Swept Away [Blu-ray]

Director: Lina Wertmüller, Lina Wertmuller Lina Wertmüller

Overview

Swept Away... By an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea in August is the story of a wealthy, self-centered woman and a brutish, communist sailor, whom she employs, being stranded on a Mediterranean island. Left alone on the island, the sailor reverses their roles, taking control of the vain woman.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/12/2017
UPC:	0738329208783
Original Release:	1974
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kino Classics
Region Code:	A
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:54:00
Sales rank:	31,490

Special Features

Audio Commentary by Valerio Ruiz, Director of Behind the White Glasses; Booklet essays by Director Allison Anders and Grace Russo Bullaro, author of Man in Disorder: The Cinema of Lina Wertmüller in the 1970s; Excerpt from Behind the White Glasses, a documentary on Lina Wertmüller ; Interview with Director Amy Hecklerling; Trailers

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Mariangela Melato	Raffaella Pavone Lanzetti
Giancarlo Giannini	Gennarino Carunchio
Aldo Puglisi	Gennarino's
Riccardo Salvino	Signor Pavone Lanzetti
Eros Pagni	Giornalista
Isa Danieli	Signora Carunchio
Anna Melita	Actor
Giuseppe Durini	Actor
Lucrezia De Domizio	Actor
Piero Piccioni	Composer

Technical Credits

Lina Wertmuller

Romano Cardarelli	Producer
Lina Wertmuller	Screenwriter,Director
Lina Wertmüller	Director

Editorial Reviews

Lina Wertmuller's 1974 drama Swept Away is an intensely critical look at politics and human nature. Similar to how the character construction in Amiri Baraka's play The Dutchman portrayed racism in America, this symbolic Italian fable examines the power relationships of class struggle as represented by a man and a woman trapped in a certain space. After a thorough examination of the humiliating tasks performed by the working class, the characters end up in a desperate situation that causes the power to shift from the capitalist to the proletariat. Taking no simple way out, Wertmuller denies the Communist any inherent nobility as he easily becomes corrupted by his power. The dramatic rape scene may be offensive to some, but it works effectively as a symbol of how the poor are treated by the rich. Shot in the sunny Mediterranean sea, Swept Away manages to be thoroughly engaging despite some choppy edits and uneven tone. The excellent leads are convincing enough to create the self-destructive romance at the film's center and surround it with cruelty and harsh realities. Wertmuller takes no sides, showing the brutality of human nature in the political and public sphere as shown through the personal and private. Hollywood remade this material in two paler versions: the frivolous Six Days, Seven Nights (1998) and the box-office flop Swept Away (2002).