Grindhouse Releasing, known for the resurrection and restorationof such films as Lucio Fulci’s gonzo horror The Beyond, Amos Sefer’s exploitation oddity An American Hippie in Israel and most recently a lavish edition of Sergio Sollima’s spaghetti western classic The Big Gundown (see our review here), will release the 1968 drama The Swimmer in a deluxe Blu-ray+DVD Combo edition in March.
Based on the John Cheever short story and directed by Frank Perry, this bitter slice of sixties social satire stars Burt Lancaster as an upper middle class man who makes his way home through suburbia one swimming pool at a time in an odyssey that slowly tears away the sunny façade of his sunny world and idealized life.
The special edition will include rare vintage audio recording of author John Cheever reading his original New Yorker short story and a new feature-length documentary on the production and legacy of the film produced exclusively for this release.
The press release is below:
THE SWIMMER Arrives on Blu-ray and DVD
Grindhouse Releasing Presents Lavish Special Edition of Hollywood Classic
For Immediate Release
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Grindhouse Releasing is proud to present Burt Lancaster in the 1968 classic THE SWIMMER, based on the acclaimed short story by John Cheever. Newly restored in high definition from 4K scans, the deluxe Blu-ray/DVD edition of THE SWIMMER arrives on March 11, 2013.
THE SWIMMER is available for pre-order now at Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Swimmer-Blu-ray-DVD-Combo/dp/B00HRISNPM
Lancaster stars as Ned Merrill, a man who confronts his destiny by swimming home, pool by pool, through the suburban nightmare of upper-class East Coast society. Roger Ebert hailed THE SWIMMER as “brilliant and disturbing”, and Lancaster “superb in the finest performance of his career.” The film was directed by Frank Perry (DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE, PLAY IT AS IT LAYS, MOMMIE DEAREST) from a script by Eleanor Perry.
THE SWIMMER is an unusual choice for Grindhouse Releasing, the independent distributor known for its lavish special editions of Italian horror and exploitation films such as Lucio Fulci’s THE BEYOND and Ruggero Deodato’s CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. As with the company’s recent acclaimed releases of Sergio Sollima’s THE BIG GUNDOWN and the Peter Cushing horror classic CORRUPTION, Grindhouse Releasing licensed THE SWIMMER from Sony/Columbia and has dedicated a massive amount of work to the new Blu-ray/DVD release.
“THE SWIMMER is one of those offbeat late-60s studio films that really defies explanation,” says Grindhouse Releasing president and co-founder Bob Murawski. “It’s not an exploitation film by any stretch of the imagination, but it is ultimately as bleak and emotionally disturbing as anything by Deodato or Gasper Noe. We are extremely proud to have the opportunity to present this almost-forgotten classic, and, as usual, have spared no effort or expense in giving it the best release possible. ”
Bonus features on the Blu-ray/DVD include THE STORY OF THE SWIMMER, a brand-new 2 1/2 hour documentary by Oscar winner Chris Innis. This comprehensive, five-part making-of documentary includes in-depth interviews with stars Janet Landgard, Joan Rivers, and Marge Champion, composer Marvin Hamlisch, film editor Sidney Katz, assistant directors Michael Hertzberg and Ted Zachary, UCLA swim coach Bob Horn, and Joanna Lancaster.
Grindhouse Releasing’s THE SWIMMMER Blu-ray also includes a rare vintage audio recording of author John Cheever reading his original NEW YORKER short story, a 12-page booklet with liner notes by director Stuart Gordon (RE-ANIMATOR), rare production stills from the lost alternate scenes, extensive still galleries, trailers, TV spots, and more.
In addition to THE SWIMMER, Grindhouse Releasing has a big slate of much sought-after titles in the works for Blu-ray release. Among the films viewers can expect to see hitting Blu-ray soon are Ruggero Deodato’s CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, Lucio Fulci’s THE BEYOND and A CAT IN THE BRAIN, Umberto Lenzi’s CANNIBAL FEROX, Juan Piquer Simon’s PIECES, S.F. Brownrigg’s SCUM OF THE EARTH, and Duke Mitchell’s GONE WITH THE POPE and MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE.
Founded in 1996 by Sage Stallone and Bob Murawski, Grindhouse Releasing is dedicating to restoring and preserving underappreciated cult and exploitation films. The company’s most recent releases include Sage Stallone’s VIC, starring Clu Gulager, Sergio Sollima’s THE BIG GUNDOWN, starring Lee Van Cleef and Tomas Milian, Robert Hartford-Davis’ CORRUPTION, starring Peter Cushing, and Amos Sefer’s AN AMERICAN HIPPIE IN ISRAEL, starring Asher Tzarfati and Shmuel Wolf.
For more info, visit www.GrindhouseReleasing.com
THE SWIMMER DELUXE EDITION
(Blu-ray/DVD combo) (1968)
Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, Janice Rule, Joan Rivers. Director: Frank Perry. Rated: PG.
Color – 1.85:1 – 1968 – 95 minutes – Region 0
Release Date: March 11, 2014
