Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.5

The Last Wave Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 3, 2020

Peter Weir's "The Last Wave" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage promotional and production materials; new programs with director of photography Russell Boyd and producer Jim McElroy; archival program with with director Brian Trenchard-Smith; and a lot more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Richard Chamberlain is David Burton, a Melbourne-based lawyer who has strange dreams. When he sleeps, he sees black rain falling from the sky, his house flooded, and an Aboriginal man trying to give him a small object. When he is awake, David constantly thinks about his dreams but does not know what to make of them.

When a man is killed in what appears to be some sort of a ritual, David volunteers to defend the five Aboriginal men the police have arrested. He begins questioning the men but soon realizes that none of them trust him enough to answer his questions. Chris Lee (David Gulpilil, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Walkabout), the only one who appears to be fluent in English, suggests to David that even if they did he would not understand their answers. Around the same time powerful rainstorms hit the area.

Determined to find out more about the men he is supposed to defend in court, David tries to learn as much as possible about Aboriginal culture. In the beginning his wife Annie (Olivia Hamnett, The Earthling) tries to assist him, but as time goes by she becomes seriously frustrated with his research and the manner in which it is changing her husband. One of David’s colleagues also makes it clear that he thinks he might have lost his mind.

But David’s persistence pays off -- the eldest of the Aboriginal men agrees to speak with him. Initially, what he reveals to him confuses him, but when he begins to understand its significance terrifies him. Unsure whether he could completely trust the man, or whether he is in fact interpreting his words correctly, David seeks Chris Lee again, hoping that he would point him in the right direction and help him see what he can’t.

This film has a type of atmosphere very few contemporary films have. It is quite dark and with a terrific ambient feel that makes it look remarkably stylish. Peter Weir directed it in 1977, exactly two years after completing his equally atmospheric Picnic at Hanging Rock.

The Last Wave is loosely divided into two contrasting acts. In the first, David is presented with a dilemma which he attempts to solve with conventional logic. But the scattered pieces of the puzzle he is presented with do not make sense to him even when it seems like they are arranged properly. This is when the film becomes very interesting.

The second act pushes the film into a territory which X-Files fans are guaranteed to like. There are plenty of very interesting ideas and observations about the nature of life, time, and the manner in which people are taught to understand them. Then Weir brings everything together in a truly superb finale that gives the film a very serious dose of credibility.

Chamberlain is excellent as the confused lawyer who struggles to make sense of his dreams. Gulpilil, Australia’s best-known Aboriginal actor, also leaves a memorable impression. Hamnett is believable as the frustrated and confused wife who tries to understand what is driving her husband mad.

The film is complimented by a good soundtrack courtesy of Charles Wain. It simplicity reminds a bit about the fantastic soundtrack from Picnic at Hanging Rock. The film was lensed by acclaimed cinematographer Russell Boyd (Picnic at Hanging Rock, Gallipoli, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World).

*In 1978, The Last Wave won Best Achievement in Cinematography (Russell Boyd) and Best Achievement in Sound (Don Connolly, Greg Bell, Phil Judd) Australian Film Institute Awards.

The Last Wave Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.84:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Last Wave arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment.

The release is sourced from an exclusive new 4K master that was prepared on behalf of Umbrella Entertainment in Australia. However, I do not know what elements were used and/or referenced while the master was completed.

The film very clearly looks healthier now, which does not surprise me because the old German release we reviewed back in 2012 was sourced from a master that was completed during the DVD era. Naturally, delineation, clarity, and depth are all improved. However, the density levels on the new master fluctuate quite a bit. Some of these fluctuations are introduced by unique stylistic choices, but there are technical issues that contribute to them as well. (I will explain below). The color scheme is different, favoring new ranges of yellow hues that I have noticed on many recent 4K projects from Umbrella Entertainment. While I feel that the overall color balance is mostly fine as it is, I have to point out that the old master has ranges of nuances that are missing on the new 4K master (see screencapture #11). I don't see any traces of problematic digital adjustments. However, grain exposure is problematic. Why? Because there are a lot of visible compression artifacts that destabilize the grain and produce anomalies (see screencapture #20). As a result, in certain darker areas, but also in some quite well-lit daylight footage, the benefits of the new 4K master become awfully difficult to appreciate. Image stability is very good. There are no distracting debris, cuts, warped or torn frames, but some tiny white specks remain. All in all, currently this is the best presentation of the film that I have seen on Blu-ray, but I also think that without the encoding anomalies and a few other minor inconsistencies we could have had a vastly superior end product. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

