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By Kevin Jones

After previously releasing The Swimmer on Blu-ray, US boutique label Grindhouse Releasing will be putting out a new version due out this month. Limited to 2,000 copies, the edition features a 4K scan and adds a bonus CD with a restored version of the soundtrack that was not present on the prior release. Some great extras including the five-part documentary on the film’s production by Chris Innis, the original story by John Cheever, a booklet, and other assorted features such as alternate scenes and stills, make this quite the impressive package. As for the film itself, The Swimmer is one of my all-time favorites. Directed by Frank Perry and starring Burt Lancaster and Janice Rule, the film is a perfect encapsulation of suburban malaise. Lancaster’s character is a family man living in a ritzy suburb and plans on swimming home via the neighbor’s series of pools. Along the way, he speaks to his neighbors and sees his old mistress, played by Rule. It is a fantastic and surrealist critique on suburbia that shows how well one’s life can slip away while they are asleep at the wheel.

Keeping in line with the limited two-disc editions due out this month, Equus will be coming to Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. Directed by Sidney Lumet, it is based on the Tony-winning play by Peter Shaffer. It stars Peter Firth as a teenager who loves horses, but has been overcome by a desire to blind them. After an incident in which a few horses in the stable where he works are blinded, a psychologist played by Richard Burton is called in to examine the boy. Aside from Lumet’s startling decision to show the blinding – which Shaffer’s film does not – it is an otherwise very play-like film, focused on the conversations between the teenager and his psychologist. As a fan of Lumet and Burton, Equus may deal with a tough subject but is an absolute must-watch.

The new BFI release is limited to 3,000 copies and includes the audio commentary from the prior Twilight Time release in the United States while adding to that considerably. Archival footage of Sidney Lumet lecturing for The Guardian, interviews, a feature-length documentary, informational shorts on farm houses, and more, plus a booklet, make this an enticing package.

One challenging film leads to another in August’s new Blu-ray releases, the next one being Ralph Nelson‘s Soldier Blue. A western, the 1970 film will be coming to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. Starring Candice Bergen, the film is inspired by the Sand Creek Massacre and is seen as an allegory for the Vietnam War. Bergen stars as a woman whose village is slaughtered by the Cheyenne with her as the lone survivor. Picked up by Calvary soldiers, she gets a first-hand look at the brutality of the US soldiers in “patrolling” this territory. Described by later reviews as being practically an exploitation film, it certainly sounds like a truly violent and unique western. The new release is somewhat slim on extras, although it does have an audio commentary by film historians Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell that will hopefully help contextualize the anger on display in Soldier Blue.

Moving to more modern films, also coming out in August is Kim Bora‘s House of Hummingbird. A drama, the film stars Ji-hu Park as a 14 year-old girl wandering around Seoul in 1994, the year of the Seongsu Bridge collapse. This is a film that I am entirely unfamiliar with from cast to director and crew, but its premise is rather interesting. It sounds as though it is somewhat of a coming of age film and an exploration of this young woman’s journey in life, but its premise sounds almost mystical. Connecting her experiences with a tragedy gives it a unique feeling that makes House of Hummingbird sound particularly compelling. Well Go USA will be releasing the Blu-ray and, while an otherwise slim release, the film alone makes it an intriguing release.

One of the more buzz-worthy films during quarantine was Swallow starring Haley Bennett. She stars as a housewife who feels the growing urge to swallow dangerous objects. This psychological thriller about such a disorder certainly caused a stir, if only because of the premise alone. That said, the film did receive strong reviews with director Carlo Mirabella-Davis‘ film coming out right before the pandemic-caused shutdowns across the United States. Some drive-in screenings have occurred since, but this new Blu-ray from Shout Factory should provide a chance for the film to reach newer audiences. Though I have yet to see it, the premise certainly sounds like a great area to explore the restrictiveness of the “housewife” role, a unique psychological take on this often explored thematic thread. This fresh approach and the possibility of it exploring that theme from that angle makes Swallow appear to be a must watch.