Lightning Over Water (1980)

Director 'Nicholas Ray' is eager to complete a final film before his imminent death from cancer. Wim Wenders is working on his own film _Hammett (1983)_ in Hollywood, but flies to New York ... See full summary »

Directors:

Nicholas Ray, Wim Wenders

Writers:

Nicholas Ray, Wim Wenders

Stars:

Gerry Bamman, Ronee Blakley, Pierre Cottrell

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Gerry Bamman	...	Himself
Ronee Blakley	...	Herself
Pierre Cottrell	...	Himself
Stefan Czapsky	...	Himself
Mitch Dubin	...	Himself
Tom Farrell	...	Himself
Becky Johnston	...	Herself
Tom Kaufman	...	Himself
Pat Kirck	...	Himself
Edward Lachman	...	Himself
Martin Müller	...	Himself
Craig Nelson	...	Himself
Nicholas Ray	...	Himself
Susan Ray	...	Herself
Timothy Ray	...	Himself

Storyline

Director 'Nicholas Ray' is eager to complete a final film before his imminent death from cancer. Wim Wenders is working on his own film _Hammett (1983)_ in Hollywood, but flies to New York to help Ray realize his final wish. Ray's original intent is to make a fiction film about a dying painter who sails to China to find a cure for his disease. He and Wenders discuss this idea, but it is obviously unrealistic given Ray's state of health.

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Plot Keywords:

terminal illness | film making | video footage | avant garde | friendship | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Drama

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Details

Country:

Sweden West Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 1984 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Nick's Film - Lightning Over Water

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$700,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Road Movies Filmproduktion, Viking Film, Wim Wenders Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 116 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Features The Lusty Men (1952)

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Soundtracks

"Lightning Over Water"
Performed by Ronee Blakley

User Reviews

Bigger than life (and death too)

In 1977,Nicholas Ray was part of the cast of "der Amerikanische Freund" as Derwatt,a painter who made forgeries .In this movie,Ray tells the story of a painter who steals the masterpieces in the museums and replaces them with forgeries.

I have always been a Ray fan from "they live by night" to "run for cover" to "party girl" to his final epics which were looked upon by pretty much as failures.I must admit that I do not go much for Wenders' stuff ,which is much too intellectual for me .

Its not a documentary movie,it's cinema verite depicting a man who is dying.The courage the director displays in front of death commands admiration but I wonder whether this movie should have been released:it's an intimate one,which should have been reserved for the circle of family and close friends.And I'm sure that many of these prefer to keep a picture of a healthy man .

If you have seen four or five movies by Ray ("rebel without a cause" "Johnny Guitar" "The savage" ) a piece of advice:try and see the lesser known Ray works:"wind across the everglades "born to be bad" "on dangerous ground" or "knock on any door" .The best homage to an exceptionally gifted director.

There are two good moments in "Lightning over water":

The "lusty men" extract happens to be my favorite in this classic:Mitchum come s back home,an old house where he finds back a comic and a money box:In "Lightning " ,Ray hints at "coming back home,seeing my mother's face" Childhood was an obsession in his work :just remember Dean playing in the gutter ("Rebel) or Cagney trying to make Derek his "son" in "run for cover" .

THe diary which Wenders reads is in German which makes sense since it's his first language;the shots of the wings of the plane are fascinating.