Giant (Two-Disc Special Edition)

GIANT [1956] [Special Deluxe Limited Edition DigiBook] [Blu-ray] Director George Stevens' sweeping saga of family conflict and social consciousness based on Edna Ferber's best seller is presented here for the first time on Blu-ray. Starring Rock Hudson as rancher Bick Benedict, Elizabeth Taylor as his wife Leslie and James Dean (in his final film role) as nouveau oil baron Jett Rink, this tale of three generations of Texans remains both grand and intimate.FILM FACT: `Giant' won the Academy Award® for Best Director and was nominated nine other times, twice for Best Actor in a Leading Role [James Dean and Rock Hudson]. The other nominations came in the categories of Best Actress in a Supporting Role [Mercedes McCambridge]; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Colour (Boris Leven, Ralph S. Hurst); Best Costume Design, Colour; Best Film Editing; Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture; Best Picture; and Best Writing, Best Screenplay - Adapted.THIS 3 DISC SET INCLUDES A 44-PAGE BOOK WITH PHOTOS, PRODUCTION NOTES AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES INFO: Documentary by George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey; Introduction by George Stevens, Jr.; Commentary by George Stevens, Jr., Ivan Moffat and Stephen Farber; George Stevens: Filmmakers Who Knew Him, Memories of Giant and Return to Giant; New York Premiere TV Special, Hollywood Premiere Documentary and Behind the Cameras Segments; Stills and Documents Galleries; Original and Reissued Theatrical Trailers.Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Carroll Baker, Dennis Hopper, Sal Mineo, Chill Wills, Mercedes McCambridge, Rod Taylor, Judith Evelyn, Earl Holliman, Paul Fix and Alexander ScourbyDirector: George StevensProducers: George Stevens and Henry GinsbergScreenplay: Fred Guiol and Ivan MoffatComposer: Dimitri TiomkinCinematography: William C. MellorAudio: English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, French: Dolby Digital Mono, German: Dolby Digital Mono, Italian: Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono, Portuguese: Dolby Digital Mono, Czech: Dolby Digital Mono, Polish: Dolby Digital Mono and Japanese: Dolby Digital MonoSubtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, German SDH, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hebrew, Italian SDH, Korean, Mandarin, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Swedish and TurkishAspect Ratio: 1.66:1Video Resolution: 1080p [WarnerColor]Running Time: 3 hours 21 minutesRegion: Region A/1Number of discs: 3Studio: Warner Bros. PicturesAndrew's Blu-ray Review: The story of `Giant' is long, detailed, and full of exploration. `Giant' is a richly rewarding story that explores some serious thematic material. It begins by being a story of two people falling in love: Jordan "Bick" Benedict Jr. [Rock Hudson] and Leslie Lynnton [Elizabeth Taylor], even though the two seem to have little in common. Bick was traveling to buy a horse within Maryland and is a wealthy Texan who is head of a ranching family. He fancies Leslie when he meets her while on this trip, and she equally fancies him. Leslie breaks up an engagement she was in so that she can leave with Bick and go to Texas. The long journey of `Giant' only begins here.Over the course of the storyline, the film explores racial discrimination from the Southern white ranchers and seeks to explore the development of the Benedict family towards racial equality as Leslie determinedly helps to change things for the family. This is a core theme of the story. The Mexican American workers who work for the Benedict's were isolated, segregated, and ignored. In one integral scene of the film, Leslie helps a seriously ill worker who was receiving no help medically. It becomes clear to her that not enough is being done to care for these people, who Leslie understands work with them. Yet she sees that they are being discriminated against. In concluding the film, there is a pivotal scene that makes a definitive statement about the great importance of racial equality. It becomes clear that one of the points of the film is to say that being a "Giant" can have more to do with standing up for what is right than for always being showered with riches.In voicing her opinions and fighting for what she believes in, Leslie also changes the stance on a woman's role within this family business infrastructure. She wants to do the same kind of work the men do and she wants to be able to be involved in the process that the other men so selfishly attempt to keep to themselves. In a key sequence, Leslie Lynnton Benedict and Jordan "Bick" Benedict Jr. disagree over an issue while Bick's having a meeting with his male colleagues. He refuses to listen to her and let her join in the meeting. This causes marital problems between the two, who have a temporary separation during the film's story. This is another big focal point of the story, and it makes the film much more compelling and important as a result.James Dean plays the role of Jett Rink, who was working for Luz Benedict [Mercedes McCambridge], and trying to make a living so that he could eventfully become rich and leave Texas behind. It was his dream: an American dream of finding success. Upon Luz Benedict's passing, he is given shares that allow him land of his own because he was in Luz Benedict's will. Jordan "Bick" Benedict Jr. tries to purchase back the share of the land but Jett Rink rejects. He eventually finds oil and becomes a bigger tycoon with greater wealth and power than the Luz Benedict family. Yet his greatest tragedy lies in how his feelings for Leslie Lynnton Benedict (whom he is in love with) can never come to fruition and his pain leads directly into a path of his own destruction.The part of Jett in `Giant' was James Dean's final performance on film and it was his peak between the three films. Despite being a supporting role, James Dean's performance as Jett arguably became the most stand-out one of the films despite a shorter appearance compared to the lead performers, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson. Whenever I think of `Giant,' despite the many amazing elements to the film, the first thing I always