Lightning Over Water
Encyclopedia
Lightning Over Water is a 1980
documentary film
by Wim Wenders
and Nicholas Ray
about the last days of Ray's own life; the director was most famous for his 1955
film Rebel Without a Cause
. It was screened out of competition at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival
.
photography.
The film features excerpts from Ray's movies The Lusty Men and his unfinished final work We Can't Go Home Again
. The sequence featuring the former excerpt was shot at Vassar College
, at which Ray presented the movie and then gave a lecture, which itself is excerpted.
Nicholas Ray appears in a minor role in Wenders' film The American Friend
. Wenders' science fiction film Until the End of the World
is named for the last spoken words in Ray's 1961
Biblical epic film King of Kings.
The film crew is extensively featured onscreen. Jim Jarmusch
, Ray's personal assistant at the time — and later a notable film director in his own right — can be briefly glimpsed at the 50:28 mark sitting at an editing console.
1980 in film
- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
by Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...
and Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray was an American film director best known for the movie Rebel Without a Cause....
about the last days of Ray's own life; the director was most famous for his 1955
1955 in film
The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
film Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments...
. It was screened out of competition at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival
1980 Cannes Film Festival
The 33rd Cannes Film Festival was held on May 9-23. The showing of Andrei Tarkovsky's film Stalker is interrupted by an electricians strike.- Jury :*Kirk Douglas *Ken Adam *Robert Benayoun *Veljko Bulajić...
.
Summary
The film is a collaboration between Wenders and Ray to document Ray's last days due to terminal cancer in 1979. The film is partially a homage to Ray who had a strong influence on Wenders' work, and partially an investigation on life and death. Ray's influence on Wenders includes Ray's "love on the run" sub-genre as well as his film noirFilm noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
photography.
The film features excerpts from Ray's movies The Lusty Men and his unfinished final work We Can't Go Home Again
We Can't Go Home Again
We Can't Go Home Again is an experimental feature film directed by Nicholas Ray in collaboration with his film students at SUNY Binghamton. Ray and the students play fictionalized versions of themselves....
. The sequence featuring the former excerpt was shot at Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
, at which Ray presented the movie and then gave a lecture, which itself is excerpted.
Nicholas Ray appears in a minor role in Wenders' film The American Friend
The American Friend
The American Friend is a 1977 film by Wim Wenders, loosely adapted from the novel Ripley's Game by Patricia Highsmith. The film is of the neo-noir genre, and features Dennis Hopper as career criminal Tom Ripley and Bruno Ganz as Jonathan Zimmermann, a terminally ill picture framer whom Ripley...
. Wenders' science fiction film Until the End of the World
Until the End of the World
Until the End of the World is a 1991 film by the German film director Wim Wenders; the screenplay was written by Wenders and Peter Carey, from a story by Wenders and Solveig Dommartin. An initial draft of the screenplay was written by American filmmaker Michael Almereyda...
is named for the last spoken words in Ray's 1961
1961 in film
The year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
Biblical epic film King of Kings.
The film crew is extensively featured onscreen. Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch
James R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
, Ray's personal assistant at the time — and later a notable film director in his own right — can be briefly glimpsed at the 50:28 mark sitting at an editing console.