The Last Wave

This article is about the 1977 Australian film. For the unrelated 2019 French TV series, see La Dernière Vague. For the album by Arcana, see The Last Wave (album).

The Last Wave
Australian film poster
Directed by	Peter Weir
Screenplay by	Peter Weir Tony Morphett Petru Popescu
Produced by	Hal McElroy Jim McElroy
Starring	Richard Chamberlain Olivia Hamnett Gulpilil Nandjiwarra Amagula
Cinematography	Russell Boyd
Edited by	Max Lemon
Music by	Charles Wain
Production companies	McElroy & McElroy South Australian Film Corporation Australian Film Commission Ayer Productions
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	13 December 1977 (1977-12-13)
Running time	106 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	A$818,000
Box office	A$1.258 million (Australia) $866,250 (US)

The Last Wave (also released in the United States as Black Rain) is a 1977 Australian mystery drama film directed and co-written by Peter Weir, starring Richard Chamberlain, Olivia Hamnett and David Gulpilil (billed as “Gulpilil”). It is about a white solicitor in Sydney whose seemingly normal life is disrupted after he takes on a murder case and discovers that he shares a strange, mystical connection with the small group of local Aboriginal people accused of the crime.

Released by United Artists on December 13, 1977, it received positive reviews from critics and was nominated for seven AFI Awards, including Best Direction, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor for Chamberlain. It is considered one of the major works of the Australian New Wave.