Powerful

Absolutely brilliant

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

"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 watched this movie only once and it has stuck with me since. I have three boys and each one was either told about the movie or watched it. The message this movie sends should be seen by all that attend a High School through-out this World. It should be part of the Social Studies curriculum. The performances by ALL of the actors and actresses was fantastic. I will always tell people about this movie. I have had a chance in the last few months to tell the summary of the story to several people and they said they'd like to see the movie. I can't praise this movie enough and the people who were involved in the production of this film. Letting people know of things like this help all of us to understand how things can happen even without our knowledge.

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

"The Wave" is a film that has tremendous classroom value. Since it is based on the Nazi party's recruitment and brainwashing techniques, the film works well for high school classes studying the Second World War. The film also has sociology applications as it demonstrates how organized hatred can impact an entire social institution (in this case, a high school). Furthermore, any unit on racism or discrimination would benefit from "The Wave". I used the film consistently in holocaust units, history courses, and psychology classes. It has always drawn rave reviews (despite its age) from students. However, the film is difficult to acquire and since my copy is aging I am calling for a re-release of "The Wave".