THE SWIMMER
(Frank Perry, 1968)
Release date: 22 August 2022
Limited Edition Blu-ray (UK Blu-ray premiere)
Pre-order here
One of the few bona fide counter-cultural films to be produced by a major studio, The Swimmer is a sun-scorched and surreal suburban satire that boasts a fine performance from Burt Lancaster (Castle Keep, Buffalo Bill and the Indians) as Ned Merrill, the all-American man who one day determines to swim home to his Connecticut mansion via a series of pools in his neighbourhood.
Directed by Frank Perry (Diary of a Mad Housewife) imbues Eleanor Perry’s (David and Lisa, Ladybug Ladybug) adaptation of John Cheever’s short story with stunning expressionistic flourishes, creating a true masterpiece of cinema.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with Frank Perry biographer Justin Bozung (2022)
• The original New Yorker short story read by author John Cheever
• Original theatrical trailer
• Illeana Douglas trailer commentary (2019)
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Sophie Monks Kaufman, a profile of writer John Cheever, extracts from interviews with Frank Perry and Eleanor Perry on the making of the film, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
• Limited edition exclusive poster
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 5,000 copies for the UK
• More extras to be announced
• All extras subject to change
#PHILTD046
BBFC cert: PG
REGION B
EAN: 5060697922264
46 The Swimmer
Moderator: MichaelB
- MichaelB
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46 The Swimmer
- MitchPerrywinkle
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
Hope we get a few more extras announced for this package, particularly with Lancaster's own perspective on his embattled collaboration with Perry on the film as both star and producer.
It's a film I decided on a whim to watch during the summer of 2020, and living in isolation in the English countryside from my friends and family during the pandemic couldn't have put me in a better mindset for the film. Its gradual transition from bucolic reverie to stark nightmare is brilliantly executed, thanks largely to Lancaster's performance. It's difficult to think of another film he starred in where his physical stature was so crucial to informing the trajectory of his character, and watching him his emotional decay mirror his slowly shrinking body language over two hours is mesmerizing.
It's a film I decided on a whim to watch during the summer of 2020, and living in isolation in the English countryside from my friends and family during the pandemic couldn't have put me in a better mindset for the film. Its gradual transition from bucolic reverie to stark nightmare is brilliantly executed, thanks largely to Lancaster's performance. It's difficult to think of another film he starred in where his physical stature was so crucial to informing the trajectory of his character, and watching him his emotional decay mirror his slowly shrinking body language over two hours is mesmerizing.
- therewillbeblus
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
Yeah it's surprisingly sparse for an Indicator title, especially at that price point, though I guess one is paying for the book. I am interested in hearing an audiobook of the original New Yorker short story read aloud by Cheever thoughMitchPerrywinkle wrote: ↑Thu May 19, 2022 9:01 pmHope we get a few more extras announced for this package
- yoloswegmaster
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
It does say "More extras to be announced" right at the bottom.
I'm more interested in knowing if Indicator are going to be using an old HD remaster when Grindhouse Releasing is using a 4K restoration as the basis for their release.
I'm more interested in knowing if Indicator are going to be using an old HD remaster when Grindhouse Releasing is using a 4K restoration as the basis for their release.
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- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:12 am
Re: 46 The Swimmer
That's already on the Grindhouse release, if you have it.therewillbeblus wrote:Yeah it's surprisingly sparse for an Indicator title, especially at that price point, though I guess one is paying for the book. I am interested in hearing an audiobook of the original New Yorker short story read aloud by Cheever thoughMitchPerrywinkle wrote: ↑Thu May 19, 2022 9:01 pmHope we get a few more extras announced for this package
- EddieLarkin
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
The compression is total balls on the Grindhouse, with the entire film crammed into 15GB, with far more prominence given to the 2.5 hour documentary on the disc. Indicator coming in just to hand this over to David M is good enough for me.
