Product ReviewsThe Last Waltz (DVD, 1978)

The last performance of The Band, With many guests.

No acting, no actors, no plot. This is three hours of music without interruption by the most famous and best musicians of the time. I’ve seen this movie years ago and now I have a copy! Beautiful camera work, taking the viewer up close to the musicians as they interact with each other as they play the music. One of my most favorite films, never get tired of watching it over and over again.Read full review...

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Good video and worth haveing. Reasonable price.

Great story and performers. Music sound seemed a little thin. Could have been my system but I had this DVD before and don't remember sound quality being an issue.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: showmesurplus

Scorcese and the Rock Story

Scorcese is clearly a child of the Sixties and loves his rock. He senses an epic American/Canadian story in this retrospective on The Band's career, but it never quite comes alive in this documentary. Still, there are moving moments: The Band stretching to back up Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Neil Diamond, Joni Mitchell and Van Morrison. The Band members reflecting on their sixteen years together on the road as both a backup band and a rock phenomenon. Some music scenes are the best ever on film, but as a whole the film seems disjointed - in need of better editing. Perhaps time will show Scorcese the path to a Director's Cut to make his story truly live.Read full review...

The Last Waltz truly was for many of these rock stars

Truly a rock and roll masterpiece. Neil Young just happened to stop by to sing with his friends in "The Band". Calling it "One of the great pleasures of my life." The Band was the backup to Bob Dylan when he went from acoustic to electric guitar. THE LAST WALTZ has many memorable scenes and interesting dialogue with history into the beginnings of Rock and Roll. The music is out of this world! A must for any rock and roll afficianado.

Thanksgiving, 1976, San Francisco's Winterland: the Band performs its last concert after 16 years on the road. Some numbers they do alone, some songs include guest artists from Ronnie Hawkins (their first boss, when they were the Hawks) to Bob Dylan (their last, when as his backup and as a solo group, they came into their own). Scorsese's camera explores the interactions onstage in the making of music. Offstage, he interviews the Band's five members, focusing on the nature of life on the road. The friendships, the harmonies, the hijinks, and the wear and tear add up to a last waltz.

Performers: Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Van Morrison, Ronnie Hawkins plus more!!!
Directors: Martin Scorsese
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number of discs: 1
Studio: MGM
DVD Release Date: May 7, 2002
Run Time: 117 minutes
DVD Features:
Available Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
Commentary by: Robbie Robertson and Martin Scorsese
New 5.1 audio remix and new transfer
Featurette: "Revisiting The Last Waltz"
Archival outtakes: Jam 2
Photo galleryRead full review...

The last WALTZ is a description of the time

The best of this ,My era . The best music the best writers .... I can touch again this, My softer side and yes My better side . The end of the era of pleasant musical surprises . the beginning soon, of music compromises .. Organs were still the progenitors of mystical moods and guitar was ALL THE NOTES , Not power chords and triads . AS TO PRODUCTION or ethereal content I leave You to the liner notes . AS for Me I would gladly pay more for such memories ............ If You were not there , You missed much , I feel for You
TJM2008Read full review...

Great Rockumentary!

The quality of the music is excellent. If you are a fan of The Band, this DVD covers them. The guest appearances by the celebrity musicians of the time are also fun to watch. Glad I bought it.

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"The Last Watz" is fitting of course, it's The Bands Last gig.

Very entertaining and worth every penny. Any lover of rock music would eat this show up. Fine musicians. Great tunes also.

Good value and entertaining

A great historical performance of quite a few major artists from the late 60’s to the 1970’s. The music is all good. The only part I did not enjoy was the interviews that were inserted during the live concert footage. Other than that I think it’s a great performance video of an era gone by. CjRead full review...

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MEZMORIZING

I loved how they all have such great chemistry, and genuinely enjoyed each others company, they were having the best time of their lives. Bringing other great artist to the stage, It was captivating and I highly recommend this Classic. You won't be disappointed I guarentee.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: thinkingdvd

Just how good they were -long haul, rough road.

It is good to have a bookmark or placeholder relative to the Band if you have or intend to follow out the lives of its members, their successes, the hymn like quality of much of the music.

One-hell-of-a-rock documentary.

Stung by the commercial failure of “New York, New York,” master filmmaker Martin Scorsese had to wait for three years until “Raging Bull” regained his cinematic mojo. It was during that fallow period Scorsese was on hand to film the final performance by Canadian rock group The Band in what is called the best rock & roll concert film ever. And boy did it live up its hype because “The Last Waltz” is one-hell-of-a-rock documentary.

After recording and touring for more than 16 years, the group presented their final show on Thanksgiving Day in 1976, at San Francisco’s Winterland Arena—where surprisingly The Band had played their first show. To create their sendoff more extraordinary, they hired many musicians to perform with them, including Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Emmylou Harris, Muddy Waters, The Staples, Ringo Starr, Ron Wood, Paul Butterfield, Ronnie Hawkins, and Dr. John.

To make “The Last Waltz” more visually stunning, Scorsese employs some of Hollywood’s top cinematographers—including Michael Chapman, Vilmos Zsigmond, and Laszlo Kovacs—to not only film the final concert but to produce two of the most spectacular scenes in the movie. I’m speaking about The Band’s studio performances with The Staples and Emmylou Harris which gives the documentary a cinematic feel. Interposing the songs is a succession of perceptive and thoughtful interviews from all the group members in their Malibu studio. It was this film that Scorsese found another collaborator with vocalist/guitarist/producer Robbie Robertson who would serve as music supervisor on many of his future movies.

“The Last Waltz” is an electrifying concert film not only for musical purists but for neophyte viewers who just want to hear some good music they’ve never heard before. This is not a 3-D concert film from Disney. And this is certainly not a phony-baloney cash-in documentary featuring flavor-of-the-month pop acts. This is a moving film about the insightful view of rock music from a passionate filmmaker.Read full review...