The Last Waltz

The Last Waltz is a wonderful celebration of one of the greatest (and hardest working) rock n roll bands in the world. Really energetic performances by the Band and all of their guests. The content additional to the concert that Scorsese adds is great too.

This movie's so amazing that Stevie Wonder can watch it.

How have I never seen this before, as a self-professed member of the Dylan Hive? Unsure how Van Morrison got the center stage for the last song. Maybe it’s because his pants are such a conversation piece.

Intensely monotonous filming of less a "farewell" concert than a "fuck off" one; coming at a bleak time in everyone's life, this is still a fascinating portrait of the final chunder from the hangover of the "Summer of Love", with Scorsese going to great pains to depict the coldness between all involved, even while spotlighting some great performances (Muddy Waters bringing down the house is the highlight). Not a pleasant experience, but a very evocative one so on that basis it is a success!

Viewed February 1, 2017. great, as both a piece of filmmaking (So many wonderfully constructed, detailed long takes) and as a cultural artifact. Neil Young's cocaine usage did not disappoint, nor did anyone else's. I'm not sure how much excitement the film would have if you're someone who, say, could resist the urge to sing along with Joni Mitchell during "Coyote." I certainly couldn't, so I loved this movie. A film about prisoners of the white lines on the freeway.

The Band put on one hell of a farewell show and they not only sound amazing, they look amazing. Its obvious that a ton of work went into planning the cinematography, and that effort paid off. Unfortunately, the same care didn't go into the off stage interviews; Scorsese's questions don't offer that much insight. Worse, he never poses them to The Band as a whole, instead choosing to mainly focus on Robertson. Without the voices of the other members, The Last Waltz feels distorted and incomplete.

I was pretty much forced into watching this by 2 of my friends, and I am in no way a fan of The Band, but there is no denying that Scorsese did good. Thats my shitty review for this movie.

Scorsese is gay for Robbie Robertson. I'm surprised he didn't execute a dolly shot straight up Robertson's ass. It's a shame that Richard Manuel's voice is already mostly shot at this point in his life. He's pretty much featured as the crazy looking guy in the corner who doesn't do much. Shit sucks.

What an incredible concert. Only reason this isn't getting five stars is because the backstage 'interviews' that Scorsese conducts are worse than useless.

I understand the appeal. It is well made, harmless, and iconic. I would have preferred more introspective interviews. I am not really a fan of any of the music, and while the movie had me finding a semi-appreciation for the proceedings, I just wasn't into it much.

A great concert by a great backing band, rounded out with performances from a lot of guests. I was a little disappointed that we were staring at faces so often; when they do guitar solos we're still looking at their heads and not their hands. The Grand Ole Opry ending was very nice, but I'll never be able to un-see Van Morrison in his tank top.

Rewatched. One of the best. Bittersweet for the decrepitude of Manuel's alcoholic paralysis - Scorsese's attempts to excise him from the concert footage becomes more heartbreakingly obvious with each viewing. Oh, and perhaps Neil Diamond's 2nd finest moment.

Nice concert movie. I didn't like all of the guests, but it was pleasant anyway.

Estava guardando este filme para ver quando o Lawrence Ferlinghetti morresse, mas como acho que o fdp vai viver até mais do que o Nicanor Parra, o encarei hoje mesmo e duas vezes! A primeira para curtir o som, a segunda para ouvir os comentários de áudio, ambos excelentes, e para variar o Scorsese nos contou pela milionésima vez o quanto Powell e Pressburger influenciaram o seu cinema. DVD MGM.

Robbie Robertson: "The Band has been together 16 years. Together, on the road. We did 8 years in bars, dives, dance halls, 8 years of concerts and stadiums, arenas. We gave our final concert, The Band's final concert, and we called it The Last Waltz."

Great performances, and little if any other interest here. No, stop kidding yourselves. PS: Songs are interrupted by interviews. Feel free to skip them.

Questionable editing decisions aside, this concert movie is a celebration of some terrific rock and roll. It's just about impossible to pick a favorite performance, but two numbers that really moved me were Rick Danko's heartbreaking "Stage Fright" and the group's killer "The Weight" with the Staple Singers. Taking it for what it is, it's one of the best concert films I've ever seen. It's awakened a long-dormant admiration of The Band, and given me a desire to explore its d

As a big fan of The Band I loved the hell out of this. This, and Stop Making Sense, are the best concert movies ever made.

Great music and fine concert footage.

somewhat depressing, but still a good flick, especially if you like 70's rock music

The best concert film ever.

Swan song of a band with the best band name ever - "The Band". With a bunch of the best musicians of that time it is truly legen-this-film-should-be-played-loud-dary!

This features some excellent performances, and the energy and sense of fun is off the charts. Scorsese also adds some interesting out-of-concert moments. I just wish there were less guest performers, a lot of the time I was just waiting for The Band to resume kicking ass. I'm not sure it's a great introduction to The Band, but it's still a great film.

An exceptional exercise in capturing the sound and energy of one of the defining performances (alongside Woodstock) from this era of American music. Few directors have an eye for film and a love for music like Scorsese. The candid interviews have a certain cinematic polish to them, but are no less real. The insights found within provide meaningful background and the array of super-star guests to the concert span the global music spectrum from England to New Orleans; and blues to psychedelia.

Amazing band, amazing concert, amazing guests. The audio and visual elements are incredibly well done, especially for a concert that was shot in 1976. Everything about this DVD is amazing.

Despite being the Robbie Robertson show, the band was THE band and it's worth having to look at that smug piece of shit for so long to hear some of the greatest performances in rock and roll.

Came for Scorsese, got The Band. It's one of these things that you can't help but feel like it would've been a million times better if you were actually there rather than watching it. It has some decent music but it's drawn out at times and it serves as a "oh look, that guy" type of film. Some of the interview parts were really bad and some of the more interesting ones were cut off. "You won't be making a lot of money but you'll be getting more pussy than Sinatra." Why would you cut that off????

Great concert film. One of, if not the best ever

Although Stop Making Sense is my favorite concert film, this one is the prettiest and one of the most talent heavy.

The Band's last concert is beautifully shot, and it's interesting to notice the melancholic tone the film gets after each song. It's like they always knew this final day would come, but just weren't believing that. As Robbie Robertson says, the life on the road was impossible to carry on. But it certaintly was worth every minute. Pay attention to their passionate expressions through the doc and you can feel what a good energy these guys transmit.

Fantastic performances by a band I know very little about. The interviews didn't do all that much for me, though.

Awesome. Well made, and this moved me from being a fan of "The Band" to an avid listener.

Some great music here-- I especially love Muddy Waters' set.

# 814

Long Live The Band!

Final concert of The Band. Great music. A must see for fans of The Band or any of the other musicians that feature on The Last Waltz. Robbie Roberson's guitaring is amazing, as are all the other members on their instruments but Robertson stuck out for me.

What do you get when you take a great rock band and put a world-class director with a great love of rock music at the helm? This. It's not only an incredible musical performance (star-studded lineup delivering some fantastic appearances) but also a great film in its own right; Scorsese does well to make the movie more than just a series of songs, with some great camerawork and interesting interviews. Highlights: "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," "Helpless," and "It Makes No Difference."

Very good, although the pacing feels a bit off since the film focuses so much on the big-name guests. Probably could have used a few more songs performed by the Band alone. Would especially suggest "Wheel on Fire". It also would have been nice to see more of Richard Manuel.

Well done film that captures your attention, but if you're not a fan it doesn't really do anything special.

A title card appears at film's start that says, "This movie should be played LOUD". Indeed.