MCN: Riding Giants


Gary Dretzka Leonard Klady David Poland Ray Pride	___________________________________ The film that was selected for the Park City premiere was Stacy Peralta's Riding Giants, his follow up to the much revered Dogtown & Z Boys. It's a surf doc, playing on the title's pun, very much in the style and spirit of Peralta's debut. The film is sure to be picked up eventually, though it is not a sure bet as anything more than a niche hit amongst surfers. Artisan's Step Into Liquid managed almost $2 million at the box office and this film might have a slightly higher profile… but $5 million in domestic gross would be a small miracle. The film is based around a number of quantum leaps in the sport of surfing and the men who led the way towards them. So, the long board leads to the lightweight fiberglass board leads to Gidget leads to pipeline surfing leads to one location of a bigger wave after another leads to Jet Ski assisted surfing leads to one real weird wave. The characters along the way are a mixed bag, with hipster Greg Noll, now an older but still rawly witty man, leading the way as the movie star of the group. The interviews are interesting and the storylines are compelling, but there is not the driving beat that you need in a great audience doc. I wonder whether the film could be edited into a much better movie. My guess is, "yes." And I would bet that whoever picks the film up will force an edit of 20 minutes or so. Peralta's groundbreaking editing style with Dogtown really brought a history made mostly of still images to life. But more importantly, he also had a clear and compelling story with which to work. His story in Riding Giants is compelling in clumps, but there just isn't a reason to take the ride with these men, in the fullest sense. If you feel the surf and smell the sea and get thrilled with the notion of all that coolness, you'll fall in love with the film. But as a guy who likes the ocean, but does not bleed for it, it was just enjoyable. And compared to a film like Touching The Void, it was little more than a lightweight diversion. As an opening night, the film was a pleasure, more fun than lecture and the audience had a good time, though there was a little restlessness towards the end. by David Poland	Riding Giants __________ Director: Stacy Peralta __________ Documentary Country: France Year: 2004 Time: 105 minutes __________ Screenwriters - Stacy Peralta, Sam George Executive Producers - Nathalie Delest, Franck Marty, Laird Hamilton Producers - Agi Orsi, Stacy Peralta, Jane Kachmer Cinematographer - Peter Pilafian Editor - Paul Crowder Narrator - Sean Penn Cast - Laird Hamilton, Greg Noll, Jeff Clark