The Wave (1981)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Excellent but underrated film

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

"The Wave" is a 45-minute short film from 35 years ago directed by Alexander Grasshoff. Grasshoff was a 3-time Academy Award nominee at this point already for his documentary works and even if he was only in his early 50s when he made this one here, he was already close to retirement. "The Wave" won a Primetime Emmy in the children's category, although "children" is not exactly the right word to describe the target audience for this one. Teenage audiences can watch it, just like adults. It is about a group of students who take part in an experiment conducted by their teacher. Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Bruce Davison plays the main character here. He brings up strict rules for behavior during his class in a similar manner it was done decades ago by the Nazi party. However, I must say, the whole classroom restrictions etc. looked more like in some weird sect to me. Anyway, love relationships suffer under these new developments and this includes the students and the teacher as well. There are some slightly cringeworthy moments, like the ending is certainly over the top or it was obvious the first student would forget standing up and addressing the teacher correctly. A bit on the predictable side sometimes. Nonetheless, this is as good as it gets for an 80s television short film and I recommend the watch. Also check out the German full feature adaptation starring Jürgen Vogel. It is a bit more in-your-face and a good watch as well if you enjoyed this one here. What is maybe the most interesting aspect is that it is actually based on real events. Thumbs up, I recommend it.

I don't know who the summary quote is from, but it is true. This is the message in Shakespeare's Julius Caeser, "I come not to praise Brutus, but to bury him." "The Wave" is based on a true experiment in a California high school. Most commentators missed that even the teacher was surprised at how well it worked. There is something in the human psyche that allows us to be manipulated. I think that persons who criticize the movie miss the point. I was very impressed and interested on the truism demonstrated in the story. People wonder how persons could follow Hitler or Stalin or their like and this movie shows just how easy it is to dupe the public. This is a very important message in a democracy.

It's a shame this is a TV movie, so melodramatic and short. If someone had spent time and money trying to recreate a truer picture it's impact could have been immense. It's not even so much the physical production value that bothers me, but the glancing over of issues and plot reasoning along with completely unnecessary 'artistic license'. This is already an incredible story without throwing in your own bits.It also gave me the impression in places of hinting towards anti-Communism rather than the tyrannical dictatorship of Hitler's Germany. A sign of the times perchance in an early 80's U.S.? All in all though, for a short TV movie, I quite enjoyed it. But Jesus, poor Robert. I guess this gives an insight into attitudes towards the 'class creep' around the times. He was overtly considered worthless by everyone before the experiment that may just have broken him... but he was a bloody good Nazi while it lasted.

I am writing / directing & have just gotten the grant $$$ to produce a updated (though little has changed) version of this classic and dramatic story.....the same mindset of the nazi goons of the 1940's is a mirror image of todays discrimination and 'label makers' such as Greek frat groups that terrorize singular misfits who refuse to sell out like all Greek frats do , in order to belong to a twisted and perverted ''greater whole'', when a individuals own personality is melded and brainwashed into the mass mentality, obviously only mayhem and violence will ensue.my film will be shot on location in columbus ohio , metro pop. 1,000,000 with a completion date of November 15th 2006