Riding Giants [SOUNDTRACK]

Various Artists (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 29, 2004)
• Original Release Date: June 29, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Milan Records
• ASIN: B000255KZS
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #115,908 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Using the same mix of rare archival footage and personal perspectives that made his Dogtown and Z-Boys so compelling, extreme-sport documentarian Stacy Peralta chronicles the rare breed of surfers obsessed with finding and riding the globe's most monstrous waves, some cresting at 70-plus feet. The film's six-decade timeframe also gives the filmmaker the rare opportunity to push the envelope of what constitutes "surf music" on a soundtrack that spans nearly as much time and territory as its inspiration. Traditional instrumental rock chestnuts like Link Wray's "Rumble" and Dick Dale's proto-surf classic "Miserlou" are supplemented here by the modern rock of Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and even Sweden's The Hives (via the retro surf-garage-punk thrash of "The Stomp"). The Stray Cats and Ruts add a little rock-of-the-80's energy, but it's the unexpected delights here -- Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "Makana Waves," the jazzy "Innacity Years" by Illdependents, the vintage, sinewy Hawaiian guitar stylings of Gabby Pahinui and Sol Hoopii/O.T. Coffin -- that gives the collection its eclectic, satisfying edge. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description
Sony Pictures Classics presents RIDING GIANTS, the newdocumentary from Stacy Peralta (Dogtown and Z-Boy s) that honors the history of big wave surfing, tracing its origin back over 1500 years to the present day, celebrating the legends that defined the culture and transformed their own subculture into an international sport. RIDING GIANTS is the story of these original big wave riders and the countless others who have followed in their waves and chased their dreams out into the blue water, riding 50 foot, 60-foot and even 70-foot waves in a manner once considered the realm of fantasy. There is no way to tell the story of big wave riding without tracing the history of surfing itself, a history that goes back much further than the Beach Boys and "Surfin’ U.S.A." The film begins with surfing’s early Polynesian roots to its rebirth in the early 20th century and the subculture that followed in the late 1940s. A new ideal was created at that time, a hybrid of Polynesian waterman and American frontiersman, from which the spirit of romantic bohemianism that is the mainstay of the modern surfing lifestyle was born.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars musical tuberide, July 24, 2004

By	... (Brooklyn NY) - See all my reviews

Stacy Peralta has probably the best feel for the sport subcultures that he portrays than most filmmakers, equaled by his ear for music that's truly cool without necessarily having current hip chache. What he showed with both the film and soundtrack of 'Dog Town' he now proves with 'Riding Giants'. The soundtrack is worth buying just for his rediscovery of the deeply melancholic Waterboys hymn 'This Is The Sea' that probably best catches that somber mood looking out onto a much to calm ocean hoping to catch a glimpse of hope on top of one of those waves out there.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Been there, heard that, loved it, August 23, 2004

By	Marilee (Florida USA) - See all my reviews

My surfing hubby and I just left the theater after watching Riding Giants. Our heads and hearts are full as we basked in the memorable images and sounds. As a long ago resident of Makaha and friend of many of the surfers seen in the film, I thought the soundtrack captured the essence of big wave surfing and people. It doesn't use the trite music popular culture assigns to surfing in the god awful exploitation films, and instead lets the chosen pieces convey the mood and spirit of this excellent, realistic surfing documentary. It's all fresh in my mind, despite the years and waves that have passed by. God Speed to my former neighbors, surfing giants Buzzy Trent and Buffalo Keaulana...

5.0 out of 5 stars Long live Retro surfer girls , March 28, 2009

By	N J Carol "njcarol_2000" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

Riding Giants is a great melange of surf music for driving around and wishing you were in Hawaii. We actually put some of the tracks into our wedding music!