We Can’t Go Home Again | NW Film Center

United States • 1973 • 93 mins.

In 1971, Ray, at the invitation of experimental filmmakers Larry Gottheim and Ken Jacobs, took a teaching post at SUNY Binghamton in the fledgling film production department. The major project to come out of the period is this film, an experimental meta-narrative centering on a teacher (Ray) and his students (played by his real-life students), who are all engaged in creating their own small stories inspired by their mentor. Remarkable for its technique of using several simultaneous images at once and featuring profound contributions from many of his students (most notably Tom Farrell), Ray continued to tinker with this wrenching, highly personal labor of love until his death in 1979.

Genres: Experimental, Documentary

Appears in: Bigger Than Life: The Films of Nicholas Ray

Showtimes

No upcoming screenings of this film are currently scheduled.

Past Screenings

June 6, 2015

Whitsell Auditorium

With

Don’t Expect Too Much
Director: Susan Ray
US, 2011
Nicholas Ray left behind a great deal of unused footage from We Can’t Go Home Again upon his death in 1979. With Don’t Expect Too Much, Ray’s widow Susan combs through the archive, seeking a representation of her husband through his very personal late work. What follows is a poignant, spell-binding answer to the question: who, exactly, was Nicholas Ray, and what kind of relationship did he have with his own creations? (70 mins.)