RIDING GIANTS

'''Riding Giants''' is a 2004 documentary film directed and narrated by Stacy Peralta, a famous skater/surfer who helped to define modern skateboarding. The movie traces the origins of surfing and specifically focuses on the art of big wave riding. Some of the featured surfers are Greg Noll, Laird Hamilton, and Jeff Clark, and surfing pioneers such as Mickey Munoz.

Contents

Synopsis

Production

Reception

See also

References

External links

Synopsis

The film begins with a historical overview, starting at its Hawaiian beginnings, then moves on to focus on the dangerous lure of big wave surfing (surfing waves that can reach up to 70 feet). The documentary chronicles the evolution of riding at Hawaii's Waimea Bay in the 1950s, the revolution of lighter boards, and tow-in surfing to allow for "''riding giants''". Three surfers who are part of this multi-generational evolution are spotlighted: Greg Noll is shown as a fearless big wave rider during the 1950s and 60s; Jeff Clark who discovered Mavericks in Northern California and surfed there alone for years; and Laird Hamilton, the contemporary surfer who brings tow-in riding to the limelight.

Production

Peralta previously directed the acclaimed documentary ''Dogtown and Z-Boys'', which documented the rise of skateboarding, of which he was an integral part. The French producer Franck Marty, alongside with his partners, chose him to direct a new breed of big wave riding documentary film. He has said that the primary purpose of making a surfing documentary was that he "wanted to see a film like this", and that he hoped it helped to answer the question "why people choose to devote their entire lives to the pursuit of riding waves." ^[1]
''Riding Giants'' utilizes stills, archive footage, fake "re-enacted" archive footage, home movies, and interviews. Some of the surfers interviewed include Jeff Clark, Laird Hamilton, Dave Kalama, Gerry Lopez, Greg Noll, and Kelly Slater.

Reception

''Riding Giants'' was the first documentary film to open the Sundance Film Festival. It won the 2004 A.C.E. Eddie Award for Best Edited Documentary by editor Paul Crowder. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 92% fresh rating, having earned mostly positive reviews from critics. Roger Ebert said in his review, "Before seeing ''Riding Giants'', my ideas about surfing were formed by the ''Gidget'' movies, ''Endless Summer'', The Beach Boys, Elvis and lots of TV commercials. ''Riding Giants'' is about altogether another reality."

See also

★ Step into Liquid

References

# ''Riding Giants'' interview with Stacy Peralta at Sony Pictures Classics
# ''Riding Giants'' Reviews at Rotten Tomatoes

External links

★ ''Official Site''