The movie for Texas is GIANT.
Plot Summary:
Ambitious Texas-style scale epic that traces the rising and falling fortunes of two generations of Texans. Miscegenation, moral dissipation, racism, the oppression of women….a variety of topics are brought forth during the film’s 201-minute running time. The core of the film is actually the relationship between Bick Benedict and his wife Leslie. It is through them that we follow the film’s themes of generation, conflict and social change. However, it is Jett Rink whom audiences remember, particularly in the early scenes when he is striding out on his small piece of land or when he comes to tell Benedict that “my well came in big.” He puts his oily hand on one of the white columns of Benedict’s porch and, unemphatically crystallizes the theme of the film – the muddy thumb prints of materialism on the pillars of elegance and the coming of conflict between the aristocracy and the nouveau riche. “You should have shot that fella a long time ago,” a friend says to Benedict about Jett Rink. “Now he’s too rich to kill.”
Here is the cast:
I was so looking forward to this movie for a couple of reasons, for one I had never seen a James Dean or Elizabeth Taylor movie before. Two I have come to realize that old movies are great in a different kind of way, the story lines are more subtle. Love is shown without sex and violence is never a special affect but an important part of a story line. So much can be said with a look or lighting in a scene. I love a movie with a plot, good dialogue, characters you care about so I had high hopes for Giant.
In so many ways I can see why this is a classic movie. It is an epic movie 207 minutes long and it covers the story of generations of one family in Texas. It’s a love story between Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor. It is a movie about race relations; class war fare between Texans and Mexicans. It’s a movie about old money vs. new money; cattle men vs. oil men and the older generations ways of thinking vs. the new generations ideals.
I love Elizabeth Taylor in this movie, her character really stands out on screen. There is a scene where she steals the movie for me; it’s her speech about the men being cavemen and the adults putting the babies to bed. She should have gotten the Rock Hudson pimp hand for that speech and I just loved it.
I did not love James Dean in this, I just didn’t see the greatness that everyone talks about. This was James Deans last movie role and he was nominated for an Academy Award for this film. He died in a car wreck shortly after filming. And I would say he is a good actor in this but not great. I’m not giving up on James Dean yet though I’ve put Rebel Without A Cause on my Netflix list and I will not past judgement until I have seen at least one more James Dean movie.
I’m not sure this movie paints Texas in a very flattering light. It kind of makes Texans out to all be racist money grubber red neck idiots which I know is not always true. I tried to keep in mind that this movie was shot in 1956 and that was just a different time. I do recommend Giant if you are in the mood for a classic film and have 207 minutes to kill.
Here are my other movie recommendations for Texas:
The Legend of Bille Jean
Average Texas teen, Billie Jean Davy, is caught up in an odd fight for justice. She is usually followed and harrased around by local boys, who, one day, decide to trash her brother’s scooter for fun. The boys’ father refuses to pay them back the price of the scooter. The fight for “fair is fair” takes the teens around the state and produces an unlikely hero.
