The Swimmer (1968)
If you read the one-sentence synopsis, “A man spends a summer day swimming in as many pools as he can all over a quiet, suburban town,” you’ll either think The Swimmer is a comedy or pointless. It is neither. A heavy drama and full of meaning, this fantastic drama shows Burt Lancaster’s talents like no other movie of his career. Stripped of everything (literally), he bares his skin and his soul as he tries to outrun his problems. Eleanor Perry’s screenplay is symbolic, heart wrenching, subtle, and perfectly timed. All she had to work with was a short story, and she turned it into something audience members can talk about for days. Had it not been for the great task of pairing down Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Miss Perry would have absolutely won a Hot Toasty Rag award for her work.
At the start of the film, Burt shows up at a friend’s house unexpectedly. He’s greeted with smiles, cocktails, and well wishes. He grins his famous grin, takes a dip in the pool, and then announces he’s going to swim home. With every stop he makes, he gets a different reaction from the residents. The settings are varied: one is hosting a party, another is just a little boy home alone. As he gets closer and closer to home, the interactions literally hit closer to home.
I don’t want to spoil anything, because it’s a very powerful movie when you let it all unfold. In each scene, Burt practically transforms into a different man, and his tour-de-force is very subtle. He’s a father, husband, lover, and friend, and the more times you watch his performance, the more you’ll get out of it. 1968 was an extremely competitive year, with No Way to Treat a Lady, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Oliver!, The Boston Strangler, The Lion in Winter, The Subject Was Roses, and more. With seven nominees for Best Picture, this movie didn’t make the cut. Five other men giving extremely heavy performances competed against Burt for Best Actor. They were all winners, although only Alan Arkin took home the coveted newspaper trophy. Still, I can’t recommend this movie highly enough.
Burt Lancaster is known for his larger-than-life persona as Starbuck in The Rainmaker and Elmer Gantry. Those who know him in his against-type work might cite Birdman of Alcatraz or Come Back, Little Sheba, but I would argue The Swimmer features his best work. He’s not larger-than-life. The movie is both intimate and sweeping, and he has nothing to lean on but his acting chops. There’s no makeup to distract the audience, no costumes, no real person to emulate, and no epic story to get caught up in. Paul Newman famously compared acting to taking one’s pants off, and Burt is brave enough to do both. He’s at his physical peak as he runs, swims, and climbs, daring to spend the entire movie in a Speedo (except in one scene when he takes off the lone article) at the age of fifty-five. Back in 1968, that age was looked at as “over-the-hill”, but it’s impossible to take your eyes off the sexy swimmer. No matter how many emotional (and literal, in one scene) hurdles he has to jump over, after watching what was Burt’s favorite film of his career, you’ll spend your summer days wearing your best bikini hoping he’ll find his way into your pool.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. The hurdles scene features an "active camera" that moves around quite a bit, and that will make you sick. In other words, “Don’t Look, Mom!”
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "YT Episodes" for posting!
More Burt Lancaster movies here!
At the start of the film, Burt shows up at a friend’s house unexpectedly. He’s greeted with smiles, cocktails, and well wishes. He grins his famous grin, takes a dip in the pool, and then announces he’s going to swim home. With every stop he makes, he gets a different reaction from the residents. The settings are varied: one is hosting a party, another is just a little boy home alone. As he gets closer and closer to home, the interactions literally hit closer to home.
I don’t want to spoil anything, because it’s a very powerful movie when you let it all unfold. In each scene, Burt practically transforms into a different man, and his tour-de-force is very subtle. He’s a father, husband, lover, and friend, and the more times you watch his performance, the more you’ll get out of it. 1968 was an extremely competitive year, with No Way to Treat a Lady, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Oliver!, The Boston Strangler, The Lion in Winter, The Subject Was Roses, and more. With seven nominees for Best Picture, this movie didn’t make the cut. Five other men giving extremely heavy performances competed against Burt for Best Actor. They were all winners, although only Alan Arkin took home the coveted newspaper trophy. Still, I can’t recommend this movie highly enough.
Burt Lancaster is known for his larger-than-life persona as Starbuck in The Rainmaker and Elmer Gantry. Those who know him in his against-type work might cite Birdman of Alcatraz or Come Back, Little Sheba, but I would argue The Swimmer features his best work. He’s not larger-than-life. The movie is both intimate and sweeping, and he has nothing to lean on but his acting chops. There’s no makeup to distract the audience, no costumes, no real person to emulate, and no epic story to get caught up in. Paul Newman famously compared acting to taking one’s pants off, and Burt is brave enough to do both. He’s at his physical peak as he runs, swims, and climbs, daring to spend the entire movie in a Speedo (except in one scene when he takes off the lone article) at the age of fifty-five. Back in 1968, that age was looked at as “over-the-hill”, but it’s impossible to take your eyes off the sexy swimmer. No matter how many emotional (and literal, in one scene) hurdles he has to jump over, after watching what was Burt’s favorite film of his career, you’ll spend your summer days wearing your best bikini hoping he’ll find his way into your pool.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. The hurdles scene features an "active camera" that moves around quite a bit, and that will make you sick. In other words, “Don’t Look, Mom!”
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "YT Episodes" for posting!
More Burt Lancaster movies here!