- jegharfangetmigenmyg
- Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:52 am
Re: 46 The Swimmer
Even though I remember that I wasn't paticularly fond of this film – if I remember correctly, I found the ending to be forced and somewhat ruining to my experience – it has really stayed with me, probably for its off-beat surreal style and very original and weirdly simple storyline. I will definitely revisit this one. And warmly recommend it to anyone wanting to see something different from Hollywood that not explicitly inspired by European art cinema of the time.
- Drucker
- Your Future our Drucker
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
Agreed. I caught this film in 35 a few years ago and thought it was okay, but a lot of it, especially the last scene, haven't left my brain since. Definitely excited to revisit in this package.jegharfangetmigenmyg wrote: ↑Fri May 20, 2022 9:06 amEven though I remember that I wasn't paticularly fond of this film – if I remember correctly, I found the ending to be forced and somewhat ruining to my experience – it has really stayed with me, probably for its off-beat surreal style and very original and weirdly simple storyline. I will definitely revisit this one. And warmly recommend it to anyone wanting to see something different from Hollywood that not explicitly inspired by European art cinema of the time.
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
Put me down in the same category. I nearly fell off my chair laughing at the histrionic and utterly predictable denoument, but it has a sort of power to it and the thought crossed my mind that it was meant to be funny. Like an ironic male weepie or a piece of hetero camp, almost. Now I'm looking at this blu ray and I've got Burt in my ear screaming "YOU LIKED IT!" at the top of his formidable lungs.
My girlfriend hated it but dug up a 1969 Variety review which said "a lot of people are not going to understand this film; many will loathe it; others will be moved deeply. Its detractors will be most vocal; its supporters will not have high-powered counter-arguments."...maybe that says it all?
My girlfriend hated it but dug up a 1969 Variety review which said "a lot of people are not going to understand this film; many will loathe it; others will be moved deeply. Its detractors will be most vocal; its supporters will not have high-powered counter-arguments."...maybe that says it all?
- jegharfangetmigenmyg
- Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:52 am
Re: 46 The Swimmer
Yeah, Lancaster racing against the horse, the jarring cutting in the gate crash scene, and the cinematography also with weirdly composed shots, too.Drucker wrote: ↑Sat May 21, 2022 11:25 amAgreed. I caught this film in 35 a few years ago and thought it was okay, but a lot of it, especially the last scene, haven't left my brain since. Definitely excited to revisit in this package.jegharfangetmigenmyg wrote: ↑Fri May 20, 2022 9:06 amEven though I remember that I wasn't paticularly fond of this film – if I remember correctly, I found the ending to be forced and somewhat ruining to my experience – it has really stayed with me, probably for its off-beat surreal style and very original and weirdly simple storyline. I will definitely revisit this one. And warmly recommend it to anyone wanting to see something different from Hollywood that not explicitly inspired by European art cinema of the time.
Interesting. I've only seen it once, but I just saw the ending as a cop-out Hollywoodian resolution one, where I would have preferred an open ending, especially seeing that the rest of the film is completely in free form. But if Perry made it to be intentionally over the top, then, of course, the ending is turned upside down.kubelkind wrote: ↑Sat May 21, 2022 1:36 pmPut me down in the same category. I nearly fell off my chair laughing at the histrionic and utterly predictable denoument, but it has a sort of power to it and the thought crossed my mind that it was meant to be funny. Like an ironic male weepie or a piece of hetero camp, almost. Now I'm looking at this blu ray and I've got Burt in my ear screaming "YOU LIKED IT!" at the top of his formidable lungs.
My girlfriend hated it but dug up a 1969 Variety review which said "a lot of people are not going to understand this film; many will loathe it; others will be moved deeply. Its detractors will be most vocal; its supporters will not have high-powered counter-arguments."...maybe that says it all?
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
Fair point, though both could be possible. I have no idea of the story behind the production but I can well imagine Perry wanting a more open ending and the studio turning it down and him saying, well, you wanted a big dramatic ending...here you go! The melodramatic tone doesn't seem that out of place with the rest of the film, with its "square counterculture" vibe (the double exposure photography and faux-trippy sights such as Lancaster's nipple bouncing up and down in psychedelic slow motion as he and his Hollywood flower child babysitter leap over showjumps) and the orchestra pumping and wailing away throughout.jegharfangetmigenmyg wrote: ↑Sat May 21, 2022 1:59 pmInteresting. I've only seen it once, but I just saw the ending as a cop-out Hollywoodian resolution one, where I would have preferred an open ending, especially seeing that the rest of the film is completely in free form. But if Perry made it to be intentionally over the top, then, of course, the ending is turned upside down.