think of is James Dean and his iconic role in it: wearing his similarly iconic Cowboy hat which helped to add flavour to his performance.The canvas of the filmmaking in `Giant' was quite expansive and it is something that George Stevens understood how to utilise especially well as a filmmaker. George Stevens was not an overt director like so many are instead of wanting to draw attention to stylistic flourishes, he wanted to hone in on the performances of the actors. Yet a masterful skill resided in George Stevens to deliver incredible shots, these fantastic moments of cinematic greatness when he felt it necessary. He was more capable than most filmmakers as a true visionary of the medium and how to best utilise it to share stories.George Stevens was so precise when it came down to his directing efforts. `Giant' is one of the great epics in cinema history. He was entirely capable of telling the detailed story inherent in the book and script while also bringing the best out of his actors. I feel as though he seemed to know exactly when things could shine further with moments of extreme majesty shining through. It was the quiet moments that he created that helped to form the greater, big picture.`Giant' is without a doubt one of my favourite film in this entire collection: it is one of the greatest of all westerns and a truly remarkable cinematic achievement. Featuring excellent performances by Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean and based upon the novel by Edna Ferber, Giant is one of the greatest films ever made.Blu-ray Video Quality - `Giant' is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, which is the ratio that was utilised during filming. The film itself was exhibited in cinemas with the more common 1.85:1 ratio, but this Blu-ray presents the film with the most authentic representation of the work done during the making of the movie. This 1080p image transfer does a good job with the presentation of MPI's restoration efforts, which resulted from a 4K scan of the negative.With regards to `Giant,' this transfer could surely have been improved had the film been allowed breathing room across a two-disc presentation, and one would hope such an effort would have been allowed to yield even greater results than what is found with this Blu-ray edition. At the very least, I feel the film could have been included across three discs: one showing the film uninterrupted, and another two discs preserving the film with the best possible transfer. As unlikely as this scenario sounds for Warner Bros., I feel as though some films merit this as presentation quality-control and that some films could be improved with a simple solution similar to what I am suggesting.I've never before seen the film look as good as it does here. The film itself is filled with so many conversational-pieces and slow pan camera sequences that the bit-rates are relatively strong for the material presented and help to maintain what is mostly notable about the film quality in regards to depth, colour, and detail. There is also little damage: restoration efforts by MPI helped with this aspect of the presentation. Lastly, I also noticed no unnecessary digital tinkering, which helps to solidify this as an impressive transfer worthy of consideration.Blu-ray Audio Quality - By a large margin, I consider the presentation Warner Bros. has allotted to `Giant' in the sound department to be the absolute best of the three recently released James Dean films arriving on Blu-ray for the first time. This is primarily because the film's audio presentation has been preserved with stereo sound rendered in 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, sourced from the mono soundtrack and preserving the general soundstage with an authentic sounding representation of the source.Maintaining the original audio design allows for the film's audio to sound natural and authentic and closer to the way as it did when released to theatres for the first time. There is surprising fidelity for a film of this age. It doesn't sound digitally altered and the sound-stage is impressive with good clarity and depth for the stereo sound. Dialogue is clearly distinguishable and easy to understand. The score and sound effects have decent range and sound reasonably good. I certainly found the film benefited from its notable sound-design.Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras:Feature Film Blu-ray: Introduction by George Stevens, Jr. [2:55] Recorded in 1995, Stevens, Jr. provides an optional introduction summarizing various points that will be covered in greater depth in the remaining extras.Commentary by George Stevens, Jr., Screenwriter Ivan Moffat and Film Critic Stephen Farber: As with Shane, Stevens served as an uncredited production assistant on Giant. He and Moffat provide a wealth of insights, memories and trivia, although much of it is duplicated in the other extras. Farber acts as informal moderator, prompting Stevens and Moffat with questions. Even with three participants, however, it proves difficult to keep up a continuous commentary for over three hours. An alert listener will notice that some portions of the commentary in the last half hour are literally replays of earlier sections (e.g., Stevens' comments on Michael Todd and the Oscar results).George Stevens: Filmmakers Who Knew Him [45:40] First released in 2001 on the DVD of A Place in the Sun, this documentary features revealing interviews with an impressive array of notables, including Warren Beatty, Frank Capra, Rouben Mamoulian, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Alan J. Pakula, Robert Wise and Fred Zinneman.Bonus Special Features 2nd DVD:Memories of Giant [51:36] This 1998 documentary features interviews with George Stevens, Jr., Carroll Baker, Earl Holliman, Jane Withers and, in archive footage, Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean and George Stevens. Chapter headings are listed below:01. Recalling George Stevens02. Casting the Leads03. Train to Marfa04. First-Day Hangover05. Elizabeth Taylor06. Rock Hudson07. James Dean08. Carroll Baker09. Earl Holliman10. George Stevens, Jr.11. Marfa Nightlife12. Country Club Sundays13. Taking Care of Dean14. Dean's Death15. Pink Keepsake16. A Film to LastReturn