The Last Waltz (Rockumentary by Martin Scorsese)





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The Last Waltz was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group, The Band, held on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Billed as a "farewell" concert after 16 years of touring,The Band was joined by more than a dozen special guests, including Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters and Neil Young.

The event was filmed by director Martin Scorsese and made into a documentary, released in 1978. The film features concert performances, scenes shot on a studio soundstage and interviews by Scorsese with members of The Band. The film was released on DVD in 2002. A triple-LP soundtrack recording also was issued in 1978, and a four-CD box set of the concert and related studio recordings was released in 2002.

The Last Waltz is hailed as one of the greatest concert films ever made. However, it has been criticized by Band drummer Levon Helm, who disagreed with guitarist Robbie Robertson's decision to discontinue touring. He has said the film concentrates too much on Robertson and not enough on other members of The Band.


Beginning with a title card saying "This film should be played loud!" the concert documentary is an essay on The Band's influences and their career. The group – Rick Danko on bass, violin and vocals, Levon Helm on drums, mandolin and vocals, Garth Hudson on organ, synthesizer, accordian,and saxophone, Richard Manuel on piano, percussion and vocals, and guitarist Robbie Robertson as principal songwriter – started out in the late 1950s as a rock and roll band led by Ronnie Hawkins, and Hawkins himself appears as the first guest. The group backed Bob Dylan in the 1960s, and Dylan performs with The Band towards the end of the concert.


Various other artists perform with The Band: Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Dr. John, Neil Diamond and Eric Clapton. Genres covered include blues, rock and roll, New Orleans R&B, Tin Pan Alley pop, folk and rock. Further genres are explored in segments filmed later on a soundstage with Emmylou Harris (country) and The Staple Singers (soul and gospel).

The film begins with The Band performing the last song of the evening, their cover version of the Marvin Gaye hit "Don't Do It", as an encore. The film then flashes back to the beginning of the show and follows it more or less chronologically. The Band is backed by a large horn section and performs many of its hit songs, including "Up on Cripple Creek", "Stagefright" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down".

The live songs are interspersed with the studio segments and interviews with director Martin Scorsese, in which The Band's members reminisce about the group's history. Robertson talks about Hudson joining the band on the condition that the other members pay him $10 a week each for music lessons. The classically trained Hudson could then tell his "people" that he was a music teacher instead of merely a rock and roll musician. Robertson also describes the surreal experience of playing in a burnt-out nightclub owned by Jack Ruby.

Manuel recalls that some of the early names for The Band included "the Honkies" or "the Crackers". Because they were simply referred to as "the band" by Dylan and their friends and neighbors in Woodstock, New York, they figured that was just what they would call themselves.

Danko is seen giving Scorsese a tour of The Band's Shangri-La studio, and he plays the director a recording of "Sip the Wine", a track from his then-forthcoming 1977 solo album Rick Danko.

A recurring theme brought up in the interviews with Robertson is that the concert marks an end of an era for The Band, that after 16 years on the road, it is time for a change. "That's what The Last Waltz is: 16 years on the road. The numbers start to scare you," Robertson tells Scorsese. "I mean, I couldn't live with 20 years on the road. I don't think I could even discuss it." The theme is further explored in the choice of songs Scorsese filmed, "Up on Cripple Creek" for one, which has the line, "this living on the road is getting pretty old."


Language: English
Color: Color (DeLuxe)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 :1
Sound Mix: Dolby

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