I don't know how the original story it was based on ended but hopefully I'll find out soon enough.
I entertained myself with a joke reading of this in which
SpoilerShow
Burt represents old Hollywood in the late 60s. His old he-man tricks no longer impress, he just looks vain and a bit campy, the young girls are no longer in love with him from afar, his house (cinema) is empty and derelict and no matter how much he pumps his fists and yells "YOU LIKED IT" it is clear he is not liked as much any more...
- jegharfangetmigenmyg
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
Interesting reading. You could be right, and if so, I guess it would redeem the ending very much, indeed. I've only seen it once, but I will certainly pick up this edition and revisit it. Hopefully, some of the extras will cover Perry's original intentions and maybe shed some light on the significance on the ending: whether it was tacked on for closure or if it was indeed a brilliant meta commentary from Perry...kubelkind wrote: ↑Sat May 21, 2022 4:13 pmFair point, though both could be possible. I have no idea of the story behind the production but I can well imagine Perry wanting a more open ending and the studio turning it down and him saying, well, you wanted a big dramatic ending...here you go! The melodramatic tone doesn't seem that out of place with the rest of the film, with its "square counterculture" vibe (the double exposure photography and faux-trippy sights such as Lancaster's nipple bouncing up and down in psychedelic slow motion as he and his Hollywood flower child babysitter leap over showjumps) and the orchestra pumping and wailing away throughout.jegharfangetmigenmyg wrote: ↑Sat May 21, 2022 1:59 pmInteresting. I've only seen it once, but I just saw the ending as a cop-out Hollywoodian resolution one, where I would have preferred an open ending, especially seeing that the rest of the film is completely in free form. But if Perry made it to be intentionally over the top, then, of course, the ending is turned upside down.
I don't know how the original story it was based on ended but hopefully I'll find out soon enough.
I entertained myself with a joke reading of this in whichMake of that what you will but it made me snigger. Guess I'll be buying this...SpoilerShowBurt represents old Hollywood in the late 60s. His old he-man tricks no longer impress, he just looks vain and a bit campy, the young girls are no longer in love with him from afar, his house (cinema) is empty and derelict and no matter how much he pumps his fists and yells "YOU LIKED IT" it is clear he is not liked as much any more...
- feihong
- Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 12:20 pm
Re: 46 The Swimmer
I had always heard that the ending to the film––which seems to have turned a lot of people off here––was the section of the film which was shot by Sydney Pollack, when something happened to director Frank Perry. And Pollack was always one of the most stylistically dull and conventional of film directors. The ending matches the short story fairly precisely in terms of event, but what is quite different is the tone. The film presents the realization that the life Ned Merrill has celebrated is in fact behind him in sentimental terms, as a sort of tragic fall. The Cheever story is a lot less emotional with its ending. There is a feeling of craziness winding down, like a machine running out of thread, like wheels rolling off the car, even as it hurtles forward. There was the potential, I think, for a scene very like the horse scene, where we get the sense of energy being spent in a fruitless endeavor––a scene of joy undercut by its' own absurd ultimate purposelessness. But the ending just doesn't quite come off––if it had, I feel like the film would be better remembered. It might be a little facile to say that but for the ending being taken out of Perry's hands, what a picture it would be, but Sydney Pollack is exactly the director to try and sweeten the harsh pill of the film with a plea for sappy sentiment at the end. I haven't seen Perry's other pictures, but I had often read that he wasn't quite so ready to compromise on his more sour social observations––which is part of why I think the claim that this is where Pollack took over makes sense.
