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Richard Chamberlain, Olivia Hamnett, David Gulpilil, Frederick Parslow, Nadjiwarra Amagula ... see more see more... , Walter Amagula , Roy Bara , Peter Carroll , Athol Compton , Hedley Cullen , Michael Duffield , Wallas Eaton , Jo England , Vivean Gray , Cedric Lalara , Morris Lalara , Tony Llewellyn-Jones. , Malcolm Robertson , Greg Rowe , John Meagher , John Frawley

Peter Weir follows up on his critically acclaimed masterpiece Picnic at Hanging Rock with this surrealist psychological drama. The film opens with a freak hailstorm in Australia's outback. Cut to Davi... read more read more...d Burton (Richard Chamberlain), a well-to-do Sydney corporate lawyer plagued by visions of impending doom who is assigned to defend five accused of murdering a fellow Aborigine. The case itself proves to be mysterious -- no exact cause of death can be determined by the pathologist, and the accused remain strangely tight-lipped about the whole affair. As his visions grow increasingly weird and intense, Burton sees in his dream one of the five Aborigines, Chris (David Gulpili of Walkabout fame), who is drenched and clutching a sacred rock. Burton's interest in the case slides into complete obsession, and he comes to believe that not only was the murder related to an underground urban tribe of Aborigines but that Australia is about to be decimated by a massive, apocalyptic tidal wave. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

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78% liked it

3,044 ratings

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87% liked it

15 critics

PG, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: Peter Weir

Release Date: December 1, 1977

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DVD Release Date: November 13, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (196)

  • pier007
    December 19, 2011
    pier007
    A haunting character study about a pragmatic man who slowly becomes a believer the hard way. Engulfed by visions that connect him with the mysteries of the aboriginals and an apocalyptic prophecy. Not as well known as 'Picnic at hanging rock' but certainly better.
  • thefog1331
    February 22, 2009
    thefog1331
    Eerie apocalyptic thriller based loosely on Aboriginal mythology and with a none too subtle commentary on man's treatment of the planet.
    Weir's best film besides Fearless (no not the Jet Li movie).
  • DrBenway
    November 14, 2008
    DrBenway
    Peter Weir is known for some excellent Hollywood commercial films such as Witness, The Year of Living Dangerously and Master and Commander, but earlier in his career he made more challenging films in his native Australia. The Last Wave gives a perspective on law we don't find in ... read moreHollywood films.

    Richard Chamberlain gives a great performance as David Burton, a lawyer hired to defend a group of aborigines accused of murder and is drawn into a nightmarish world of customs and folklore, history and the supernatural.
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  • TonyPolito
    December 18, 2010
    TonyPolito
    Act III of the "Mystic Outback" trilogy out of the 1970s Australian Film Renaissance, following up after "Walkabout" (1971) and "Picnic at Hanging Rock" (1975).

    A Sydney tax lawyer (Richard Chamberlain) finds himself defending some urban aborigines accused of murder. As his invo... read morelvement with them deepens, he increasingly experiences strange dreams and visions. At first all the pieces make little sense (ie, during the first 40 minutes of the film all these oddities just utterly confuse the viewer). But slowly the meaning of his collage of visions meld into a clarity - of sorts. And that meaning reveals to Chamberlain that he has supernatural and ancient ties to the Australia that existed long before his present life and the urban jungle where he lives today. One example: The aboriginal high priest sits worshiping on the floor of a tenement apartment, then later it reveals that the tenement sits atop what was once sacred ground; it is the tenement that is the interloper, not the seemingly out-of-place priest. Throughout the film, it is "what Australia was," the Australia almost forgotten, that rules - and it rules Chamberlain as well.

    The director of this film, Peter Weir, also directed "Picnic at Hanging Rock" and it shows. In both films, Weir employs indigenous artifacts to lead the viewer to appreciate all that is Australia. In "Picnic," he's celebrating that Australia developed it's own unique culture, that it broke away from its Victorian cultural ties to Britain ... and for the better. Here, he's warning viewers that Australia is beginning to lose touch with itself, developing into just another metropolitan geography, forgetting its roots and what makes it uniquely Australian. He does so in an engaging manner, by having tribal aborigines subtly invade and commandeer urban Sydney life. Weir taps directly into true-enough aboriginal folklore such as "dream time" and, by the end of the film, the viewer will be craving more knowledge of it.

