Lightning Over Water

LIGHTNING OVER WATER is a film about the last months in the life of American director Nicholas Ray, who is probably best known for his cult film “Rebel Without a Cause”. Wenders and Ray got to know each other at the set of “The American Friend” and became friends. “Lightning Over Water” was made in just a few weeks at a time when Wenders was free from his studio film HAMMETT.

“Nick told me about his cancer. He knew he was terminally ill. He wanted to die working. Our collective film was a try to counter the cancer with something, a form of terminal care, which also resulted in a film. But all of us who made this last journey together with Nick would also have done this without film in the camera,” says Wenders.

For the first time Wenders and Ray also used Video for filming. (Ray had already experimented with all perceivable forms filming in “We Can’t Go Home Again”.) “But it was devastating to see how much more merciless and in the end more truthful these ugly and shaky VHS images showed the truth as opposed to our well lit 35mm shots.”

The film finishes after Nick’s death. A Chinese junk sails on the Hudson river towards the open sea. On board is an urn with Nick’s ashes and an old Moviola with waving film. Below deck, the film crew says goodbye to Nick. In the tradition of an Irish wake, stories about the deceased are being told and everybody gets drunk.

 

4K-Restoration in 2023

For the restoration the original camera negative was scanned in 4K, retouched and color corrected.
The final mix had originally been recorded to analog 35mm magnetic track. The audio was
carefully cleaned up from noise and static clicks, while leaving the originally intended
cinematic sound composition untouched.
All picture and sound restoration work was carried out at BASIS BERLIN Postproduktion.
Funding for digitization and restoration provided by THE FILM FOUNDATION and FFE – Förderprogramm Filmerbe.

Premiere in Bologna

The restored version of LIGHTNING OVER WATER premiered at the international film heritage festival Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna on June 27, 2023

Format

West Germany 1979/80
Length: 90 min, 2452 m
Format: 35mm Eastmancolor; 1:1,66
Original Language: English

4K Restoration 2023, 4K DCP


Festivals & Awards

1981 • German Film Award in Silver (Production)


Cast and crew

Production: Road Movies Filmproduktion GmbH (Berlin), Wim Wenders Produktion (Berlin) Director: Nicholas Ray, Wim Wenders Producer: Pierre Cottrell, Chris Sievernich Screenplay: Nicholas Ray, Wim Wenders Director of Photography: Ed Lachman, Mitch Dubin, Timothy Ray Editor: Peter Przygodda, Wim Wenders Sound: Martin Müller, Maryte Kavaliauskas, Gary Steele, Lee Orloff Cast: Nicholas Ray, Wim Wenders, Ronee Blakley, Susan Ray, Tom Farrell, Gerry Bamman, Pierre Cottrell, Stephan Czapsky, Mitch Dubin, Pat Kirck, Ed Lachman, Martin Müller, Craig Nelson, Timothy Ray, Martin Schäfer, Chris Sievernich

Music: Ronee Blakley Assistant Editor: Barbara von Weitershausen, Danny Fisher Video: Tom Farrell Light: Stefan Czapsky, Craig Nelson Narrator: Wim Wenders Assistant Director: Pat Kirck Executive Producer: Renée Gundelach Production Manager: Chris Sievernich, Laurie Frank, Jonathan Becker Production Assistant: Becky Johnston, Tom Kaufmann, Sara Nelson, Birigt Lelek, John Brooks Film Accountant: Cid Milhado In Cooperation with: Viking Film (Stockholm) Primary Distribution: Skylight Filmverleih GmbH (West Berlin) Premiere (DE): 01.11.1980, Hof Filmfestival First Release (DE): 15.02.1987, ARD Weltvertrieb: HanWay Films


Blu-ray & DVD

DVD  (DE)
Arthaus / Studiocanal
Language: German, English (5.1 Dolby Digital)
Subtitles: German
Format: 1.77:1

DVD (USA)
Anchor Bay
Language: English (5.1 + 2.0 Dolby Surround)
Format: 1.77:1


Press Sheet (PDF)

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