to Giant [55:07] This 2003 documentary is narrated by Don Henley and features many of the same participants as "Memories of Giant", along with additional cast members and various Texans, from Marfa and surrounding environs. If the documentary has a weakness, it's over-reliance on clips from the film. Chapter headings are listed below:01. Eye on Marfa02. Casting03. The Landscape04. More than Watchers05. Rope Tricks06. Hudson and Taylor07. Striking Oil08. Recreation09. Filming Over10. Tragedy11. As We See Ourselves12. Proud Legacy13. End CreditsNew York Premiere Telecast [28:51] Chill Wills hosts a red carpet event from the Roxy Theater.Hollywood Premiere [4:21] A news report that opens with a recap of the New York premiere, then provides coverage of the Hollywood opening at Grauman's Chinese Theater.Giant Stars Are Off to Texas [0:38] A brief Warner Bros. Pathe News item.Stills and Documents: The "stills" are a collection of behind-the-scenes photos. The "documents" are excerpts from the internal correspondence during production, including the often contentious exchanges between George Stevens and Jack Warner over such crucial elements as budget and the film's running time.Behind-the-Cameras: On Location in Marfa, Texas [5:58] An instalment of the promotional TV series "Behind the Scenes" hosted and narrated by Gig Young. A few bits of location footage look staged, but most of it is obviously authentic.Behind-the-Cameras: A Visit with Dmitri Tiomkin [6:33] Another instalment of "Behind the Scenes" focusing on the work of Giant's composer. Gig Young interviews Dmitri Tiomkin about his influences and background, and Dmitri Tiomkin plays several of the key themes from Giant.Theatrical Trailers: 1956 "Book" Trailer [1.85:1 and 1.33:1] So named because it has no film clips, only pages of a book that turn to reveal text and illustrations.Original 1956 Trailer [3:45]1963 Reissue Trailer [2:29]1970 Reissue Trailer [3:03]There is text-based inclusion on this release: A Giant Undertaking is a text-based walkthrough of George Stevens career as filmmaker, George Stevens Filmography notes his works, Awards details the awards won, and Cast and Crew gives more insight into the careers of others who worked on Giant.Bonus Special Documentary 3rd DVD:George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey [1:51:24] This 1984 documentary, written, produced and directed by George Stevens, Jr., provides a detailed overview of the life and career of George Stevens the director. Beginning with his early days in Hollywood as a cameraman for Hal Roach, when George Stevens saved Stan Laurel's career by figuring out how to photograph the future comedy legend so that his pale blue eyes would register on film, the documentary traces George Stevens' long career directing such skilful light fare as `Alice Adams' (with Katherine Hepburn), `Swing Time' (with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) and `Woman of the Year' (with Audrey Hepburn and Spencer Tracy).World War II changed Stevens' outlook: Volunteering for military service (along with such notables as William Wyler, Frank Capra and John Ford), Stevens was assigned by General Eisenhower to document the Normandy invasion. Later, he directed a film crew that recorded the liberation of the concentration camp at Dachau. He returned from four years of war having lost all interest in comedy or anything else on the lighter side. Indeed, for several years, Stevens seemed uninterested in directing at all.With `I Remember Mama' in 1948, George Stevens began the series of films that would bring him two Oscars for Best Director, great popular success and major industry clout. The list includes `Giant,' `A Place in the Sun' and `Shane.' The winning streak ended in 1965, with the troubled production of `The Greatest Story Ever Told,' starring Max von Sydow as Jesus.It was during this period that George Stevens became embroiled in an infamous controversy within the Directors Guild of America, when Cecil B. DeMille, a staunch anti-Communist and supporter of the blacklist, attempted to remove Joseph L. Mankiewicz as president and to institute loyalty pledges. Stevens led the successful opposition, although, as recounted by Fred Zinneman and John Huston, it was the venerable John Ford who stood up at a key moment and delivered the coup de grace.The documentary uses substantial archival footage, including recordings of Stevens himself, and its interviewees are an impressive roster, many of whom are no longer with us. In addition to Hepburn, Zinneman and Huston, participants include: Joel McCrea, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Fred Astaire, Ginger Roger, Millie Perkins, Frank Capra and Alan Pakula (whose stories about Shane are brief but memorable).Finally, when you hear people say "they don't make them like they used to" `Giant' is probably one of the first films that springs to mind. This masterpiece of cinematic craft and storytelling is both socially important and marvellous to behold. The visual qualities are so sublime and yet it's not the showiest of films: this is a film that is so nuanced and wonderfully realized that it stands significantly apart from most other productions of its time and even of modern cinema. This is one of the best epics to ever be made and George Stevens made that possible through the brilliance of the directing. The story and the great performances make this an essential viewing. Whether you care most about the acting from Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, or James Dean or perhaps the magnificent storytelling and there is no mistaking the brilliance of this significant classic. Giant should belong in everyone's Blu-ray Collection who is a massive fan of great classic cinema. So much so, this Special Deluxe Limited Edition DigiBook is totally amazing and so beautifully professionally presented and so with a massive tour-de-force film and this ultimate Special Deluxe Limited Edition DigiBook, it is again a great honour to add this to my Blu-ray Collection and in a few years' time will become a very rare item, so don't delay, as in time this will no longer be available. Highly Recommended!Andrew C. Miller - Your Ultimate No. Film FanLe Cinema ParadisoWARE, United Kingdom