To me the film seems like an important landmark for later filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson––especially in the way the film creates a sense of unease, pitting off-kilter performance against sure, stylish filmmaking. It gives us a feeling that something is wrong, without any sort of leap to judgement of what that might be. In that way, a precursor to a film like Boogie Nights. The film also offers a precursor to some of Anderson's early-career pet themes––like the fall of a well-meaning, once successful man chasing the American dream (Dirk Diggler and Jack Horner in Boogie Nights, Sydney in Hard Eight), fallen and failed. And I don't think it's a huge stretch to say that a film like Magnolia aspires to be a Cheever-like dissection of its' own era––a suburban tableau of failure, unrest, and dissatisfaction. And the whole sequence of dialogue at the party Ned crashes seems like it must have inspired some of the humor in Anderson's films––especially the whole hot dog cart exchange. My own favorite line is just before that, when Ned says, "I'm a very special human being...noble...and splendid." So funny.
To me the film seems like an important landmark for later filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson––especially in the way the film creates a sense of unease, pitting off-kilter performance against sure, stylish filmmaking. It gives us a feeling that something is wrong, without any sort of leap to judgement of what that might be. In that way, a precursor to a film like Boogie Nights. The film also offers a precursor to some of Anderson's early-career pet themes––like the fall of a well-meaning, once successful man chasing the American dream (Dirk Diggler and Jack Horner in Boogie Nights, Sydney in Hard Eight), fallen and failed. And I don't think it's a huge stretch to say that a film like Magnolia aspires to be a Cheever-like dissection of its' own era––a suburban tableau of failure, unrest, and dissatisfaction. And the whole sequence of dialogue at the party Ned crashes seems like it must have inspired some of the humor in Anderson's films––especially the whole hot dog cart exchange. My own favorite line is just before that, when Ned says, "I'm a very special human being...noble...and splendid." So funny.
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
feihong wrote: ↑Thu May 26, 2022 6:41 pmI had always heard that the ending to the film––which seems to have turned a lot of people off here––was the section of the film which was shot by Sydney Pollack, when something happened to director Frank Perry. And Pollack was always one of the most stylistically dull and conventional of film directors.
I’m with you on Pollack’s severe limits as a filmmaker, which are incredibly apparent on totally neutered works like The Yakuza, which could have been special in the hands of someone like Peckinpah or Monte Hellman. Pollack did add a few interesting visual flourishes to a few scenes of this film, but Perry was a far more distinctive and interesting artist.
Lancaster was a unique actor and producer who continually picked challenging projects throughout the entire span of his career. No one else from his generation was still reinventing themselves and picking great roles throughout the 1980’s even
- feihong
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
Sure, but just cover up that title and look at the rest of his filmography on the IMDB. There's plenty of other films that get at what I'm talking about.
- MitchPerrywinkle
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
While I don't love the film, Three Days of the Condor doesn't necessarily have what I'd call a "happy ending", though I suppose it's framed more in a way that would open the door for a potential sequel than with the bleak finality of something like Pakula's The Parallax View.
- feihong
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
I'd agree with that, but I'd say that the fact that Three Days of the Condor ends with Redford handing over the story to the New York Times, and he and the intelligence guy argue about whether or not they'll print the story puts it in a kind of upbeat mindset that Pakula in The Parallax View saw through (as did the makers of Winter Kills, a much more awkward and grungy movie, but possessed of a cynicism Pollack can't approach). Will they print the story at the end of Three Days of the Condor? There's the question, which hangs in the air, but we're being encouraged by the filmmaking to veer towards the possibility that the Times will do the journalistic hero thing at the end. They could disbelieve the story, or they could believe it. The possibility that the Times is itself compromised––that the Times is prepared to serve as an extension of the Agency––is not really part of Pollack's conception that he teases out at all.MitchPerrywinkle wrote: ↑Thu May 26, 2022 11:00 pmWhile I don't love the film, Three Days of the Condor doesn't necessarily have what I'd call a "happy ending", though I suppose it's framed more in a way that would open the door for a potential sequel than with the bleak finality of something like Pakula's The Parallax View.
