The Last Waltz

Standouts include-- Rick Danko performing a soulful rendition of "It makes no difference".

Eric Clapton jamming with Robbie Robertson shows that Robbie is an excellent, and I believe, under rated guitarist.

"The night they drove old Dixie down" is another great performance with Levon belting it out.

Bob Dylan on "I shall be released" and "Forever young" are moving even though he is obviously renown for his song writing and not vocal abilities.

Muddy Waters, Ronny Hawkins, and Van Morrison also deliver the goods.

There is some gray material, however, for me, the diamonds outweigh the granite.

If you like blues, country rock, or electric folk there will be something for you in this film.

The interviews are interesting but, of course, it's the music that makes the movie.

I rented this for $3 at Blockbuster on DVD. It was worth more.

If you, as a music lover, have ever wondered what it would be like to see a concert starring the very cream of the crop from the sixties and seventies, you have that opportunity now. Martin Scorcese has produced a film that should be mandatory viewing for anyone who calls themselves a rock lover. While all the performances are memorable, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and, of course, The Band are incredible. Beyond the music, the very premise of the concert is amazing: A big bang to end the era, thanksgiving dinner for thousands, a wicked lineup, great music and some really enlightening interviews. The Last Waltz is a must see if you are a fan of the rock&roll genre, as The Band and friends not only play their hearts out, but also pay tribute to the sound that we all know and love.

Watch it, you won't regret the time spent.

Rock music at it's best. What a performance by Robbie and the band. They just don't make music like they used to nowadays. The energy and true musicianship that went into this concert was phenomenal. The guest artists that also played with the band really did bring the house down and with Martin Scorses's direction and great sound engineers this will undoubtedly go down in history as the greatest live rock/music video ever. I wish i had been around back in 76' for that concert man. Sad to see that Rick and Richard have passed away but glad that their talents have been captured on film for the world too see how good these guys were. Not only were the Band great musicians, but they were all great characters, real interesting guys with a genuine belief in what they were doing. Not like the sell-outs that the music industry now has in abundance.

In the words of Robbie Robertson, "The Last Waltz" began as a concert and turned into a celebration. There is no word that can be used to describe "The Last Waltz" better than 'celebration'. This is a celebration of The Band, and of music, specifically American music, which The Band loved and played so many styles of.

"The Last Waltz" is a concert film, and there's a common sentiment outside of the rock fan community that such films can never be true art films. If proof exists that this is not true, "The Last Waltz" is it. The film is brilliantly directed by Martin Scorsese, who captures this incredibly powerful and remarkable performance with skill that can't be described as anything other than amazing. This film looks absolutely stunning. What else can one ask for other than a film that looks pristine and beautiful, and contains some of the best music ever written? Scorsese is a smart filmmaker and knows that he could add to the film by including short interview segments with the members of The Band, all of which are relevant to and enhance the film.

The beauty of "The Last Waltz" is its simplicity. The Band were probably the most unpretentious major musical group there has ever been. They were interested in nothing other than playing good music, and Scorsese, at least in this instance, is not interested in doing anything other than creating a simple, true document of a memorable, great musical event. That's what he does, he captures a brilliant concert where the addition of celebrity musical guests does not cheapen it at all, but makes it a true celebration of music. Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield, Joni Mitchell, Neil Diamond, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Neil Young... the list goes on and on.

Phenomenal musicianship, phenomenal film-making, a phenomenal film all around. One of the best and most joyous films ever made.

10/10

Martin Scorsese's documentary has been labelled a time capsule of an era, and whilst this type of reference usually sounds overstated, there is no doubting the accomplishment of this film as an event. Many use the documentary 'Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music' as the ultimate example of a music-doco, but whilst the music in The Last Waltz is actually on par with the great performances of Woodstock (bar Jimi Hendrix[there's no substitute]), the thing which elevates The Last Waltz is the photography.

This was the first music doco to be shot on 35mm and watching the concert, you'd think that each performance was carefully choregraphed over a few weeks of shooting rather than over one night. Special thanks must be given to Cinematogrpaher Michael Chapman for his efforts on this film. The look of the film is what elevates it's overall appeal, because the music was always going to be epic, especially with the cavalcade of great names performing. This is just great filmmaking from contemporary cinema's most accomplished filmmaker. And how about that haunting theme that both starts and ends the film. Just great.