Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, & James Dean star in a film about much more than what it first appears.On the surface boy and girl meet, fall in love, marry, and move to Texas. Just below the surface the film tackles the roles of women in work & education, worker's working & living conditions, equal rights, & immigration just to name a few.James Dean goes from town hoopie to oil millionaire over the course of the film. This was the last role filmed before his death.Great film that brings tackles topics I never thought it would.

GIANT is an epic drama in the western style. some very sensitive and provocative themes are covered through the film story. The dramatic and complex story has a direct impact on the duration of the film.The epic story of the life of a Texas landowner, his family and his associates.The story is shocking, through it runs a rather vivid and colorful drama and epilogue is insecure tragic. The impressive and magnificent scenery is decorated with a passion of human relations in a "hot" and tense atmosphere.The main theme of this film is the family. How many external influences and drama can change a man in relation to his family and the world around him? Oil is completely confused lifestyle of farmers and landowners. However, it has changed the tradition and certain family values. The money finally got an ally. Topics are related to each other. Love in this film is a sudden, in some cases even inappropriate. It is on the constant examination in relation to tradition, racism, wealth or generational conflict. Family passions and drama becomes a bit vulgar towards the end of the film. Petroleum revolution is being represented with a certain amount of irony and idiocy. A capable man can earn big money, but he will eventually be left alone with his personal frustrations and a half-empty bottle of liquor. Racism against Mexican Americans is presented as a sub-theme, until it becomes part of the family drama.Rock Hudson as Jordan "Bick" Benedict Jr. is stubborn, perverse and polite at the same time. His character is growing in every way and finally modesty emerges as the greatest virtue. Elizabeth Taylor as Leslie Lynnton Benedict is a beautiful and capable woman. The woman who crashed family and traditional taboos and gracefully aged. Her character is the most important thread in this film. Her performance, full of love, loyalty and respect has changed her environment in this film.James Dean as Jett Rink is an eccentric and awkward rancher who becomes an oil baron. He is an unusual and a cunning villain. It is difficult to distinguish between the things that he does for personal rebellion and those that he does out of traditional spite. What makes the difference between Bick and Jett has a name and is called Leslie. The film definitely takes a long time, but I think that everyone can enjoy in the hot Texas plains and dramatic plots.

Texan rancher Bick Benedict (Rock Hudson) comes to a Maryland farm to buy a prize horse War Winds. He meets the outspoken upper class daughter Leslie Lynnton (Elizabeth Taylor) and marries her. They return to Texas to the vast family ranch Reata. The giant ranch house is run by Bick's hard sister Luz Benedict (Mercedes McCambridge) and she doesn't like Leslie. Her favorite range hand Jett Rink (James Dean) is itching to get out. She mistreats War Winds and it bucks her off killing her. In her will, Jett is bequeathed some land which he refuses to sell back to Bick. After some time, Bick and Leslie have some children. Jett is still pining for Leslie. When Jett hits oil, he and Bick get into a fight. Jett prospers while Bick refuses to drill for oil on Reata. The Benedict children Jordy (Dennis Hopper), Judy (Fran Bennett), and Luz (Carroll Baker) have a turbulent relationship with their parents and Jett over the years culminating in Bick having a redemptioning fight.This is a giant of a movie. It's not only that it's over 3 hours long. It's trying to tell vast winding life stories. No matter how it's measured, this is a grand family epic. There is a central theme of racism. However it's somewhat overshadowed by the soap opera of the family drama. A shorter film and a tighter story concentrating on that may be able to intensify that central theme. Overall this is a well made grand family epic with some big time talents.

I watched this movie, as it was the last movie of James Dean. The last movie before the unfortunate death (accident) of the fine artist. A fine actor who bagged two Oscar nominations after his demise. In this film, James's voice was dubbed by his friend in number of scenes after his death. The movie is huge in length spans three hours long and an era of over 30 years from the main character's (Jordon Benedict) love to Maryland farm's daughter, his rivalry with a cowboy on his return to Texas (homeland), story of his children and grandchildren. The movie convincingly covers two generation of Benedict's family.The direction is top class. First to direct a three-hour long movie is Herculean. The Oscar has recognized and awarded the director for this work. The guild and photo-play members also had their awards for the movie. The movie is adapted from a novel with the same name. The characterization were screen-played deeply with lot of ideas that makes the viewers remember the dirty-minds on racism in that period of time in Texas. For one instance, both the lead characters Rink and Bick are prejudiced against the Mexicans, but Rink is too poor at the start of the movie so he doesn't show it. Instead after becoming a businessman he displays in much cruel way. William C. Mellor's photography was exquisite in every way throughout the two generations in the story.In my opinion, Giant must be considered along with epics like Lawrence of Arabia, Gone with the wind, Benhur etc that made it to the top 250 in IMDb. There were few minor flaws that I could not fail to notice, which included Liz Taylor's acting that dragged the movie. She could've done way better to one of the characters in the movie that carried racial tolerance(Leslie). The next flaw is by the make-up department esp. when the characters got old they don't convince the audience. It could be true that the movie is too old to comment mistakes on makeovers, so am not treating it as one.My final verdict : If you're a fan of old movies that this is one to watch as it is pacey (not too slow). Children can view this as it is free from ratings.