Whereas in The Parallax View, the journalist is the one who gets compromised––at first vulnerable, and perhaps primed for corruption, Joe Frady literally becomes Parallax's ideal agent by the end. He slips chameleon-like into a cog in the wheel of the power structure––one shaped just right for him. But he's ready to be compromised right from the start. Which, I would say, is a far bleaker view of the American establishment than Pollack's "maybe they'll do the right thing" musing at the end of Condor. From Pakula's point of view, the fix is already in––because it always was in, and no one is strong enough to resist the call to be the grand or blighted figure they all secretly dream themselves to be. The corruption in the system is endemic––because its' source is our own self-belief. I don't think the Pollack of Condor believes in such a trap––but I think he does believe it's his job not to leave the audience with such pessimism, unless perhaps the source material would account for it.
I suppose I could refine my initial point a little by saying that what Pollack presents in his films is usually the most mainstream effort he can muster, and that the style of his filmmaking contributes mightily to that deliberate reaching for the mainstream. That he is on rare occasion a more interesting filmmaker doesn't to my mind discount the flat aspiration to universal appeal of, say, Out of Africa, The Firm, The Way We Were, Random hearts, The Interpreter, Sabrina, Havana, The Yakuza, and Tootsie. Whereas I think both Pakula––since he's ended up here for a spell––and Frank Perry are animated by a viewpoint much more deliberately personal. Of course, anyone coming into someone else's movie to tie it up at the end because the filmmaker can't figure it out or the producers want something different, can be forgiven for altering the tone of things––at least, to my mind. I just think Pollack was a choice that led almost automatically to a less sensitive, innovative, or ambiguous ending. That is entirely in line with what he usually did.
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
We probably need Justin Bozung to step in to clarify this, but my understanding is that Pollack's big contribution was the reshoot of the scene between Ned and Shirley Abbott. The role of Abbott was recast with Janice Rule in the Pollack version whereas Barbara Loden (of Wanda fame) originally played Abbott in Perry's footage. If I'm remembering correctly, the original scene between Lancaster and Loden was much more violent, and it was thought by the studio that it needed to be toned down to make the Ned character seem less disagreeable.
As to the final scene in the film (where Ned finally reaches his home), this feels of a piece with the more heightened drama that Perry would display with the conclusion of his 1970 film Diary of a Mad Housewife. I don't really see this moment as a letdown or off-tone. Ned has been in deep denial throughout and has experienced pieces of his self-esteem being torn away from him during his day-long journey home. A complete breakdown is not unexpected nor does the way it's shown feel like a soft-pedalled approach.
As to the final scene in the film (where Ned finally reaches his home), this feels of a piece with the more heightened drama that Perry would display with the conclusion of his 1970 film Diary of a Mad Housewife. I don't really see this moment as a letdown or off-tone. Ned has been in deep denial throughout and has experienced pieces of his self-esteem being torn away from him during his day-long journey home. A complete breakdown is not unexpected nor does the way it's shown feel like a soft-pedalled approach.
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
Roger Ryan wrote: ↑Tue May 31, 2022 4:25 pm
As to the final scene in the film (where Ned finally reaches his home), this feels of a piece with the more heightened drama that Perry would display with the conclusion of his 1970 film Diary of a Mad Housewife. I don't really see this moment as a letdown or off-tone. Ned has been in deep denial throughout and has experienced pieces of his self-esteem being torn away from him during his day-long journey home. A complete breakdown is not unexpected nor does the way it's shown feel like a soft-pedalled approach.
I’m interested by the parallels you see in the conclusions of the two films. I see the ending (at least the very last scene) of Diary as being more in line with the caustic tone of the whole film. It’s Perry anticipating the audience being enraged by the struggles of someone within the upper class and using the film as a mirror to mock them.
The Grindhouse Blu-Ray has a little montage that shows you exactly which scenes were likely filmed by Pollack, and I believe you are correct regarding Loden (who the producers didn’t like in the role, period).
