The Swimmer

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100%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 22

82%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 3,111

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The Swimmer Photos

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Movie Info

Well-off ad man Ned Merrill (Burt Lancaster) is visiting a friend when he notices the abundance of backyard pools that populate their upscale suburb. Ned suddenly decides that he'd like to travel the eight miles back to his own home by simply swimming across every pool in town. Soon, Ned's journey becomes harrowing; at each house, he is somehow confronted with a reminder of his romantic, domestic and economic failures, until a final visit with an old flame (Janice Rule) leaves him devastated.
  • Rating:
    PG
  • Genre:
    drama
  • Original Language:
    English
  • Director:
    Frank Perry, Sydney Pollack
  • Producer:
    Roger H. Lewis, Frank Perry
  • Release Date (Theaters):
     wide
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Runtime:
  • Production Co:
    Columbia Pictures Corporation
  • Sound Mix:
    Mono
  • Aspect Ratio:
    35mm, Flat (1.85:1)

Cast & Crew

Burt Lancaster
Ned Merrill
Janet Landgard
Julie Ann Hooper
Janice Rule
Shirley Abbott
Tony Bickley
Donald Westerhazy
Marge Champion
Peggy Forsburgh
Bill Fiore
Howie Hunsacker
Kim Hunter
Betty Graham
Joan Rivers
Joan
Frank Perry
Director
Sydney Pollack
Director
John Cheever
Writer
Roger H. Lewis
Producer
Frank Perry
Producer
Marvin Hamlisch
Original Music
David L. Quaid
Cinematographer
Sidney Katz
Film Editor
Carl Lerner
Film Editor
Pat Somerset
Film Editor
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Critic Reviews for The Swimmer

All Critics (22) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (22)

View All Critic Reviews (22)

Audience Reviews for The Swimmer

  • Nov 30, 2015
    A buff Burt Lancaster is nearly naked the whole film as a upscale businessman swimming through the pools of his neighbors in a circuitous route home one evening. I wouldn't watch this for years as I took it merely as a Lancaster vanity project, but now I guess I'm old enough to see that that actually plays an important part in the story, his vanity, undercutting what is seen versus what is real. There's a Twilight Zone twist telegraphed throughout, but nonetheless its a cool piece about the difference between who we think we are and who we are in fact.
    Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
  • May 06, 2014
    Observing that all his neighbors have swimming pools, an indefatigably cheerful man out for a morning jog decides to "swim" his way home; at each stop he talks to a new neighbor, slowly painting a picture of his life. Based on a John Cheever short story, this odd concept works surprisingly well as both a suburban satire and (thanks to an excellent performance by Burt Lancaster) a touching character study of a man who doesn't realize the American dream has passed him by.
    Greg S Super Reviewer
  • Nov 15, 2013
    The Swimmer is an extraordinary bit of a cinema that for some reason does not get a lot of airplay. Lancaster is at his best as a person who has conveniently forgotten about his recent past and interacts with those who love and hate him as he swims through suburban pools on his way home. Gripping.
    John B Super Reviewer
  • May 13, 2009
    an offbeat, even absurd suburban drama that sees burt lancaster fighting to preserve his illusions while swimming home through his neighbor's pools. burt is the force that holds this film together. a little dated but also well ahead of it's time
    Stella D Super Reviewer
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The Swimmer Quotes

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