Great classic. I have to admit it loses some of the impact of having seen it on the theater BIG screen of its time. Truly, the wide open spaces of Texas CANNOT be captured on a smaller than life TV screen! However, a memorable experience shared with a movie house full of genuine Texans whooping and applauding as familiar place names came up in dialogue. If ever there was a movie made for big screen movie theater, this is it! Still a good watch. But I’d swear some of the scenes have been omitted in this version. Where’s the last-minute gathering of private planes to go eat at the original steakhouse in Lowake?

I watch this often when I need a saga to watch.

It doesn't get better than this! A legendary movie with a bunch of legends!

If you’re wondering, yes, the 4K UHD is a big upgrade from the bluray, though it doesn’t have all the special features. It’s a single disc. So I’ll be keeping the Blu, as it has a pretty cool documentary on George Stevens.This is one of my favorite movies, an epic spanning the married life of Bic and Leslie Benedict. Bic is a Texas Cattleman who has a rivalry with Jett Rink (Dean.) There’s many great characters and episodes in this compelling drama. I also loved Carrol Baker as Luz II.

GIANT is a great film. Highly recommended.

This movie is a classic and depicts, with accuracy, life in Texas during the oil exploration boom. Three generations of Texans, of different social groups, are central to the story. It is based on Edna Ferber's book which was a bestseller and the movie was nominated for ten Academy Awards. The director, George Stevens, won an award for his work on this movie. Direction is extremely important to the viewing and feel of the movie. Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean are all gone from us, but they still entertain with their work here. If you are at all interested in excellent acting in a setting depicting Texas oil history, then I highly recommend this film.

