Customer Reviews

OK in parts but overrated - By: lexo1941, 04 Jul 2008
On the back of my DVD of The Last Waltz, which is almost certainly the same as this edition, it's described as "one of the most important cultural events of the last two decades!" In the first place, it was made three decades ago. In the second place, that's an absurd description of what was nothing more than a glossy & overblown documentary of a moderately good live performance.

The Band's drummer Levon Helm,in his bawdy, gritty & very readable autobiography 'This Wheel's On Fire', describes the circumstances of the original concert; guitarist Robbie Robertson had got tired of touring & wanted to go out with a bang. Helm was incredulous that Robertson wanted to take the band off the road, but feeling that he had no choice he consented to Scorsese filming the show & interviewing the band members. When he saw the final film he was incensed. Barney Hoskyns,in his superb book 'Across The Great Divide: The Band & America' describes how the footage was assembled by Scorsese & Robertsonin a cocaine-fuelled frenzy. Watch the final film & it bears out Helm's & Hoskyns' accounts; Robertson isin nearly every frame, oftenin a spotlight, & is frequently the only performerin shot even when somebody else is singing. Robertson himself has (and had) such a weak singing voice that his microphone was normally turned off, but it doesn't stop Scorsese including numerous shots of Robertson apparently joiningin on the harmony.

It's a shame because the other guys were giving it loads. Levon Helm, who is never granted a spotlight even when he's singing lead vocal, gives blistering performances of 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down' & 'Up On Cripple Creek'. Rick Danko is on excellent form, & Garth Hudson's sax solos on 'It Makes No Difference' are so beautiful that Robertson's facial contortions during his own weak & stuttery guitar solos are just embarrassing. Richard Manuel is barelyin the movie, & by common consent he was the best singer of any of them.

The real lie of the film is that Robertson is presented as the spokesman & practically the leader of the band, whereasin musical terms Hudson (by far the most talented musician) was regarded by the others as the conductor & bandleader. Robertson's solemn monologues about his 'sixteen years on the road' are presented as though he spoke for the rest of them, but Helm at any rate was disgusted with Robertson's lack of stamina & was fully prepared to go on touring. The proof of this is that not many years later, he did just that, reforming the band without Robertson, who has been practically inactive since the Band's initial splitin 1977.

Robertson is a fine guitarist & was once a great songwriter, but the most important cultural event that this band was responsible for was their first album (the second most important being their second album). 'The Last Waltz' has some cracking performances, most notably by Ronnie Hawkins, Muddy Waters (accidentally filmed by Scorsese on only one camera - should have laid off the snow there, Marty, it was ruining your concentration), Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison & the band itself, but too much of it is pretentious, overly pleased with itself, sluggish & just plain dull. (Stand up, Neils Diamond & Young.) The studio segments with the Staple Singers & Emmy Lou Harris are butchered versions of good songs. The interviews are mildly entertaining the first time round, but the stories have been told so many times elsewhere that they gain nothing by repetition. Finally, there are just far too many shots of Robbie Robertson doing nothing but preening himself onstage or saying banal things very, very slowlyin the manner that would later be copied & perfected by Bono & The Edge.

The best concert film ever made is still Talking Heads' 'Stop Making Sense', because unlike this film, the makers weren't coked to the gills & were confident that the music could speak for itself. Robert Christgau is right - get the soundtrack instead, 'the movie is better when you can't see it'.

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Celebration gig lifted by some starry performances, but far too samey and too pleased with itself - By: Lou Knee, 06 Apr 2008
Has some great performances by some all time greats, has an easy to watch semi documentary feel about it & yet it is all so laid back & a bit self congratulatory & far too American MOR ish feeling for my own tastes. MS shows skill with his big camera shots fading lazilyin & outin the manner of the much better live rock movie Woodstock, but it IS just a bit too laid back, too unobtrusive & too celebratory of a crowd of samey sounding mostly American & Canadian greats from the long haired & laid back school of rock. There is no artist here broughtin for their ability to shake things up a bit, for their stage act over pure musicality - there is no Hendrix or Joplin here, for rather obvious reasons, but both these artists helped to make Woodstock much more than just a celebratory gig for old hippies. But they could have asked someone like The Who, another band that gave Woodstock such a broad, rocky flavour. I know the acts were chosen to sort of complement the music of The Band, but my god did it need someone like The Who, someone with raw power to stir them out of their good vibe lethargy!! It was all so well meaning & sort of clubby, that I really can't bare to watch all the way through any more.

