TotalTelly.co.uk
Devoted to Popular, Cult and Retro TV
The Swimmer [1968]
![The Swimmer [1968]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DK97F11CL._SL160_.jpg)
A compelling portrait of loss, refracted memories, and deep-rooted emotional denial, The Swimmer sprung from the same late-60s soil that yielded similarly ground-breaking literary films such as The Graduate and Goodbye, Columbus. It's an egotistical showcase for the physical prowess of its 55-year-old star, but Lancaster turns it into something deeper, more disturbing, and completely unforgettable. --Jeff Shannon DVD Technical Information:
RRP: £12.99
Our Price: £3.91 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Burt Lancaster gives one of his most daringly complex performances in The Swimmer, a fascinating adaptation of John Cheever's celebrated short story. At first it seems that middle-aged businessman Ned Merrill (Lancaster) is merely enjoying a spontaneous adventure, swimming from pool to pool among the well-tended estates of his affluent Connecticut neighbourhood. But as Ned encounters a variety of neighbours, we see from their reactions that he's on an entirely different kind of journey, balanced on the edge of some mysterious psychosis that we can't fully understand until the film's final, devastating image.
Editorial
DVD Description
The Swimmer takes place in an affluent Connecticut suburb, and for Ned Merrill (Burt Lancaster) it is where he confronts all of his dreams…and deceptions. According to Judith Crist, "Burt Lancaster gives the best performance of his career," as Ned, the troubled suburbanite, who one summer morning decides to "swim" home via the pools of his wealthy friends. Along the way he encounters several women from his past: a tempestuous teenage girl (Janet Landgard), teetering at the edge of adolescence and womanhood; his embittered ex-mistress (Janice Rule); and the sensual wife of an old friend (Kim Hunter). Ned's journey is one of embarrassments, humiliation and steamy passion. He passes from one scenario to another until he arrives home to an empty house…and to a startling self-revelation.
Editorial
Special Features
Editorial
Synopsis
Burt Lancaster stars in this adaptation of John Cheever's dreamlike short story about one man's highly unusual attempt to find meaning in his life. On the morning after a booze-filled night, Ned Merrill wakes up in a haze, confronted by the sterility of his isolated, wealthy suburban existence. So he decides to traverse this upper-class world swimming pool by swimming pool: he goes to each neighbor's house, swims through the chlorinated waters of the requisite backyard pool, and chats with the owner. Among the people he sees are his longtime mistress, a sexy babysitter and a couple of politically-liberal (or so they believe) nudists. This interesting, overlooked film, is a visually captivating look at the essential emptiness of the "American Dream."
Only Lancaster could be the swimmer
Review date: 2008-07-15 Rating: 10 out of 10
Almost any film Burt Lancaster is in usually gets my attention & The Swimmer is no exception, in fact I think it was one of his more complicated roles, one which was tailor made for Burt. Hard to believe Burt was 55, My God he had the body of an athletic 33 old, great shape almost as good as his acting ability. From what I read he actually could not swim prior to doing this film & never liked getting into the water!
I have watched tis film many times now & each time I see another glimpse of the brilliance that was & is Burt Lancaster. A tormented & lost soul is seen in this most unique of films , where Ned Merrill suffers the illusion of "normality & a secure Family Life" only those around him know better, what attracts me to Lancaster as an actor is his complete ability to portray almost all characteristics of human life, be it the He Man though guy to the idiot fool ie, The rose tattoo, Sad & embittered The Bird Man of Alcatraz, Ruthless & cruel in The sweet smell of success, or Delusional & self Denial in THE SWIMMER. Burt really was a genius on screen & his likes will never be seen again. On a funnier side the wardrobe deportment did not have a problem with Burt's cloths, has to be the only film where the Principal Actor wore so little.
