Riding Giants

There have been many other surfing documentaries--mostly hot-dogging sports flicks comprised of "wow" footage with ace boarders facing down big, beautiful, ominous waves--but none has been as comprehensive or exhilarating as Riding Giants, which revels in the sport's thrills, perils, history, and minutiae, with the same wit, insight, enthusiasm, and cinematic acumen that director Stacy Peralta brought to his ingenious 2002 skateboarding doc Dogtown and Z-Boys. Opening with a Hallelujah Chorus of monster swells (heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 and seen from both traditional angles and awe-inspiring aerial shots), the film offers a rapid-fire primer tracing surfing's Polynesian roots to its Gidget popularization, before chronicling the personal histories of (and sharing engrossing interviews with) some of the sport's 20th-century heroes, beginning with the beach bums who forged modern surf culture. Peralta's own narration and the almost symphonic arrangement of rare archival footage is so spellbinding that when Riding Giants visits milestones--like the first time someone braved the daunting waves of Waimea Bay in October 1957--the movie doesn't just make you understand the significance, it gives you goosebumps. A distinctive, wildly entertaining film (whether you're a surfer or not), this is highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one by writer-director Stacy Peralta and editor Paul Crowder; the other by co-writer Sam George and costars Greg Noll, Jeff Clark, and Laird Hamilton), a 28-minute "making-of" featurette, Fuel TV's “Blue Carpet Special” premiere segment held at Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre (20 min.), five deleted scenes--including an original ending and text intros (16 min.), a soundtrack spot, and trailers. Bottom line: an excellent extras package for one of 2004's best theatrical documentaries.] (R. Blackwelder)[Blu-ray Review—Jan. 19, 2010—Sony, 101 min., PG-13, $24.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2004's Riding Giants is presented with a good transfer and a 5.1 DTS-HD soundtrack. Blu-ray extras are nearly identical to the previous DVD release, including two audio commentaries (one by writer-director Stacy Peralta and editor Paul Crowder; the other by co-writer Sam George and participants Greg Noll, Jeff Clark, and Laird Hamilton), a 28-minute “making-of” featurette, Fuel TV's “Blue Carpet Special” premiere segment held at Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre (20 min.), five deleted scenes including an original ending and text intros (16 min.), and trailers. New to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a fine Blu-ray debut for a winning surfing doc.]