mike@projection-booth.com mike@projection-booth.com

August 29, 2017

Episode 338: The Swimmer (1968)

Special Guests: Justin Bozung, Kate Buford, Preston Neal Jones
Guest Co-Hosts: Rob St. Mary, Elric Kane

The 1968 film by Frank and , The Swimmer (based on the short story of the same name), stars Burt Lancaster as Ned Merrill, a Connecticut executive who decides to head back home by swimming through the pools of his neighbors, a "river" which he names "Lucinda" after his wife. Along the way, Ned is met with drinks, laughs, reminders of his affairs that went sour, and maybe even reminders that what he pretends to be may be no more.

Elric Kane and co-host emeritus Rob St. Mary join Mike to discuss the trouble production and ground-breaking ideas of The Swimmer.

Interviews:
Justin Bozung, author of an upcoming book on Frank Perry: 1:41:00
Kate Buford, author of Burt Lancaster: An American Life: 2:33:00
Preston Neal Jones, production assistant on The Swimmer: 03:16:00

Listen/Download Now:

Links:
Buy The Swimmer on Blu-Ray
Read The Swimmer: A prophetic modernist fable set in a fading Eden by Michael Atkinson
Read An Analysis of "The Swimmer" by John Cheever by Rebekah Nydam
Watch Man Fed Up with Commute Swims to Work
Read The Swimmer by John Cheever

Music:
"Like Swimming" - Morphine
"Pool Party" - Two Man Gentleman Band

Watch:




3 comments:

  1. Still listening to the interviews, so not sure if you guys refer to this at the end of the podcast... but in case you don't - just discovered that there is a new film, CONTRO FIGURA (STUNT), which uses a remake of THE SWIMMER as its background.

    http://www.mymovies.it/film/2017/la-controfigura/
    (use Google Translate)

    Directed by Rä Di Martino. A movie with Valeria Golino, Filippo Timi, Corrado Sassi, Younes Bouab, Nadia Kounda, Adam Nisrine. Genre Comedy - Italy , France , Morocco , 2017 , lasting 75 minutes.

    A small movie crew is heading for Marrakech and the deserts that surround it. Rematches are underway for an American film where a man goes home swimming, crossing all the county homes, swimming pool after pool. Corrado is the counterpart that is used to test the shots, locations, and pools where the main actor will move. But with the progress of the tests, there is growing ambivalence in him ... maybe that role might be his? So as we look to his attempts to enter the party, the real actors, stars, and a big troupe move in behind the scenes, in a set where nobody seems to know exactly what to do. A movie in a crisis of identity, the surreal quest for himself.

    Premieres at the Venice International Film Festival next week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The first I've heard of it. Thanks for the heads up. Sadly, we didn't talk about it on the show. Hope you dig it anyway.

      Cheers,

      Rob

      Delete
  2. Is there any way to find out the name of the rock group (dressed all in green) that appears in this movie?

    ReplyDelete