The Swimmer (1968) - Theatrical Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIegoQAayFs
c.v.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cheever
"The Swimmer" appeared in the July 18, 1964 issue
of The New Yorker. Cheever noted with chagrin that the story (one of his best)
appeared toward the back of the issue—behind a John Updike story—since, as it
happened, Maxwell and other editors at the magazine were a little bewildered by
its non-New Yorkerish surrealism. In the summer of 1966, a screen adaptation of
"The Swimmer," starring Burt Lancaster, was filmed in Westport, Connecticut.
Cheever was a frequent visitor on the set, and made a cameo appearance in the
movie.
The Swimmer (1968),film,Burt Lancaster gives the best
performance of his career,as Ned, the troubled suburbanite
Fotosi
http://www.google.com/search?q=burt+lancaster&hl=en&client=opera&hs=cQN&rls=en&channel=suggest&prmd=imvnso&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=X_FHT5LvN4bEsgbun5mUBQ&ved=0CE8QsAQ&biw=991&bih=637
The Swimmer,ulomci, 1968 - Theatrical Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIegoQAayFs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RjUya7KXmA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBtA0E20-D0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RjUya7KXmA&feature=related
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.
John Cheever , 2012., 100 th anniversary of birth,…30th
anniversary of death
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/oct/18/john-cheever-blake-bailey
1
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/c/john_cheever/index.html
fotosi
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THE SWIMMER
(1968)
Dir: Frank Perry
Reviewed by: Kara Kellar Bell
Based on a classic short story of the same name by American
writer John Cheever, The Swimmer,
is a beautiful film that boasts a fine performance from Burt Lancaster as Ned
Merrill, the man who decides on a whim that he will swim home across the Connecticut countryside,via
his neighbours pools.
The premise of the film is simple enough, and Merrill’s character at first seems
impulsive, youthful, in contrast to his old summer camp friend who turns up
just before he sets off on his swimming escapade. His old friend is a year
younger, and yet Merrill comes across as the more youthful of the two, and the
more prosperous and successful. But everything is not as it seems in this
story. The initial bewilderment of those around him who listen to his plans to
swim across the county are rooted in more than an understandable reaction to a
wild idea. As Ned goes from property to property, pool to pool, meeting one set
of characters after another, including a couple of elderly nudists, the
beautiful summer landscape, glittering blue pools and the wealthy suburban
locations soon become a background for an altogether darker tale. Because Ned
does not appear to be aware of some of the things that have happened in the
last three years. It’s a
truth that creeps up slowly.
Initially welcomed by neighbours whose subtle bewilderment
hints at deeper concerns, he soon moves on to less welcome terrain where he is
snubbed or asked to leave. The picture we have of Ned Merrill, the athletic,
successful businessman begins to crumble, and it crumbles too for Ned who
clearly does not fully understand the reactions. He constantly talks about
swimming home, through the Lucinda
River, the name he gives
to the chain of pools that lead to his property. Lucinda is his wife’s name. His girls are at home
waiting for him, playing tennis. It’s
a rosy picture that perfectly encapsulates the American Dream. But it’s all an illusion.
Along the way Ned meets his ex-mistress, a woman he dumped
in a fancy restaurant in New York
because he thought she’d be
less likely to make a scene in such a place. Ned wants to take up with her
again, suggesting they go away on a trip, apparently unaware of the harm he’s caused her. At a public
swimming pool he’s turned
away because he has no money. All through the film, he’s dressed only in swimming trunks. Someone else
pays his entrance fee, though they do so reluctantly, apparently bearing him
some kind of grudge. At the public pool he meets hostility, and creditors,
ordinary working people he owes money to. Already snubbed by some of the rich,
it’s here that the truth
really starts to come out. When Ned finally makes it home it’s to a deserted property with a
broken window. As a storm breaks out, he bangs on the front door, but no one
answers. The camera looks through the broken window to the empty, desolate
rooms. Ned Merrill is a man who has fallen foul of the American Dream. As the
people at the public pool point out, his beloved daughters are out of control,
and generally regard their father as a joke. Lucinda, whom we never meet in the
film, though she appears briefly at the beginning of the short story, is
clearly a snob with expensive tastes.
Ned is a likeable character, and in spite of the truth that
emerges, he remains sympathetic. His troubles, though, are of his own making:
his arrogance, his snobbery, his choice to live in a loveless marriage, and the
financial recklessness of his family. The respectable front he presents masks
something else. But he is a man in the process of a breakdown. Immature,
impulsive, the qualities that motivate him to swim across the county are also
his faults.
John Cheever, the author of the original short story, has
been compared to the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, without the glamour. Many of
Cheever’s stories appeared
in the New Yorker. The short story is well worth a read and a comparison of
film and story shows that the film makers have changed the order of some of the
events, and added in more characterisation, more explanation, and more hints
about the back story. But this does not detract in any way from the film’s power. In fact, the changes
make perfect sense for the cinematic medium.
The Swimmer,
is a wonderful film that perfectly illustrates how a simple idea can pack a
powerful punch. It relies on characterisation and dialogue rather than the
usual Hollywood tricks of car chases and acts
of violence. Ned’s
character is revealed through his encounters with others. Burt Lancaster is
perfect for the role too because his affability and athleticism embody the
outer persona of the wealthy suburbanite, while the subtle power of his acting
conveys a man who is physically and mentally cracking up, bit by bit. He is
believable both as the friendly, likable Ned, and the snobbish, ruthless
businessman we only catch glimpses of through the memories of others. The film’s cinematography too is
fantastic.The Swimmer, is a
truly beautiful film, backed up by a great soundtrack and comes highly
recommended.
Kara Kellar Bell
Reproduced with permission
Kara Kellar Bell, is a film and media graduate from the West
of Scotland, with a passion for European novels, French films, silent cinema,
and Brazilian music (everything from Daniela Mercury and other pop stars
through to bossa nova). As a writer, she likes to have room to move around
creatively, so she’s not
located in one genre. She writes realism and also stories of a more fantastic
nature, usually grounded to some extent in the real world. She also takes
delight in writing across the sexual spectrum, and as a bisexual, considers it
important to remind people that things are not always black and white,
either/or, in sexuality or in gender. She is currently completing her first
novel.
Frank Perry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Perry
Eleanor Perry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Perry
The Swimmer (15-May-1968)
Director: Frank Perry,Writer: Eleanor Perry
From short story by: John Cheever,Keywords: Drama
http://www.nndb.com/films/039/000064844/
http://www.nndb.com/people/872/000133473/
On a sunny, summer afternoon, Ned Merrill (Burt Lancaster),
dressed in his swimming trunks, appears at the backyard pool of the
Westerhazys, neighbors of his in an affluent Connecticut neighborhood. From their
exchange, we learn that Ned hasn't been around for a while. The Westerhazys are
recovering from the previous day's indulgences, and are preparing for another
day of parties and get togethers, and invite Ned over to the home of the
Grahams who have just put in a new pool.
Turning his gaze across the valley behind their house, Ned
realizes that there are now a string of pools stretching all the way across the
valley back to his house. He decides at that moment that he will swim his way
home to his wife and family. Naming it after his wife, he dubs this series of
pools the Lucinda
River. And so his journey
home begins.
With each pool we see that Ned's acquaintances know more
than is revealed - the neighbors, the babysitter, an ex lover, all know Neddy
Merrill's past, and as he tries to make up for lost time, he moves closer and
closer to learning the truth about himself.
.