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
The similarity I'm seeing is really more in the way the two endings are executed, not so much in whether the tones of those endings are dramatically consistent what has come before. The zoom into the tight close-up of Carrie Snodgress' nonplussed reaction to the vitriolic accusations from the other self-help group members which builds to a maddening cacophony on the soundtrack is a BIG dramatic flourish to end Diary in the same way the final shots of The Swimmer end that film with, what I see, as a comparable big dramatic flourish. As I noted above, I don't think the concluding scene to The Swimmer feels like a cop-out or softened ending to what the film has been building to and I'm someone who is normally very disdainful of endings that seem to pull their punches or have tell-tale signs of a studio-mandated re-shoot. Sure, I'm not particularly thrilled with Marvin Hamlisch's over-the-top music cue that accompanies this ending, but his entire score is the thing I like least about the film. Seriously, if the final cue had been dropped altogether (I do like how it's reduced to a lone violin note when the camera pans through the interior of the living room) and we only heard the sounds of the rainstorm and Ned's moaning on the soundtrack, this ending would be doubly effective.beamish14 wrote: ↑Tue May 31, 2022 4:35 pm... I’m interested by the parallels you see in the conclusions of the two films. I see the ending (at least the very last scene) of Diary as being more in line with the caustic tone of the whole film. It’s Perry anticipating the audience being enraged by the struggles of someone within the upper class and using the film as a mirror to mock them...
- Roger Ryan
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
I revisited the Grindhouse Blu-ray documentary last night to refresh my memory of what was changed from Perry's intentions and to determine the footage directed by Pollack (I don't believe all the re-shoots changed the intention of the original screenplay, but were done due to producer Sam Spiegel's dissatisfaction with the original casting choices in smaller roles and to provide more coverage for existing sequences). These are the full scenes believed directed by Pollack after Perry was fired:
SpoilerShow
1) Ned's Encounter With Howard & Betty Graham - The Graham roles were recast after Spiegel disliked the original performances and the scene was re-shot - no reason to believe the scripting changed significantly.
2) Ned Racing The Horse - An entirely new scene not in the original screenplay and not intended by Perry.
3) Ned And Julie Walking Through The Woods And Conversation Laying Down By The Large Rock - New dialogue - unclear how this long scene differed from what Perry intended; probably expanded to give Ned and Julie a more developed relationship.
4) Ned's Conversation With The Halloran's Chauffeur - Another casting change where Bernie Hamilton replaced Billy Dee Williams - given that the scene is about passive racism, it's possible the tone was softened, but it's still an effective scene and feels of-a-piece with the surrounding material.
5) Ned's Reunion With Shirley Abbott - The biggest change in the film since the scene is so significant/lengthy - Janice Rule replaces Barbara Loden and the re-shot scene, apparently, plays less violently than Perry's version (in the original, Ned tears the top of Shirley's bathing suit off whereas in the re-shot version he less aggressively unties the top to lower it).
2) Ned Racing The Horse - An entirely new scene not in the original screenplay and not intended by Perry.
3) Ned And Julie Walking Through The Woods And Conversation Laying Down By The Large Rock - New dialogue - unclear how this long scene differed from what Perry intended; probably expanded to give Ned and Julie a more developed relationship.
4) Ned's Conversation With The Halloran's Chauffeur - Another casting change where Bernie Hamilton replaced Billy Dee Williams - given that the scene is about passive racism, it's possible the tone was softened, but it's still an effective scene and feels of-a-piece with the surrounding material.
5) Ned's Reunion With Shirley Abbott - The biggest change in the film since the scene is so significant/lengthy - Janice Rule replaces Barbara Loden and the re-shot scene, apparently, plays less violently than Perry's version (in the original, Ned tears the top of Shirley's bathing suit off whereas in the re-shot version he less aggressively unties the top to lower it).
The most interesting thing I was reminded of from watching the documentary was that Pollack did, apparently, shoot a more upbeat ending where...
SpoilerShow
... Shirley Abbott drives to Ned's home and, finding him collapsed by the front door, helps him to her car with the promise to care for him at her house.
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
Final specs:
- Quote Perf Unquote
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Re: 46 The Swimmer
Nothing about the cabin burning down or the box of letters?
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