I recently read the book, and so, wanted to check out the lavish production of Giant with so many of the big name stars. I actually felt like the film gives more vitality to not only the story in terms of structure, but the characters as well. I always saw this on tv and ignored it, but then sat down and watched everything in its entirety and it's well put together in so many ways. Rare case where film is better than book.

We had bought 'Giant' several years ago, on DVD (Warner Home Video’s 2003 2-disc Special Edition), and there was a big glitch on the disc, so we never finished it. I bought the Blu-ray version (Warner Home Video’s 2015 All Region in 1080p HD) to ensure there was no repeat of the problem. It was well worth it.This is really rather a strange film. It is big and sweeping, and is set largely in very barren, bleak rural Texas, from the 1920s onwards (although it could actually be any time).There are 3 big performances, from Liz Taylor, who looks gorgeous and stands up valiantly for women's rights and also for minority rights; Rock Hudson who very soon becomes the sort of husband that any woman would be glad to walk away and leave; and James Dean, who bizarrely was Oscar-nominated for a rather gruesome bit of over-acting. Some of the lesser performances are actually noteworthy, especially the wonderful and reliable Chill Wills as Uncle Bawley. It is also interesting to see a very young Dennis Hopper as Hudson and Taylor's son.The film begins as a lush Maryland-set romance, which looks as though it will turn into a sort of modern Western. There is an early villan(ess), Hudson's sister Luz. But then she dies after only a brief spell of screen-time, and it then looks as though it might become a 'love triangle' story. But no, not that either.The big clue is that very early in the film, Taylor challenges her future husband over the history of Texas. She tells it as she sees it, and he is furious. The film is actually about the huge ironies and imperfections of Texan society, the inequalities and anomalies. This is a land stolen from the Mexicans (as Taylor says at the beginning), and they are now second-class citizens, an underclass who live in poverty and who act as servants, cleaners and ranch hands, but who cannot eat in cheap diners run by whites, or have their hair washed in a salon staffed by white women in a posh hotel. They can however, fight and die for the good old US of A, though few will turn out to honour them back in Texas. The film is also about the fact that women are only fit to look good and have children if they are wealthy, or be your servant if they are poor. The film spares no punches on either issue. It is also about the most gross and vulgar forms of conspicuous consumption for the new oil tycoons of Texas.There is redemption, and evidence that some, at least, can learn the hard lesson that none of this behaviour is acceptable.As a historical document, this film is well worth sitting through the long running time. It is well-done, but not always a comfortable watch.

It’s not the suppliers fault but Warner Bros do not have the full film on this dvd. The film was 3 hours and 21 minutes but the film ends after about 2 hours. I was sent another copy and it stopped in the same place so it’s the fault of Warner Bros. I have contacted them but I doubt they will ever reply. Music Magpie were kind enough to give me my money back

Having owned a visually disappointing DVD of this film for some time I was pleased to be able to finally buy a Blu-ray. The photography of the great, wide plains of Texas was always one of 'Giant's' strengths.So my disappointment was all the greater when I projected this onto a 96" screen and found that much of the movie is cursed with a soft, often rather blocky image. In several scenes, notably a close-up of Liz Taylor near the start of the story, the image is so out of focus that one is presented with almost double-vision. And no, it's not my home-theatre set-up; I've played other Blu-rays and DVDs and they are fine. Maybe it would be better on a small TV screen.I have since read that the restorers found many of the elements were badly damaged and they did the best they could so I suppose we should be grateful for what we've got. Certainly the package itself is attractive - there are a number of extras plus a book. So I'm sort of pleased that I upgraded from the even-worse DVD but this is probably the poorest Blu-ray visually in my collection. No one to blame, I guess, except for those long-ago studio executives who allowed a major production like this to rot.

Delivery OK, item as describedWonderful film. The cast is just incredible! The locations are jaw dropping. The story/screenplay is quite daring: the discourses on money, marriage, racism, success, family etc... are not treated lightly, to say the least!!Only bad point: terrible music. Catastrophic, very old fashion (even for the date of the film), totally in disagreement with most of the scenes!

Epic,Sweeping Story that is not only Giant by Name but in its running time,but not a Minute of it is wasted.Its sad to see Dean,who is playing his most rounded and Adult role yet,and witness what was to come had he not been taken so young.Taylor and Hudson are also A revelation. Obviously being placed in the more than capable Directing hands of the great George Stevens was A Career High for all concern because with the exception of Dean,none had been better before Giant or were as good afterwards.