There are some great performancesin it yes, especially from Brits Van Morrison & Eric Clapton, & Canadian hosts The Band were pretty good, as always, if ratherin the same style as most of the other acts: Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Emmy Lou Harris, & the ever tedious Dr. John just kept the same ol type of laid back folksy/bluesy music rollin' & rollin' out. There was nowhere near enough diversity of acts here, the great Neil Diamond apart. It was a celebration of one type of music only, pretty much, not rock or pop per se, & because of this, it looks a little bit exclusive, dare I say elitist. No, sorry, it wasn't quite my cup of herbal tea, this movie, but it is worth a look for a couple of performances. Scene selection comes into its own here,in my view.

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Superb. - By: Musicfan, 15 Feb 2008
I have alwasy liked a couple of tracks by The Band but would not call myself a fan of the group. I bought this for a few pounds as I had read glowing reports about it. I am not sure what I expected but I did not expect it to be so good. The film quality is first class. The sound is first class. It is so good, it could have been filmed yesterday not over 30 years ago. More importantly, what about the content? Also excellent. The Band can play & is good....very good. An amazing performance by Neil Young. Super guest performances by Emmylou Harris, Neil Dimaond, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison & others. The concert is interupted by interviews with the Band members talking about the past which is interesting. I would have preferred this to be an extra & to let the music flow. However, it did not detract from my enjoymment of this DVD because the content is so good. I will definately be watching this again. Great music which has stood the test of time. It is as fresh today as it was backin the 1970s. Highly recommended.

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Forever Young - By: silver moon, 10 Sep 2007
Thanks to Martin Scorsese & the ability of film to capture & preserve a momentin time forever, we can dance "The Last Waltz" over & over again. And we never really have to say a final farewell to The Band.

Yes, Scorsese was there. And lucky for us, he made sure that not one, but seven, of the era's best cinematographers were also there working right alongside him, their cameras trained on different areas & angles of the stage so as not to miss a single, magical moment of that night so long ago.

It was a night when the likes of Muddy Waters, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Van Morrison, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, Ringo Starr, Ron Wood, & Ronnie Hawkins took turns sharing the stage with their gracious, modest hosts, the five "fellas"in The Band. And a night when every single one of those beautiful voices joined forces at the end to perform an achingly mournful, beautiful version of The Band classic, "I Shall Be Released."

A fitting end to a concert which,in retrospect, seemed to mark the ending of an erain rock 'n' roll, the passing of the old guardin a sense. Even though many of these people continued to make music for many years--are still making musicin some cases,in fact--the magnitude, the collective impact of all those voices of that '60s generation, has just never been duplicated.

If Scorsese & his crack team hadn't captured the concert on warm, cinematic, 35mm film (the first rock concert to be filmed this way, with even Woodstock having been filmedin 16mm), it would now be just a magical memoryin the minds of the lucky few thousand who were there that night. And most of those memories would be from the perspective of the majority who witnessed the concert from deepin the crowd, many rows back from & well below the stage.

But because The Band & Scorsese had the sense to get this thing on film, it's now an experience open to millions for generations to come. Anyone can go back there--right onto that stage--at any time, & relive the phenomenal music, the era, the mood of intensified camaraderie between The Band members & their distinguished guests, whenever they popin the DVD.

I recently took my second whirl around the dance floor with this sublime movie. I'd first seen it backin 1978, when it was first releasedin theaters. I knew then that I'd witnessed greatness, & continued to talk up the pleasures of this movie to friends & family over the next couple of decades.

