Rating: 
Summary: A CELEBRATION!
Review: The Last Waltz is a wonderful celebratory film about a truly unique band, The Band. It is a joy to watch The Band perform all of their greatest songs, with the help of some equally amazing friends such as: Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, The Staples, Emmylou Harris, Van Morrison (just to name a few). But some of the best moments of the film happen off stage when Scorese sits down and talks with all of the members of the band. It is these moments that give insight into who Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko, and Richard Manuel really are. Those moments are priceless. I highly recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of rock 'n' roll.
Rating:
Summary: Play it loud and sit back-outstanding
Review: This is a once in a lifetime video which you will watch over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: Invigorating- A film that will keep aesthetics alive
Review: "It makes no difference" what facet of life you stroll upon. From an investment banker to a guitar slinger, this video awakens every sense of life and vision in its viewers. The film captures the pulchritude of a diminishing generation, encapsulating the aesthetic pleasures once revered by Amercan society. From mesmorizing Clapton jams to informal folk riffs, the Band delineates a simple life made rich by the love of "hitting your thumb with a hammer" and taking it home with some old friends. The musical marksmanship is enough to make this film great, but the epic story of this bands strive for survival is what truly invigorates the viewer.
Rating:
Summary: one of the finest moments in rock history
Review: On Thanksgiving day 1976, the world of music experienced one of its finest hours. The Band performed its last show. Movie director, Martin Scorsese did a fine job directing this movie. There is just enough time filled with interviews as there are time spent with The Band on stage. The cast of this movie include some of the greatest contributers to rock and roll that have ever lived. This is a fine performance, I'm sure that you will all enjoy this event. This is not the type of movie that you watch only once, for example, I watch clips at least once a week in order to remind myself of the passion behind why we make music.
Rating:
Summary: The end of an era, captured beutifully!
Review: To paraphrase a song by The Band. "A hippie's dream..if I ever did see one". Filmed in 1976, The Last Waltz captures the end of an era beautifully. The lighting has a dream-like quality to it. I guess if our generation died and went to heaven, this would be the closest thing. It centers around The Band and their magnificent musicians (Robertson, Danko, Helm, Manuel and Hudson) plus great performances by Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, the great Muddy Waters, Neil Young, Dr. John, Emmylou Harris and more! The DVD also includes audio commentaries, behind the scenes features and great digital audio. After 1976, we were bombarded with disco, new wave, and punk leading us into the techno 80's. This film represents the music of the post-hippy late 60's and early 70's best. It is intelligent rock music performed by my some of the greatest names in rock history. This is one of the finest music films ever made. It comes across more like a movie than a concert and offers us a greater depth of understanding behind the personalities that dominated and influenced music during that period. Outstanding!
Rating: 
Summary: Presentation overshadows music
Review: I must say I'm not a huge fan of The Band, but I like "Before the Flood". However, I was amazed at how poorly The Band played, and sang even worse, in this, their farewell concert. It is hard to believe they had played together for 17 years.Even the guests, such as Bob Dylan, seemed to use their worst voice. Only Eric Clapton was really any good, though Van Morrison was acceptable. Otherwise, fairly embarrassing musical performances. At the end, *everybody* is onstage singing "I Shall Be Released" - killing an otherwise nice song. Obviously Scorsese got all the good film people and photographers to work on the project, and it was well done. So well done that the presentation outshines the music. There are some nice extras, including multiple commentaries. Hard to recommend it unless you are truly a Band fan.
Rating:
Summary: This you're a fan of "The Band" this is a MUST HAVE!
Review: Even though this was produced in '78, the quality of the audio and video production is some of the best I've ever seen for concert footage. Additionally, the audio commentary is not the typical BORING babble you get with other DVD's like you normally see.
The concert footage is All live, and there is a whole bunch of footage of the band members just sitting around the kitchen table drinking wine and telling stories about their past experiences as a band on and off stage.
This is a "last preformance" concert and a "who's-who" of musicians like I've NEVER seen! (see link "see more" under product details to see a list of all (or most) of the guest musicians.
Anyway, buy this and you will NOT be sorry!
Rating:
Summary: Joann Dietenbeck - Lover of The Last Waltz and artists
Review: My husband and I were in Cancun, Mexico for Christmas and about the middle of a channel we flipped on was the movie The Last Waltz. It was so good we couldn't believe. We are in our golden years, so this absolutely meant the world to us. At the end I wrote down the recording artist, etc. on a water holder and as soon as we got back I ordered it and we listen to it twice a day and I have set myself a dancin class for me and my
husband and we can't get enough of it. We love all of it, songs, artists, some of it is sad, but we have never even loved any one piece of music as we love this. I have a double yellow headed amazon parrot and she dances right along with us and we just love it. It has brought a lot of joy into our household and the singers and guitar players, Levin Helms on the percussion and all of Neil Young on the harp and the entire bunch. We cannot say enough good things about it. We would highly recommend it to anyone that loves music. Thank you
Rating:
Summary: Best Music DVD Until Proven Otherwise
Review: The best music DVD out there ,still . Includes probably the best versions of some of the greatest songs ever recorded. Among them : Helpless - Neil Young , Further On Up the Road - Eric Clapton , Caravan - Van Morrison , It Makes No Difference - Rick Danko , The Weight - The Band with The Staples , The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down - Levon Helm , Mystery Train - Paul Butterfield , Such A Night - Dr. John , Ophelia ...
Would like to hear more of The Band ( Some great songs are missing ) but I guess when you are spoiled by the performances listed above , you look for more of the same .
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest rock and roll movies ever made
Review: The Band's legendary concert film The Last Waltz was originally released in April of 1978.
To celebrate that the Canadian-American band called The Band were retiring from the `god---n impossible' life on the road after 16 years, The Band gave their farewell concert at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom on Thanksgiving Day, 1976.
To join them, they invited artists as diverse from The Staples Singers to Eric Clapton to Joni Mitchell to Dr. John to Muddy Waters and Neil Diamond(whom Band guitarist Robbie Robertson had produced his comeback Platinum effort Beautiful Noise released earlier in 1976) to celebrate everything from rock to country to bluegrass to jazz to blues.
The result was a concert that can only be described as dazzling and magical. The Band do ecstatic versions of some of their best songs like Up On Cripple Creek, Don't Do It, Stagefright, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down as examples and the guest artists are amazing. Van Morrison did the best version ever of Caravan, Muddy Waters proves why he is the M-A-N chile with his classic number Mannish Boy which was done by The Who as I'm a Man on the British version of My Generation in 1965. The Staple Singers send a shiver up your spine that can rend you comatose for life with their excellent duet with The Band on The Weight. Robbie Robertson and Eric Clapton bring the house down with their scorching six-string duel on Further On Up the Road. All this just to quote a few.
Direcrted by Martin Scorsese (the same man who directed Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas and Casino), this was more than your average rock concert documentary, it is a celebration of rock's history.
For years I thought The Band were boring but this film has made me a convert and were a superb live band.
The extra footage on of the DVD shows how Scorsese and Robertson discussing the creation of this movie.
I know some paint Robbie as the bad guy but he was right to walk away when he did because life on the road would take Richard Manuel's life tragically in 1986 and Rick Danko passed away in 1999 and Robbie Robertson shied away from rock and roll for a decade after The Lazt Waltz before returning to rock and roll with his first solo album in 1987 whilst Levon Helm and company carried on without the musical soul of the group.
The Last Waltz is HUGELY RECOMMENDED!
|
