Finally saw "Riding Giants"...

**boarddad** · 10-21-2006, 04:01 PM

I know, I'm a JONG for not having seen it all this time, but In a word, AMAZING!! Truly one of the best surf flicks ever. I thought they did a nice job documenting the progression of big wave surfing...but...I had a few criticisms too;

The movie jumped streight to Mavericks as the first and only big wave spot in CA. Technically, yes, but that's not quite what happened. I was amazed they didn't even mention the spot that drew the big wave spotlight East in the first place - Todos Santos. With that in mind, how can you do a story on big wave surfing and leave out Mike Parsons? I understand they had to make some editorial decisions but I watched all the deleted scenes too - no mention of TS or MP.

Back to Mavericks though, two beefs here;
1) Major, MAJOR props to Jeff Clark for pioneering the place, but no mention of Richard Schmidt?? Maybe he wasn't in Jeff's inner circle but he was THE big wave surfing name in Santa Cruz 5 minutes before Jeff revealed Mavericks to the world and as I recall one of the first to ride it - certainly before the infamous Hawaiiian expression session took place.

2) No question Foo's death is one of the biggest things that has ever happened in the world of big wave surfing, but why no footage of Ken Bradshaw? Surely they could have at least included some commentary from him - he was one of Mark Foo's best friends and I don't think Foo's death hit anyone harder than him.

Other than that I thougth it was flawless. The Greg Noll footage was incredable, especially when you consider how long ago it was shot. The footage of Jeff Clark and Flea getting wrapped up and pummeled inside @ Mav's had me gasping for air. And Laird...DAMN! There are no words. If you haven't seen Riding Giants, get to Blockbuster and rent it now - you won't be dissapointed.

**tarkman1** · 10-22-2006, 01:42 AM

Riding Giants was a profile of three surfers who surf big waves. Peralta chose his material to support that rather than look at big wave surfing as a whole.

**InspectorGadget** · 10-22-2006, 09:52 AM

I'm not a surfer. Though I'd like to be a surfer or maybe just play one on TV.

Taken from a purely entertainment point of view - simply because I don't have a surfing background and don't know all the players, past or present - I thought Riding Giants was fabulous.

**Trackhead** · 10-22-2006, 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by tarkman1

Riding Giants was a profile of three surfers who surf big waves. Peralta chose his material to support that rather than look at big wave surfing as a whole.

I'm not a surfer, nor do I know the history in depth, but I enjoyed the movie. I could see where if you knew the history well that it wouldn't be as enjoyable to watch.

I am working on a Teton docu, and there are sooooo many good stories from soooo many poeple, that you can't possible include them all in 56 minutes. You have to choose based on the quality of the story, and weight that against the material, or lack of material to support that story visually.

I think if you go to broad on a subject, and don't spend time telling a good story, you are left just skimming too much.