Lightning Over Water (1980)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Directors:

Nicholas Ray
Wim Wenders

Writers:

Nicholas Ray (writer)
Wim Wenders (writer)

Release Date:

13 February 1981 (West Germany)

Genre:

Documentary | Drama

Plot:

Director Nicholas Ray is eager to complete a final film before his imminent death from cancer. Wim Wenders...

Plot Keywords:

Avant Garde | Film Making | Friendship | Terminal Illness | Video Footage

Awards:

1 win

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
Martin Schäfer	...	Himself
Chris Sievernich	...	Himself
Wim Wenders	...	Himself

Directed by
Nicholas Ray		(as Nick Ray)
Wim Wenders

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Nicholas Ray		writer
Wim Wenders		writer

Produced by
Jonathan Becker	....	associate producer
Pierre Cottrell	....	producer
Laurie Frank	....	associate producer
Renée Gundelach	....	executive producer
Chris Sievernich	....	producer
Wim Wenders	....	producer

Original Music by
Ronee Blakley

Cinematography by
Edward Lachman
Martin Schäfer

Film Editing by
Peter Przygodda		(first version)
Wim Wenders		(definitive version)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pat Kirck	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Jack Higgins	....	sound re-recording mixer (definitive version)
Maryte Kavaliauskas	....	sound
Martin Müller	....	sound
Gary Steele	....	sound
Hiroaki 'Zom' Yamamoto	....	sound re-recording mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Stefan Czapsky	....	gaffer
Mitch Dubin	....	assistant camera
Timothy Ray	....	assistant camera
Martin Schäfer	....	camera operator
James Wilberger	....	alternate best boy electric

Editorial Department
Chris Sievernich	....	assistant editor (definitive version)
Barbara von Weitershausen	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Tom Farrell	....	video
Jim Jarmusch	....	observer

Production Companies

• Road Movies Filmproduktion
• Viking Film
• Wim Wenders Productions

Distributors

• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Basis-Film-Verleih GmbH
• Europa Filmes (2007) (Brazil) (DVD) (Portuguese subtitles)
• Gray City (1981) (USA) (dubbed)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Pacific Arts (video)
• Ripley's Home Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Skylight Filmverleih (1980) (Vietnam) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

Nick's Film - Lightning Over Water (West Germany)
Nicks Movie (West Germany)

Runtime:

91 min | USA:116 min (original version)

Country:

Sweden | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:12 | Brazil:12 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Road Movies Filmproduktion

Movie Connections:

Features The Lusty Men (1952)

Soundtrack:

Lightning Over Water

See this movie if you love Nicholas Ray

This is not a movie for Wenders fans as much as it is for Nick Ray fans. In fact, I wouldn't recommend it unless you felt connected to the director. And I don't mean that you've happened to rent Johnny Guitar, In a Lonely Place or They Live By Night. See it if you saw a theme in Ray's work, one that made you go back and learn about his life. See it if you re-watched his films, trying to understand every cut and what it told you about the man behind the camera. See it if it bothers you that he will never make another film. Because in Lightning over water Nicholas Ray invites you to share his death with him, and, if you see it, you must be prepared to grieve. I saw this movie late one night in my college dorm room (a college with a featured role in the film, but that is merely tangential). I didn't let anyone watch it with me. The previous summer my grandfather had died in the same drawn-out manner. He was surrounded by family from the time of his diagnosis to the time of his death. Wenders and his crew are Nick Ray's family -- a love of the director's work is the blood connecting them. Wenders carries a camera with him because he knows that others -- even those who never heard of Nicholas Ray until he was dead for 18 years -- have the same blood in them. Wenders gives us the chance. But it is Nick Ray who we come to see.