I remembered the music knocking my socks off, remembered how The Staples Singers made my heart & soul soar high above where my body was still firmly entrenchedin my seat with their joyful noise during "The Weight." (On the DVD commentary, Mavis Staples shares that Band members Robbie Robertson & Levon Helm had instructed her to "take it to church" near the end of her ecstatic vocalizing.) And I remembered that Van Morrison did a killer version of "Caravan" (complete with a garish, glittery '70s "rock-star" costume...well, more like something a Barnum & Bailey's Circus performer might wear, actually).

I wanted badly to share all this joyful music with my husband, who loves rock `n` roll as much as I do, but who`d somehow managed to go his whole life without seeing this movie. I searched my local video storesin vain for it a few years back. It was kind of hard to get ahold of for awhile there, before the newly remastered version was releasedin 2002. They just didn't have itin stock. So I gave up on seeing it again for awhile.

Besides, I thought, I'm probably just building it upin my memory. I'm sure I'll be disappointed when I finally see it again. Probably won't be as great & magical as I remember it.

Well, I've finally seen it again, & you know what? It's even better than I remembered it, so much better. And now I know the "secret" that isn't really a secret at all, one that people older than me have known as an obvious fact for many years: The Band was one of the greatest rock `n' roll bands of all time.

As you watch them expertly wield their many instruments--not just the standard rock 'n' roll triumvirate of guitars, bass, & drums, but also some instruments you might associate more with bluegrass or even jazz musicians than rockers, instruments like fiddles, mandolins, stand-up bass, clavinets, accordions, saxophones, & so on--you quickly realize that they were one of the most brilliant, versatile groups of musicians you could ever hope to assemble.

And another thing that hits you almost as soon as they take the stage is that these guys had as much unforced charisma, charm, likeability & sexual magnetism as the Beatlesin their heyday.

(Any woman who can watch Danko pour his heart & soul into his anguished, mesmerizing performance of "It Makes No Difference"in this movie & not feel the earth move is a much stronger woman than I. He is young, manly beauty & masculine vulnerability personified here. His riveting performance of "Stage Fright"--with a noticeable tremblein his voice & the words sometimes catchingin his throat, as if he really is scared to death to be up therein that spotlight--had the same effect on me.)

Part of the appeal of the entire Bandin this movie is their modest, unassuming quality. They seem just as happy when they're playingin the shadows, out of the spotlight (maybe even more so), as they are when they're taking center stage. I guess that comes from all those years on the road as a backing band for other lead singers--first Ronnie Hawkins & then, legendarily, Bob Dylan.

Even after bringing down the house with a particularly impassioned lead vocal or guitar solo, they quietly resume being just one of the boysin the band, maybe acknowledging the audience's loud cheering with just a slight smile or nod of the head.

Not that they were awkward front men. Rick Danko could easily & confidently step into the spotlight & command the entire hall with his beautiful, high tenor, that famously wracked, twisted & tortured way he had of delivering a song. That's just what he does during "Stage Fright," for example. And Robbie Robertson would occasionally allow himself a flashy, head-thrown-back flourish on his guitar.

But it was all done so modestly, almost reluctantly, as if they were saying to their audience, I've got this great lyric or passionate guitar lick that I've just got to share with you, & then I'll get back to the sidelines & let the other guys have their turn to shine. None of the five Band members ever seemed to see themselves as anything more than "just one of the guys."

During their farewell concert, those years of playing "second fiddle" to others serve The Band very well & make them come across as very gracious hosts. Though they rock hard & play amazing versions of their own songs, they're clearly enjoying themselves just as much when they're serving as the world's most famous & best backup band to their distinguished guests, singing backing vocals for Neil Young during "Helpless," or for Dr. John during "Such a Night," for instance. Clearly this was a line-up of equals, with no one ever trying to hog the spotlight.

Today's many uber-vain, desperate-for-all-the-attention-they-can-get performers--always trying to out-bling each otherin the case of lots of the guys, or reveal even more flesh than their female rivalsin the case of the gals--could learn a thing or two from their gracious elders. Emmylou Harris & Joni Mitchell never looked more beautiful--like two hippie goddesses--than they didin this movie. Yet they managed to do it while fully clothed--in a floor-length gownin Harris's case!