    Surprisingly, Chamberlain's acting is bland and irrelevant; any number of other decent actors could have delivered this much of a role. Other work by Chamberlain such as "Shogun" reveals him to be a much better actor than this. The moving and captivating deliveries come from the aborigines themselves, who actually have little to no dialogue. But the mere vision of their speechless, stoic presence on the screen mesmerizes. So it's not a huge surprise to find out that they were indeed actual tribal aborigines from the Outback, recruited for this film. (The lead aboriginal role, Chris, is delivered by David Gulpilil, who also starred in "Walkabout," but he too was reared tribal aborigine. All the other aborigines seen here are cinematic neophytes.)

    RECOMMENDATION: See the other two films first. They are both stronger works. But if you like them, you should probably queue this one up for the triple play.
  • HuskersNC949597
    May 10, 2010
    HuskersNC949597
    Ah, another Australian classic, I have a way of accidentally picking things out this way without paying attention to what I'm doing. This is more science fiction though, opposed to Gallipoli or Walkabout (my other two forays into Australian stuff this week), I preferred the othe... read morer two to this but that's just opinion.
  • RicC
    July 25, 2009
    RicC
    The beginning is what I expected and wanted: creepy, tense, morbid otherworldly behavior from the imagery and mood. The rest is kind of a basic thriller which carries on with its mystery plot and the soundtrack is added in rather cheaply. Substantial, but not evocative as it was ... read morecrafted to be.
  • AlaineB
    March 5, 2009
    AlaineB
    1977 Australian lawyer tunes in to aboriginal tribal culture. His dreams predict things, including a massive tidal wave that may destroy his city. Can he prevent the disaster? Watch and see.
  • philliprenke
    December 14, 2008
    philliprenke
    A bizzare, dark movie that is interesting , but also a little confusing. The driving force behind the story seems weak at times. I like the overuse of water to drive the theme of the film, but I can't help but think about how much it would have sucked to work on.
  • engrymfilm
    October 13, 2008
    engrymfilm
    For a while I said 'fuck Peter Weir' then I watched this and he isn't so bad after all. But I still really hate 'Witness'
  • flugendorf
    September 19, 2008
    flugendorf
    A man discovers that reality may not be only what he thinks it is - and discovers strange and terrible prophecy.

View All The Last Wave Reviews

Critic Reviews

Michael Atkinson
November 27, 2001
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

Weir's touristy vision is strictly from the outside looking in. Full Review

Ken Hanke
February 13, 2008
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Its creepiness is undeniable, and it seems far less dated than many late 1970s films. Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
September 1, 2002
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

Startling and mesmerizing Australian film about aborigines, nature and dreamtime. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
July 16, 2002
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

There's plenty of floods, thunderheads, cars submerged in water and heavy downpours to get yourself all wet on. Full Review

James Kendrick
December 16, 2001
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

a unique film that bears the uneven, yet genuine, traces of a deeply felt work not entirely settled

November 30, 2001
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Weir does a fine job of weaving real events with dream sequences, as well as capturing the aboriginal perspective. Full Review

June 13, 2001
Boxoffice Magazine

An interesting mixture of dreams and reality, of occult Aborigine tribal rituals and of modern-day Sydney. Full Review

Carlo Cavagna
January 1, 2000
Carlo Cavagna, AboutFilm.com

Similar to Weir's previous film, Picnic at Hanging Rock, but not as powerful Full Review

June 5, 2008
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 9, 2005
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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  • Which popular actor from the 1970's has NOT become a parody of himself after a wave of embarassing roles in the last decade?  Answer »
  • Which director links the movies "Gallipoli", "Witness", "Dead Poets Society", "The Last Wave" and "Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World"?  Answer »
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