A Sydney lawyer has more to worry about than higher-than-average rainfall when he is called upon to defend five Aboriginals in court. Determined to break their silence and discover the truth behind the hidden society he suspects lives in his city, the Lawyer is drawn further, and more intimately, into a prophesy that threatens a new Armageddon, wherein all the continent shall drown.

The Last Wave (1977)
  • Rating: (3,628 votes)
  • Taglines:The Occult Forces. The Ritual Murder. The Sinister Storms. The Prophetic Dreams. The Last Wave. » A dream that became a nightmare. His was a premonition of doom. »
  • Runtime:106 minutes
  • Director: Peter Weir
  • Country:Australia
  • Actors:
    David Burton
    Richard Chamberlain
    Annie Burton
    Olivia Hamnett
    Chris Lee (as Gulpilil)
    David Gulpilil
    Rev. Burton
    Frederick Parslow
    Dr. Whitburn
    Vivean Gray
    Charlie
    Nandjiwarra Amagula
    Gerry Lee
    Walter Amagula
    Larry
    Roy Bara
    Lindsey
    Cedrick Lalara
    Jacko
    Morris Lalara
  • Genres:Drama, Mystery, Thriller
  • Producers:
    Hal McElroy
    producer  
    Jim McElroy
    producer (as James McElroy) 
  • Plot: A Sydney lawyer has more to worry about than higher-than-average rainfall when he is called upon to defend five Aboriginals in court. Determined to break their silence and discover the truth behind the hidden society he suspects lives in his city, the Lawyer is drawn further, and more intimately, into a prophesy that threatens a new Armageddon, wherein all the continent shall drown. Written by David Carroll <davidc@atom.ansto.gov.au>
The Last Wave
  • User's comment:part of a wave of really good movies by Lee Eisenberg (eisenberg.lee@gmail.com)

    "The Last Wave" is one of those movies that relies heavily on the mind. The title refers to the Aboriginal doomsday theory: there will be one last wave that wipes out everything.

    David Burton (Richard Chamberlain) is a Sydney lawyer hired to defend some Aborigines accused of murder. Around this time, there has been unusually heavy rainfall in Australia. While defending the Aborigines, David learns the last wave theory, and begins to wonder whether it's just mythology.

    The movie's last sequence is a metaphor for descending into the depths of one's mind. Peter Weir created a perplexing, but thought-provoking, movie. Aboriginal actor David Gulpilil (whom you may have seen in "Walkabout", "Crocodile Dundee" and "Rabbit-Proof Fence") provides an interesting supporting role as one of the defendants.

    If you get a chance, watch the "making of" feature on the DVD. Peter Weir explains some of the film's undertones, some of which relate to Richard Chamberlain's background.


  • Quotes: David Burton: What did I see? Chris Lee: A dream. David Burton: What are dreams?
  • Also known as: A Última Vaga (Portugal - imdb display title), Black Rain (USA), Den sidste bølge (Denmark), Den sista vågen (Sweden), Die letzte Flut (West Germany), L'ultima onda (Italy), La última ola (Spain), La dernière vague (France), Ostatnia fala (Poland), Poslednji talas (Serbia - imdb display title), The Last Wave (USA - imdb display title), To teleftaio kyma (Greece - transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title), Utánam a vízözön (Hungary - imdb display title), Viimeinen aalto (Finland),

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