A teacher conducts an experiment in an American high school where students learn how easy it is to be seduced by the same social forces which led to the horrors of Nazi Germany.
Acting
Bruce Davison's terrifying charisma as the well-meaning monster.
Writing
Tight 44 minutes that punch harder than most features.
Direction
Grasshoff makes a classroom feel genuinely dangerous.
Director
Alexander Grasshoff
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was filmed at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, the actual school where real teacher Ron Jones conducted the original 1967 experiment.
The Wave spread through 16mm film in classrooms for decades before streaming — an estimated 10 million students saw this by 2000, making it possibly the most watched educational film in American history.
US
