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Movies / On DVD / The Swimmer
The Swimmer

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The Swimmer (1968)

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Reviews Counted: 18

Fresh: 18

Rotten:0

Average Rating: 7.7/10

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Dramas

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... 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." [More]

Starring: Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, Janice Rule, Tony Bickley

Starring: Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, Janice Rule, Tony Bickley, Marge Champion, Kim Hunter, Rose Gregorio, Charles Drake

Director: Frank Perry

Director: Frank Perry
Screenwriter: Eleanor Perry
Producer: Frank Perry, Roger Lewis
Composer: Marvin Hamlisch

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Apr 29, 2003

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Swimmer

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Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
09/01/08
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Frequently silly but oddly memorable and unsettling.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/30/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A resounding commercial flop, this has since been recognized as a signature 60s film, prescient in its view of American self-deception.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
10/30/07
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A largely loony but oddly compulsive allegory.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

Ned Merrill is a tragic hero for the '60s, and it's one of Lancaster's most searing performances.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
10/11/05
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
06/13/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

As do few movies, The Swimmer stays in the memory like an echo that never quite disappears.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/09/05
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
03/08/05
Jonathan R. Perry
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)

No review available.

comment Comment
11/23/04
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Burt Lancaster is superb in his finest performance.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
01/24/04
Spence D.
IGN Movies

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
07/09/03
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com

An enigmatic, poetic, disturbing, interestingly pretentious fable.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
06/01/03
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine

A mannerist, moody and wonderfully strange allegory of the squandered American Dream. Like a plunge into the deep end, it stings and refreshes.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
12/08/02
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Like a series of hammer-blows to the gut.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
10/08/01
Phil Freeman
culturevulture.net

Director Frank Perry's cult favorite

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Shane Burridge
rec.arts.movies.reviews
 
 
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