Never forget that Brian De Palma started in the underground and initially had setbacks in Hollywood before coming back to be a success. He didn’t forget the fight.

He didn’t forget his alma mater Sarah Lawrence College either.

Home Movies was created as a hands-on training exercise for students he was teaching at Sarah Lawrence. They were given the responsibilities of raising money, arranging the shooting schedule and editing the film, all under De Palma’s supervision. Students like Gilbert Adler (the producer of Tales from the Crypt for HBO and the House On Haunted Hill remake), Sam Irvin (Oblivion, Elvira’s Haunted Hills), Mark Rosman (The House On Sorority Row) and Charlie Loventhal (My Demon Lover) all went on to produce and direct their own films.

Kirk Douglas plays The Maestro — he’s credited with the film — a teacher tor loosely modeled on De Palma while Keith Gordon is one of his pupils who films everything that happens. So much of this movie — and what happens to Gordon’s character, much like what would later happen to him in Dressed To Kill — were modeled on events from De Palma’s young life, particularly his sibling rivalry, having a mother prone to dramatic outbursts and a father who was always cheating.

He was able to get Vincent Gardenia as dad, Geritt Graham as the older brother and Nancy Allen as his fiancee.

In addition to De Palma, it had six writers: Loventhal, Kim Ambler, Dana Edelman, Robert Harders, Stephen Le May and Gloria Norris, who was Woody Allen’s assistant on Stardust Memories, A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy and Zelig.

It’s ramshackle and often self-indigent, but still an interesting reminder of where De Palma came from.