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The Wave (TV) More at IMDbPro »

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70 out of 77 people found the following review useful:
I produced The Wave after being told the story by the real teacher., 16 September 2003
Author: (Ramauras@aol.com) from Los Angeles

The Wave was the first movie I ever made. I pitched the project to ABC and plunged forward. As an After School Special it was done on a very low budget, roughly $250,000 when an average Prime Time hour in those days was done for roughly $1,000,000. All acting and writing was done for scale fees and the number of shooting days were very few to hold down costs, As I remember it shot in 8 days. When ABC saw the final show they took it out of the After School slot and aired it in prime time against 60 Minutes on Sunday night. Needless to say the ratings were very low, but even at that, back in those days about 17 million people saw it in the States. And since then millions more have seen it around the world. I'm proud of the show and the message it delivers. As the years have gone by production styles and social behaviors have shifted, that's just the way it is. So be it, the show still seems to have legs. :>>

13 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
THE BEST AFTERSCHOOL SPECIAL EVER!!!, 21 October 2001
Author: dtucker86 from Germany

I have so many fond memories of those great Afterschool Specials that ABC used to make. I think they did such a great service to kids becuase they dealt realistically with social issues in a tasteful manner. The Wave is the best special they ever made because it is one of those few tv shows that really required you to think about the message. I think that it is such a shame that people remember Bruce Davidson as the star of Willard because he is outstanding, not to mention chilling, here as a social studies teacher who, to put it mildly, gets carried away when he encourages his students to act like Nazis. It is even more chilling when you think about the Germans during WWII who so blindly ignored what Hitler was doing. We need to remember the Holocaust for this reason and this brilliantly written and superbly acted film should be seen by every decent person who prays that the terrors of Nazi Germany may never happen again!

14 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
Interesting Short, 30 January 2003
Author: Marko Djordjevic from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

I just watched this in my Social Psychology class and I was impressed even though the film is a bit melo-dramatic. Great if you want to see how easy it is to influence young people, those without friends and to see how easy it was for German's to grow under the influence of Nazi Germany.

This kind of thing can happen at any time, and the movie shows just how easy it is.

Doing a study for psychology, then this is a good film to watch

10 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Frightening study in psychology, 12 November 1999
Author: Matthew Ignoffo (mermatt@webtv.net) from Eatontown, NJ, USA

Based on a real incident at an American high school in 1967, this short TV movie shows the horror of mob psychology and group pressure. The high school teacher gives his students a lesson in the history of Nazi Germany, not by having them read a chapter in a book but by turning them into Nazis -- without their even being aware that it is happening.

The film should be part of every school's curriculum. The tendency toward in-groups and gangs is strong amongst teens, and the tragic consequences can be seen periodically in the news headlines. This film is a warning of the potential that lurks within us all.

6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
scary stuff, 25 March 2002
Author: tajiblue from New York

I saw this movie when I was in my teens, so it might be cheesy if I saw it now. Part of some after-school special. Have not seen it since. I remember it though, vividly. I just went through "diversity training" at work. We got to do a bit of talking..."Hi, I'm Taj, and I'm not yet diverse..."

I think it was some sort of cynical effort by my company, to avoid lawsuits, but, whatever, it was manditory. There were a few things that got my attention. We saw two films, both of which were disturbing. one had a teacher who conducted an experiment in the 1960's (right after Martin Luther King's assasination). She had blue-eyed students as the alpha-group the first day, and the brown-eyed students the second day. These kids got a first-hand view of discrimination at its finest, and it changed their views radically by the end of the experiment. The second film had two friends(one black, one white) uproot from a major metro area to a small town and the film crew trailed them for a bit to see how they dealt with day-to-day transactions. The results were frightening and pathetically sad. I had to rethink some of my own ideas. I would like to think that growing up in the east-coast, in major cities, that some stereotypes would be dead and buried. But, unfortunately, I'm no longer think that is the case. I wish I could see this movie again, I haven't seen it in a long time, but I remember it. The whole mob mentality thing stuck with me.

I'm sure I would find it cheesy now, but for some reason, I keep thinking about it every once in awhile. And I wish it wasn't a true story.

9 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Strength through Discipline!!, 31 August 2002
Author: (yisraelharris@yahoo.com) from Israel

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

A friend told me about "The Wave" in 1984, and he described it so vividly that I sought it out for years. I looked in Leonard Maltin's movie guide, but to my great surprise couldn't find it there.

I forget where, but I finally did see it once.

I found it again in, of all places, the Jewish Museum in NYC, in 1996. Quite an interesting experience, going to a museum, and then ending up sitting down for close to an hour and watching TV...

Again, about 3 years ago, I found it through (where else?) the Internet. You can actually download the program from a fascinating website called something like xenu, which fights against Scientology.

Anyway, I downloaded it about 3 weeks ago. Since I don't have a TV and don't go to movies, I have basically been listening to this program round-the-clock for the past three weeks. I can now recite entire scenes from memory. Maybe at some point I'll have the whole show memorized. Then, at parties, instead of having normal conversations, I'll just recite passages from the show. ("It's ... building a barn with your neighbors.")

One thing to think about from this program: Robert, the outcast who 'finds himself' through the wave. Think about this poor guy. His whole life, he's been a total failure, socially, intellectually, it seems in every way possible. He sits down for lunch and people actually stand up and move away. Teachers ridicule him in class.

