Giant

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Giant

G

Released Nov 24, 1956

3h 21m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

50 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Wealthy Texas rancher Bick Benedict (Rock Hudson) shakes things up at home when he returns from a trip to the East Coast with a love interest, the refined Leslie Lynnton (Elizabeth Taylor). Bick and Leslie get married, but she clashes with his sister, Luz (Mercedes McCambridge), and wins the admiration of the ambitious young Jett Rink (James Dean). Bick and Jett form a tense rivalry that continues to surface as the years pass and fortunes change in this sweeping drama.

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Critics Consensus

Giant earns its imposing name with a towering narrative supported by striking cinematography, big ideas, and powerful work from a trio of legendary Hollywood leads.

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Adam Nayman

The Ringer

The contrast between Hudson's stolid, genteel acting style and Dean's more electric approach gives Giant the energy it needs to propel its massive, decades-spanning narrative...

Mar 27, 2020

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James Powers

The Hollywood Reporter

Including a fine performance from Elizabeth Taylor, great acting from Rock Hudson and a piercing portrayal from James Dean. Giant stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the great ones.

Oct 10, 2018

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Guardian

Giant, in spite of its length, seldom seems long -- its story is too eventful, its effects too picturesque, and its director too skilful for that even over so long an expanse of time. It may not be a great film but it is certainly an awesome one.

Mar 21, 2018

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

The only thing giant about it is its length of over 200 minutes.

Rated: C

Sep 17, 2024

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

This ambitious adaptation of the Edna Ferber novel is often touched by greatness, yet it's ultimately too scattershot to satisfactorily maintain its bloated 200-minute running time.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 13, 2023

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John Beaufort

Christian Science Monitor

Overlong as Giant may be, one cannot but admire the authority and skill with which George Stevens, the coproducer-director, masters the narrative rolling stock in his tremendous train of events... this is film making of a very high order.

Aug 16, 2022

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Audience Member

This film was beautiful. The writing was impeccable and the acting (especially James Deans) was magnificent. I really want to watch more films like this one, I’m so glad it was restored. Now I need a Criterion release so I can never not be able to watch this.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/10/24

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Rob911 B

I was surprised that it was so long. It didn't seem so. A captivating, if predictable screenplay, but what acting from Liz Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean. Watched for the first time in 2023, but released 6 years after I was born and I can relate to how my parents must have appreciated it at the time. Very different, pipped to the Oscars by " Around the World in 80 days", a forgettable film if ever there was one. It is for whom it was made, an appreciative audience, and thus a classic of it's time, and perhaps beyond.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/30/23

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Jack S

Although Giant is certainly of an epic cinematic scale, it's over length sometimes seems as endless as those vast cinematographic vistas of Texas displayed onscreen! There's some challenging ideas in the multi-generational story, but it's unfortunately a long, dull slog along the way. As for the cast, Taylor is superb, Hudson is as good as he's ever been (so-so), but let's face it, Dean's work here just doesn't live up to the promise of his previous bravura efforts.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/29/23

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Sean A

Bit of a boring melodrama. This film may have benefited by making James Dean's character more interesting. Why not have him conduct a love affair with Elizabeth Taylor? Meh.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/11/23

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Anjum K

It was a good movie and and did have a feeling of browsing through a good novel!!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/10/23

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Stephen C

The greatest acting in 03 hours: and 21 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

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George Stevens

Director

Elizabeth Taylor

Leslie Lynnton Benedict

Rock Hudson

Jordan "Bick" Benedict

James Dean

Jett Rink

Carroll Baker

Luz Benedict II

Jane Withers

Vashti Snythe

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Synopsis

Wealthy Texas rancher Bick Benedict (Rock Hudson) shakes things up at home when he returns from a trip to the East Coast with a love interest, the refined Leslie Lynnton (Elizabeth Taylor). Bick and Leslie get married, but she clashes with his sister, Luz (Mercedes McCambridge), and wins the admiration of the ambitious young Jett Rink (James Dean). Bick and Jett form a tense rivalry that continues to surface as the years pass and fortunes change in this sweeping drama.

Director: George Stevens
Producer: Henry Ginsberg, George Stevens
Screenwriter: Edna Ferber, Fred Guiol, Ivan Moffat
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts, Polyphony Digital
Rating: G
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 24, 1956, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $183.9K
Runtime: 3h 21m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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