Review of Gigantic (2014) by Saska W — 23 Nov 2003

I haven't given out a 10 in a very long time, and I've never given one to a documentary before. But this is not just any documentary. We're talking about the They Might Be Giants bio-retrospective, GIGANTIC.

Best. Band Documentary. Ever.

GIGANTIC is a collection of concert footage, Q&A sessions with John Flansburg and John Linnell, interviews with journalists and celebrities, and strange spoken-word performances of Giants lyrics. Completely without narration, its loose structure advances through the band's history in mostly-chronological order. GIGANTIC has the best features, the most honest presentation, and the most satisfying insights of any documentary I've watched about a band.

As a caveat, I admit that They Might Be Giants are one of my favorite bands of all time. I was in junior high school when I called Dial-a-Song for the first time. I saw the video for "Don't Let's Start" on MTV's heavy rotation. I stayed up late for their appearance on The Tonight Show, when Jay Leno was guest hosting for Johnny Carson. And each of those milestones in their career is covered, both from the perspective of the band, and the perspective of fans like myself. Four and a half hours of extras, including 8 music videos, concert footage, deleted scenes and commentary with the Johns and director AJ Schnack. (I actually watched this entire disc - the documentary, the documentary with commentary, and all the extras - straight through.).

Anyway, for TMBG fans, this is a must-see - and you can have full confidence you won't regret a blind buy of it.