Man on a Swing Blu-ray - Cliff Robertson / Joel Grey

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Frank Perry
USA 1974

A small-town police chief investigating a murder is offered help by a self-described psychic. However, when the chief discovers that the "psychic" is in possession of information known only to the police, he suspects that the man may be more involved in the case than he let's on. "Man on A Swing is a beautifully complex thriller with overtones of the occult & undertones of terror" - New York Magazine Underrated cult thriller from the 70's.

***

Man on a Swing was a film that was little seen when it came out but one that nevertheless obtained some good reviews. Alas it languishes largely forgotten today, except for occasional appearances in graveyard TV schedules. Unearthed however, Man on a Swing proves to be a fascinating effort. Nominally it falls into the theme of the clairvoyant murder mystery that was the subject of a number of TV movies around the time – Baffled (1972), The Eyes of Charles Sand (1972) and Visions (1972). Though Man on a Swing initially seems to offer up one of the routine thriller plots that most of these engaged in, it soon becomes a unique film all of its own.

Man on a Swing is loosely drawn from a true-life murder investigation. It is based on a non-fiction book The Girl on the Volkswagen Floor (1971) by journalist William Arthur Clark. Clark described an unsolved murder of a girl that occurred in Dayton, Ohio where psychic Bill Boshears led him and the police department on a chase claiming to be able to solve the case. The case was never solved. The film keeps general faith to the book, although changes Clark’s reporter to a police chief and provides an arrestee at the end, even if we cannot entirely be sure that this is the right person. Today Bill Boshears is a well-known radio host who runs a Cincinnati-based syndicated radio show Sci-Zone, which deals with matters paranormal and conspiratorial.

Excerpt from Moria.co.nz located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: February 27th, 1974

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Comparison:

Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray vs. Imprint - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover
		Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray	Imprint - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:49:36.570	1:49:14.339
Video	1.78:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 19,058,745,926 bytes Feature: 18,903,189,504 bytes Video Bitrate: 21.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video	1.78:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,495,888,133 bytes Feature: 34,337,728,512 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Olive Blu-ray:
Bitrate Imprint Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 871 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 871 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)	LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit Commentaries: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Olive 1.78:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 19,058,745,926 bytes Feature: 18,903,189,504 bytes Video Bitrate: 21.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • None Blu-ray Release Date: September 4th, 2012 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters: 9	Release Information: Studio: Imprint 1.78:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,495,888,133 bytes Feature: 34,337,728,512 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • NEW Audio commentary by film historian/filmmaker Daniel Kremer (2022) • NEW Audio commentary by film historian/filmmaker Howard S. Berger and Frank Perry archivist Justin Bozung (2022) • NEW Other Worlds – Joel Grey on acting and Man on a Swing (2022) (12:14) • NEW Schifrin On A Swing – featurette with film music historian Daniel Schweiger discussing Lalo Schifrin’s music score (12:52) • NEW The Show Must Go On: Frank Perry & The Framing of the American Dreamland – a video essay by Howard S. Berger and Kevin Marr (2022) (41:07) Limited Edition slipcase on the first 1500 copies with unique artwork Blu-ray Release Date: August 9th, 2021 Transparent Blu-ray Case inside slipcase (see below) Chapters 12

Package - Imprint - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Imprint Blu-ray (May 2022): Imprint have transferred Frank Perry's Man on a Swing to Blu-ray. It is an easy-peasy upgrade from the 2012 bare-bones Olive Films Blu-ray. While also in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio the new 1080P rendering has superior contrast with deeper black levels and warmer skin tones. It far more robust with a 50% bump in bitrate - housed on a dual-layered disc. It exports even textures and is a decidedly improved HD presentation for this unusual and appealing film. Bravo!

NOTE: We have added 96 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Imprint use a linear PCM dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Man on a Swing has very few aggressive moments (a rushing police car, rain storm, yelling etc.) with the murders post-facto and only referenced through flash-back witnesses of discovery. Notable though is the occasionally creepy score by Argentinean Lalo Schifrin (famous as the guy behind the Mission: Impossible theme as well as impressive score for Joe Kidd, Rollercoaster, Charley Varrick, The Nude Bomb, Day of the Animals, Hit!, The Manitou, Tango and many other films). The audio is, likewise, an improvement over the 16-bit 2012 Olive Blu-ray. Imprint offer optional English subtitle (Olive had none) on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Imprint Blu-ray offers two new commentaries. The first is by, admitted 'Frank Perry super-fan', film historian/filmmaker Daniel Kremer. He credits "Man on a Swing" as a sizable inspiration for his own film Overwhelm the Sky. He states that in his only conversation with Quentin Tarantino that Man on a Swing was described as "Pre-Fincher Fincher". He discusses Perry's career, the performances - "balls to the wall" for Joel Grey, the staging of the film and much more. It's an excellent commentary. The second is by Howard S. Berger and Frank Perry archivist Justin Bozung (author of The Cinema of Norman Mailer: Film Is Like Death.) Bozung describes "Man on a Swing" as Perry's revenge for The Swimmer - a film taken away from him by executive producer Sam Spiegel. They discuss a lot on Perry - his joy in working with actors, his career with wife Eleanor Perry and beyond, the psychoanalysis of characters, "Man on a Swing" being the first collaboration with cinematographer Adam Holender (Midnight Cowboy), the director's European esthetic - loving Antonioni, Rossellini etc. It's very detailed in its examination - highly educational and very much worth the indulgence. There is even more! We get The Show Must Go On: Frank Perry & The Framing of the American Dreamland – a 40-minute video essay by Howard S. Berger and Kevin Marr showing how the director was drawn to characters in transformational crisis and how the director was capable of instilling his own explorations of identity while still making commercially viable films. It's quite a probing piece showing the director's fascinating layers. Excellent. Also a new supplement is the dozen-minute Schifrin On A Swing - a featurette with film music historian Daniel Schweiger discussing Lalo Schifrin’s music score, his crime-thriller work as well as experimental music, Jazz-influences and his darkly psychological music in films like The Beguiled. Imprint keep giving here with yet another new extra; Other Worlds spends time with Joel Grey on acting and Man on a Swing where he describes 'throwing caution to the wind' in portraying Franklin Wills. He states that Robert Duvall was considered for the part eventually given to him and recounts his memories of working with Frank Perry. The actor turned 90 this year (2022) and he is still working. Go Joel!

Frank Perry's "Man on a Swing" is such a wonderful, rewatchable, film experience. I confess that many years ago I bought a VHS copy just so I could see it again prior to it coming to digital. Robertson and Grey strike an interesting balance on-screen with indecisive believability at the crux - often tested but never being resolved. That's what I love about Man on a Swing - the two characters psychological interplay and their unresolved relationship. "We should stay in touch after the baby is born...". It's also a film filled with curious subtexts of external characters, mystery and a partial police procedural. You could have made a series of films out of it. So for this fascinating film, Imprint have given us an amazing Blu-ray - obviously improved a/v over the previous Olive edition, and a treasure-trove of extras with two new commentaries, probing video essay, a piece of the score, an enjoyable interview all with a handsome cover and LE slipcase. This package will get some year-end votes in our Poll - and we strongly endorse "Man on a Swing". I will revisit for many years to come with this stacked, definitive, Blu-ray.