Riding Giants: Chairmen of the Board, Part 3

Continued from “Lords of Dogtown”

Stacey Peralta has another worthwhile documentary with “Riding Giants,” about the legends of big wave surfing. Like “Dogtown and Z-Boys,” this film is about a sport changed by a few extremely talented and driven athletes. It follows their obsession for the ultimate ride. In fact, the sport has progressed to the point where Laird Hamilton, has a speedboat towing him up to speed so he can catch skyscraper–size swells out in the middle of the ocean. And it’s all on film. Like “Z-Boys,” this film is a compilation of interviews, photos and archival footage. But with the many stills, Peralta goes Ken Burns one better by adding “mulitplane” techniques to add depth, dimension and movement to the stills. It’s a cool trick.

My review on Twitter: Riding Giants-The daring surfers who face mountainous walls of water without soiling themselves. (Like you'd be able to tell.) 8 (out of 10)

Continues with “Surfwise”

“Riding Giants”

Released: 2004

Rating: PG-13

Length: 101 minutes

Cast: Greg Noll, Jeff Clark, Laird Hamilton, Darrick Doern

Director: Stacy Peralta

Genre(s): Documentary, Sports