is about, but what I can say that it's more than a story about the life of a family, it also covers some ve... read morery interesting social themes.

    This movie had everything that I missed in the Maltese Falcon (which I saw a couple of days ago).
    Although it's running time is very generous, it didn't take any effort to watch it all the way through.
  • McKittrick
    September 26, 2007
    McKittrick
    The cast are great, especially James Dean and Mercedes McCambridge but I always find it hard going getting to the end of this!
  • deano
    April 14, 2007
    deano
    Absolutely 1956 epic about a cattle-ranching family still packs a punch. Although the lead performances by Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean are amazing in their character from 20s to aged "older" with make-up.
  • mjgildea
    November 13, 2006
    mjgildea
    Runs a bot long, but the scenes with Dean and Taylor are great.

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Critic Reviews

Variety Staff
November 13, 2007
Variety Staff, Variety

An excellent film which registers strongly on all levels, whether it's in its breathtaking panoramic shots of the dusty Texas plains; the personal, dramatic impact of the story itself, or the resoundi... Full Review

Dave Kehr
November 13, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Much of it is awful, but it's almost impossible not to be taken in by the narrative sprawl. Full Review

Douglas Pratt
June 14, 2003
Douglas Pratt, Hollywood Reporter

A real movie is big, grand, magnificent and regales you with all the power that movies can wield upon a viewer's imagination and spirit. George Stevens' 1956 production, Giant, is a real movie.

Bosley Crowther
May 20, 2003
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Giant, for all its complexity, is a strong contender for the year's top-film award. Full Review

Kevin Thomas
February 13, 2001
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

At 202 minutes, it's just too long, yet it has the pull of nostalgia (if you're of a certain age) and sustains its emotional impact as a portrait of a durable marriage. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Although Giant may not be a classic in the purest sense of the word, it's a fine example of a virtually-extinct genre. Full Review

November 13, 2007
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Like the title says. Full Review

November 13, 2007
Film4

Its deeper themes and superb performances from Taylor, Hudson and Dean make it a classic Hollywood epic. Full Review

Cole Smithey
May 11, 2007
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

Dean's last performance is poetry in motion.

Geoff Andrew
June 24, 2006
Geoff Andrew, Time Out

Stevens' sprawling epic of Texan life, taken from Edna Ferber's novel, strives so hard for Serious Statements that it ends up as a long yawn. Full Review

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    • Jett Rink: Im rich... I'mma rich'un.... Imma rich boy. And Imma make more money than you ever thought you could have-you and all the rest of you stinkin son of a Benedicts.
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