Swimmer: Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, Janice Rule, Tony Bickley, Marge Champion, Nancy Cushman, Bill Fiore, David Garfield, Kim Hunter, Rose Gregorio, Charles Drake, Bernie Hamilton, David L. Quaid, Frank Perry, Sydney Pollack, Carl Lerner, Roger Lewis, Eleanor Perry, John Cheever: Amazon.ca: Video

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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 neighborhood. But as Ned encounters a variety of neighbors, we see from their reactions that Ned's on an entirely different kind of journey--that he is balanced on the edge of some mysterious psychosis that we can't fully understand until the film's final, devastating image. 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 like 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

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Customer Reviews

25 Reviews

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
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Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars This movie reminds me of Walt Whitman's poem "I Sing the Body Electric"..., Feb 5 2007

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Nina Clock (NE Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swimmer, The (DVD)

I just watched this movie and now deem it one of the best movies ever made....The whole story is a brilliant metaphor for the individual who reaches mid-life hoping to have made something wonderful of his own life and realizes that his "place" in society will not allow him to be all he can be. He must be just like all the others and never have an original thought of his own. The storyline is linear - he goes from pool to pool in a straight line - but his emotional state may well have been completely nonlinear and understandable only to those who have a deeper understanding of what it means to be human.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable after...25 years, Jun 2 2004

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ancphat "ancphat" (Gainesville, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swimmer (VHS Tape)

I first watched this film..in another language when I was a kid. How best to illustrate the impact it had on me? After 25 years I still remembered the story of it. Of a man swimming home and of the last scene where he coming home to find an empty, isolated house.

Flash back to the present. I found this movie by accident in the library. Wondering if it's the same one stuck in my mind for so long so I checked it out. The impact of watching it this time was still there (just a bit less since I already know the ending).

All in all it's really worth seeing. It left an unforgettably emotional impact on me..as a 10-year-old child. That's how best I could put it to say how good the movie is.

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5.0 out of 5 stars challenging aesthetics, May 17 2004

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ageofanxiety "ageofanxiety" (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swimmer, The (DVD)

an unforgettable film.
it defies all explanation and remains a hidden classic art film.
comparisons to the twilight zone seem to do it little justice, not that i am knocking the twilight zone at all.
but perry's film is far more complex and multi latered than that.
and lancaster;
the older he got the more risks he took and this is a brauva performance.
we see his world slowly decaying. we know whats coming, yet you will probabaly still walk away mumbling incoherently to yourself for a few hours afterwords.
but,if you're looking for a fast paced film, look elsewhere. this film challenges you and from what ive seen of some of the reivews it was a bit too challenging for some (right-o new jersey?), but if you are prepared to reconsider your views on what film is and isnt, then be prepared to be walloped.

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Most recent customer reviews

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Published on April 26 2004 by Ohio Media Man