The Last Waltz (1978)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writer:

Mardik Martin (treatment)

Release Date:

26 April 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Tagline:

It Started as a Concert. It Became a Celebration. [original theatrical]

Plot:

A film account and presentation of the final concert of The Band.

Plot Keywords:

Musician | 1970s | Musical Guest | Stage | Farewell

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Robbie Robertson	...	Himself - Lead Guitar / Vocal (as The Band)
Rick Danko	...	Himself - Bass & Violin & Vocal (as The Band)
Richard Manuel	...	Himself - Piano / Keyboards / Drums / Vocal (as The Band)
Levon Helm	...	Himself - Drums / Mandolin / Vocal (as The Band)
Garth Hudson	...	Himself - Organ / Accordion / Saxophone / Synthesizers (as The Band)
Eric Clapton	...	Himself - Performer
Neil Diamond	...	Himself - Performer
Bob Dylan	...	Himself - Performer
Joni Mitchell	...	Herself - Performer
Neil Young	...	Himself - Performer
Emmylou Harris	...	Herself - Performer
Ringo Starr	...	Himself - Performer
Paul Butterfield	...	Himself - Performer
Dr. John	...	Himself - Performer
Van Morrison	...	Himself - Performer

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Middle English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:S (cut) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Netherlands:AL | UK:U | South Korea:12 | USA:PG (Approved No. 25097) | Brazil:Livre | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

FM Productions

Trivia:

Robbie Robertson was impressed by Martin Scorsese's ability to recite the words to the song "Daniel and the Sacred Harp" verbatim.

Quotes:

[singing]
Eric Clapton: Further on up the road / Someone's gonna hurt you like you hurt me / Further on up the road / Someone's gonna hurt you like you hurt me / Further on up the road / Baby, just you wait and see.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Martin Scorsese, l'émotion par la musique (2005)

Soundtrack:

Theme from The Last Waltz

A Classic

Forget "Woodstock". Forget "Gimme Shelter". "Let It Be'? Forget that too. This is, truly, THE greatest rock and roll film ever made. Why? Well, try for a moment to forget that the actual performance itself features the great artists it does (including The Band) and focus on the film itself.

This film is shot in 35mm format which gives the picture pristine look (as opposed to all other previous rock films, which were shot on 16mm). But it's not just a spralling work, this is also well executed as well. By that, I mean the production value is outstanding. The lighting is unlike any rock concert I've seen (and I've seen many). The camera work is top-notch (apparently it was done by the best in Hollywood at the time). It's also easy to see that a great deal of planning went into the production. Other concert films (Woodstock, Monterey Pop) suffer from a "last minute scramble" look that simply isn't there with "Waltz".

Add to that the shear magnitude of what The Band had undertaken. Imagine learning, arranging and performing so many songs in so many styles by so many artists in one night with only one take of each allowed. When that is taken into consideration, you have to have a degree of respect for them. Of course, I'm bias. I'm Canadian, as were 4/5ths of The Band.

My only critique would be a technical one. It seems Rick Danko redubbed all of his bass playing. Whether this is attributed to a technical problem or unhappiness with his performance is unclear. However, what is clear is that what you hear the bass doing in the audio and what you see on the screen are completely different.