Finally, he finds something which motivates, interests and inspires him. He finds people looking up to him for the first time in his life. People seek out his advice. He has self-confidence and self-esteem he never considered possible. For two weeks, he is in control. He runs the show. People do what he says.

This character probably thinks to himself: Wow! My whole life has been a miserable failure! I'm finally alive now! Life is fun and enjoyable! People finally like and admire me! I actually have friends now! I thought my whole life was going to be one horrible nightmare but now it looks like everything is going to be okay! This guy was probably on cloud nine for those two weeks.

And then, suddenly, his teacher tells them all: You fools! You've been acting like Nazis for the past two weeks! That must have been a bitter pill for all of them to swallow, but for this poor guy Robert, it must have sent him over the edge. Imagine finally succeeding at something for the fist time in your life and being told that you've been playing the role of a Nazi. ("Yes you would have all made good Nazis.") This Robert is now thinking to himself: The only thing I'm good at is being a Nazi?! This poor young man is FRIED, TOTALLY AND ABSOLUTELY FRIED for life.

That teacher is totally irresponsible for putting those students, and especially Robert, through that exercise to teach them a lesson like that. If I had that teacher, I would never believe another word that came out of his mouth. Ever. Talk about betrayal.

Now for some critiquing of the program. Obviously, on the whole, I consider "The Wave" to have merit; otherwise, I would not devote so much attention and energy to it. That said, here are some criticisms:

1. Although little of the acting is truly bad, much of it is merely competent or even slightly below that. Lori stands out though. This comment applies mainly to the youngsters. The adults' performances are quite good. Bruce Davidson is an especially liked actor.

2. I did not think that the show did a proper job convincing me that the students would be so taken by the wave. I have never seen such docile students in my life. What is so compelling about halving the time it takes to get to your seat?

3. Another, related, major flaw of the film is that it did not really show how the wave was bringing out the worst in people, how it was turning them into brutal, mindless robots. They show a fistfight here, some hateful graffiti there, but not too much more than that. Of course, given 44 minutes, they were limited. If it could have been a 2-hour program, then they could have developed it much more fully, and then it could have been a riveting, first-rate program.

6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Horrifying! Educational, but horrifying!, 28 August 2002
Author: jccw27 from Louisville, KY

I normally try to avoid TV movies. I certainly would not have watched this one if it wasn't for the fact that it was for a class and that I'm probably going to be tested on it in a couple of weeks. I've just gotten back from my Social Problems class, the professor had us watch this movie. As soon as it was over I had to come back here and comment on it. The movie may have been at B-level but the impact was pretty solid. It was rather shocking how quickly the students in that class conformed over to the Wave and how they began acting like the people of Germany when Hitler was in power, but probably what shocked me the most was at the end when they said that it was based on a true story! I have to admit I did learn from this movie. I learned how easily history can repeat itself, how not to just follow anybody, and to be an individual and not just go along with everybody else.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Most famous After School Special ever. Teacher conducts psych experiment on students., 3 August 2006

Author: ambrosia_1 from United States

Based on a true story, a high school teacher decides to give his students a lesson in "mob mentality" and it evolves into a psychological experiment on the evolution of fascism.

The movie was both highly praised for the ground-breaking nature of the subject and widely condemned for glorifying the almost certain devastating emotional distress inflicted upon the unwitting students/subjects.

Either way, the video is still replayed in high school and college sociology classes across the country to this day... and it must be on third and fourth generation video tape by now since (afaik), it is not yet available on tape or DVD.

The most memorable ABC After School Special ever made.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Awesome movie, 8 December 2003

Author: Kathy from Miami, FL

This movie had a great impact on me. Having personally been a victim of peer abuse, it really opened up my eyes as to what kind of effect a 'cult' can play on an individual. This concept not only explains how Hitler managed to be so successful in manipulating the whole country, but also clarifies many other historical events. I would recommend this to anyone who has not seen the movie!

4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
The Best Movie EVER!!!, 26 May 2006

Author: chrissyr0cks from United States

OMG I LOVED THIS MOVIE! Okay, now that I've got that out of my system I just want to say that I keep on doing The Wave "fist punch to the chest then in the air making a "wave" with the hand" thing. Even to people I don't know. I don't follow "The Wave" group, I do this in a satirical manner. And the Ending, wow. I won't give it away or anything but it was SO great. Geez, I loved this movie. We watched it in German class, even though its in English. I liked this a million times better than "Findet Nemo." WATCH THE WAVE! YOU'LL LOVE IT!

Brief Summary: A teacher is teaching his students about Hitler and the Nazis when a student asks how the German people let millions of innocent people die without doing anything. The teacher (Mr. Ross) is stumped and is "saved by the bell" but must deal with her in class the next day. He starts a group called "The Wave" in class whose motto is "Strength through Discipline." The motto grows to become "Strength through discipline. Strength through community. Strength through action." The girl who posed the original question about the Germans starts to oppose the Wave and write articles for the newspaper bashing The Wave. Her boyfriend confronts her about her behavior because he supports The Wave and gets in a physical argument with her. He realizes what The Wave is doing to them, and starts to oppose it with her. They confront their teacher about this, who had just been in a meeting with the principal. I won't give away the ending but it pwnz!

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