The Last Wave Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Clarity and stability are very good. However, dynamic intensity remains modest, even in areas where I hoped that a new master will introduce some minor but noticeable improvements. The old German release that we reviewed in 2012 had a good 5.1 track as well, but I don't know if it was endorsed by Peter Weir. There are no technical anomalies to report in our review.

The Last Wave Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - remastered vintage trailer for The Last Wave. In English. (3 min).

• Trailers From Hell - presented here is an episode of Trailers From Hell with director Brian Trenchard-Smith (Frog Dreaming). In English. (4 min).

• David Stratton on The Last Wave - in this archival piece, film historian David Stratton remembers a hilarious experience he had during the shooting of The Last Wave. The piece was filmed at ACMI in Melbourne, in 2010. In English. (3 min).

• "David Gulpilil: Walkabout to Hollywood" (1980) - presented here is an excerpt from Bill Leimbach's documentary, which will be available from Umbrella Entertainment in 2021. In the excerpt, the Aboriginal recalls how his life changed after the success of Walkabout and discusses his background and culture. In English. (8 min).

• Richard Chamberlain - in this new video interview, Richard Chamberlain remembers how he became involved with The Last Wave, his first impressions of Australia and the Australian crew he was expected to work with, the shooting process, his interactions with various cast members, Peter Weir's directing methods, etc. The interview was conducted by Paul Harris in May 2020 for Umbrella Entertainment. In English. (23 min).

• Lighting the Cave - in this new video interview, director of photography Russell Boyd discusses his professional relationship with Peter Weir (the two also collaborated on Picnic at Hanging Rock), the specific lenses that were used during the shooting of The Last Wave (with some very interesting comments about the cave footage), the intended color palette, the creative freedom he was given during the production process, his interactions with David Gulpilil, the film's unique Australian identity, etc. The interview was conducted in 2020 exclusively for Umbrella Entertainment. In English. (25 min).

• Riding the Wave - in this new video interview, producer Jim McElroy explains what attracted him to the film business, and discusses the state of the Australian film industry in the early '70s as well as some of the early projects he worked on, his involvement with The Last Wave, his professional relationship with Peter Weir, some difficulties that he was presented with during the production process, Russell Boyd's lensing, the unique quality of Charles Wain's soundtrack, etc. The interview was conducted in 2020 exclusively for Umbrella Entertainment. In English. (39 min).

• Gallery - a large collection of promotional materials for The Last Wave, initial pitch document and ephemera from producer Jim McElroy's collection, and novelization and press kit from Mark Hartley's collection. (4 min).

• Cover - reversible cover.

The Last Wave Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Peter Weir's The Last Wave needed a proper Blu-ray release and I am glad to see that Umbrella Entertainment produced a brand new 4K master for it. However, I have some reservations about the color grading on the 4K master, especially after viewing the exclusive new program with director of photography Russell Boyd in which he clarifies that the outdoor footage was intended to look very natural -- or at least this was his preference when he lensed the film back in the '70s. Also, the technical presentation reveals compression artifacts, which should have been avoided with specific encoding optimizations. I still think that the release is worth picking up because now the film looks very healthy and there is a lot of very interesting exclusive new and archival bonus content on it, but maybe the folks at Umbrella Entertainment should consider making each entry in their new series, Sunrburnt Screens, a two-disc set to optimize the technical presentation of the main feature. RECOMMENDED (but with reservations).