In the Swimmer he draws you into his own small world where for him despite the obvious he is a happily married man with a wife & daughter awaits him, we also see a very shallow side where he is willing to pledge his "love" to any Female who will believe his ramblings " the sad thing is Ned Merrill also believes them also"
Yes The Swimmer is an all round winner for me the only surprise is that when released it was more or less a flop, perhaps not enough RAMBO action in it, Anyhow lets be greatful to DVD's this period in Film making .No doubts I will watch this film many more times
Similar Products
- The Sweet Smell Of Success [1957]
- Elmer Gantry [1960]
- The Night Of The Hunter [1955]
- From Here To Eternity [1953]
- Kiss Me Deadly [1955]
Reviews
Beautiful and profoundly moving
Review date: 2008-04-06 Rating: 10 out of 10
This is a journey (via the swimming pools of an affluent New England suburb) to the heart of the darkness of the American Dream. Ned Merrill is a "very special human being - noble and splendid." There is more than a touch of the Shakespearean tragedy about this wonderful film and Merrill, played brilliantly by Burt Lancaster is a flawed and tragic hero. I love Lancaster in everything anyway, but he is often overlooked as a great screen star, despite his sophisticated, more mature performances in this and The Leopard. It becomes clear shortly in to the film that Merrill is at a point of crisis in his life and probably teetering on the verge of suicide, though infused with a love of life and an eerie calmness, reminiscent of the protagonist in J D Salinger's "A perfect day for Bananafish". His advertising business is bankrupt, he is disgraced and disowned by his friends, his marriage is finished and it is clear that he has been unfaithful to his wife. This is a 90 minute classic about the human condition, an attack on the stultifying rules of affluent American bourgeois society, human cruelty and indifference to suffering and the poverty of people's souls in the midst of their material wealth. It may also be a cautionary tale about how you should follow your heart and not give up on your dreams. At one point, Ned Merrill meets an under confident little boy on his swimming odyssey. The boy says he could never make captain of the football team; "but you're the captain of your soul son and that's what counts". Beautiful and profoundly moving. I watched this alone and it brought me to tears. Not many films do that.
How anyone can lose the plot ...
Review date: 2008-01-02 Rating: 8 out of 10
This is a psychological 'day in the life' drama of a man not on the edge of a nervous breakdown - but, instead, in the denial stage after a nervous breakdown. You can't help but feel sorry for 'the swimmer' as deep down in all of us is a need to be socially accepted by our peer group despite the blows which life may inflict upon us.
I first saw this in my childhood and the closing scene stuck in my mind for a very long time.
Great perfomance by Burt Lancaster.
"If you make-believe hard enough that something is true, then it is true - for you"
Review date: 2007-09-25 Rating: 10 out of 10
This 1968 film directed by Frank Perry and starring Burt Lancaster (who was 55 when the film was released and was in astonishingly good shape for his age) is based on a brilliant short story by John Cheever, which first appeared in the New Yorker in July 1964.
'The Swimmer' brims with hidden depths. On the surface, it seems to be about Ned Merrill, a bronzed and athletic playboy who has set himself the goal of swimming home through a snake-like series of garden pools in rich suburban Connecticut. But as the film moves on, we get glimpses of a tragic undercurrent which culminates in the sad final scene. The nearer he gets to home, the colder he gets, the chillier his neighbours act towards him, the more he drinks (in the last house, he drinks a straight gin on the rocks) and the more he limps; when talking of his two daughters, he portrays them as getting younger and younger as he swims from pool to pool. Yet this psychological complexity is subtle and only suggested; the 'intention' of the film remains opaque. Could it be a morality tale about the American dream - that if you neglect family and human values in the pursuit of social status, wealth and success, you might well end up alienated from and rejected by those nearest to you? Could it be a symbolic odyssey, an allegory for his psychological journey - his denial and fervent estrangement from reality pushing him into a painful psychosis? Or is it a case of the 1960s counter culture stripping the masculinity and magnetism off the playboy to reveal a shallow, dark core?
Whatever the case, this is a great film and is surprisingly sad. Its only drawbacks are the occasionally hammy acting (seemingly characteristic of films of the late 1960s), and the rather crude symbolism at the end. But all in all, this is well worth seeing - for the scent of grandiose dreams, failed masculinity, and the terrible price that can be paid for denial.
Superb and disturbing
Review date: 2007-08-03 Rating: 10 out of 10
Burt Lancaster gives one of his greatest ever performances in 'The Swimmer'. The plot is simple, Ned (Lancaster) decides to swim his way home via the swimming pools of his wealthy friends and neighbours. As his journey progresses it becomes apparent that all is not what it seems. Only at the very end of this film did I begin to understand the subtle hints that the other characters had been giving at all along. The ending is arguably one of the finest in film history. It was totally unexpected and unless you have read the book or a detailed film synopsis it will probably be so for you.
I would concede that this film will not be to everybodies taste. Some may consider it pretentious, and perhaps just plain dull, so if you can rent it first or watch it on TV before buying it would probably be wise to do so.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Marge Champion
Janice Rule
Burt Lancaster
Tony Bickley
Janet Landgard
Creators:
Burt Lancaster (Primary Contributor)
Janet Landgard (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
EAN: 5035822083738
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2003-05-26
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 91 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1968-05-15
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: Danish (Subtitled)
Language: Finnish (Subtitled)
Language: Icelandic (Subtitled)
Language: Portuguese (Subtitled)
Language: Hungarian (Subtitled)
Language: Swedish (Subtitled)
Language: Polish (Subtitled)
Language: Italian (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: German (Subtitled)
Language: Turkish (Subtitled)
Language: Arabic (Subtitled)
Language: Czech (Subtitled)
Language: Greek (Subtitled)
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: Norwegian (Subtitled)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Hebrew (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: Hindi (Subtitled)