All this restraint was even a nice change from a lot of what was going onin rock back then. So many bands were into the preening, strutting, rockstar stuff onstage. It was all part of the fun & the image, of course. But that a band like The Band could rock out so well without resorting to all the wild costumes & histrionics was pretty amazing.

Therefore--unlike so many of the flashier, more ostentatious bands from that era--the five guysin The Band have absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about. There was none of that showboating, swaggering stuff for them. Not that they didn't love to rock out & getin a hard, often funky groove with their music. They did that just as well as (probably better than) anybody else around back then. Still, they always conducted themselves with dignity onstage. Not pomposity or aloofness, mind you. Just...dignity.

They wanted the focus to be on the music rather than them; they thought the music should speak for itself. They seemed to possess an innate sense that nothing could kill a great song like the whiff of desperationin a performance. They didn't feel a need to sell their songs, to shove them down their audience's throat, by indulgingin long-winded solos, blinding, distracting lightshows, or flashy, ridiculous costumes.

Though my recent second viewing of "The Last Waltz" made me appreciate The Band & its contributions to music more than ever, that's not to say that I didn't like their music or have any clue of their greatness before then.

Like most people my age & older, I grew up hearing Band standards like "The Weight," "Up on Cripple Creek," "Stage Fright," "Ophelia," etc. on the radio. And I've long regarded "It Makes No Difference" as one of the most beautiful, aching love songs ever written or sung. But I think I was just too young to fully appreciate their amazing virtuosity as musicians, the delightful interplay of their traded vocals & harmony singing, & connect with their musicin that deep, cosmic way back then.

This second viewing of their farewell movie was the bolt of lightning that awakened me to what I've been missing all these years.

Suddenly I realized the brilliance of songs I'd come to take for granted, songs I`d heard all my life but hadn`t really "heard," if you know what I mean. Ah, the hazards of classic rock or "oldies" stations. They can make truly great songs come to sound like mere background noise after you`ve heard them for the thousandth time.

The way Scorsese had the song "Stage Fright" lit & shot, for instance, from the perspective of the singer, Danko, all alone & illuminated on the darkened stage by a single spotlight, looking out over the huge audience. He put usin the position to really feel that stage fright, to fully understand those lyrics, "He got caughtin the spotlight." And then the beauty of these lines: "For the price that the poor boy paid, he gets to sing just like a bird." After which Danko closes his eyes & does just that, letting escape a spontaneous, exuberant "Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Beautiful!

I've heard it said that you have to see The Band live to fully appreciate them, & now I know exactly what that means. So Scorsese has given those of us who never had that good fortune the next best thing: by filming them live--and on such a glorious night as this, their farewell concert--he's left movie audiences with this great gift of being able to discover, even 30 years down the road, the immense power of The Band.

The versions of their songs that they performin this movie are like the ultimate, ideal, heightened versions. The fact that this was their big farewell concert probably had a lot to do with that. They knew they were playing these songs together for probably the last time. So they sang & played their hearts out. They gave us the best versions of these songs that we could ever hope to hear.

When Levon Helm belts out "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," you hear it fully as the weeping, wailing funeral dirge for the old South that it's meant to be. It's like the sky is crying. He is singing for every Southerner who lost a son, husband, or father, or a way of life, to that war. Thanks to the beauty & intelligence of Robertson's lyrics, Helm's (and Danko's & Manuel's backing him on the choruses) impassioned singing & playing, the regimental sound of the drums, the magnificent horn section, we get the tremendously sad sense of a world falling apart.

This is haunting, timeless music for the ages. I'm so thankful that Martin Scorsese had the talent to use this music to make a haunting, timeless movie for the ages.

Yes, The Band is long gone, & some of its members have left the stage forever. But the rock 'n' roll they & their guests created that night so long ago will never die.

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Eric Clapton? - By: K. Barnett, 30 Aug 2007
This is truly wonderful but why is this listed as Eric Clapton? Seems very strange since he plays on one song & is arguably outshone by Mr Robertson! www.strangebrewrock.co.uk