Last Waltz (Blu-ray) (1978)

"...one of the best films ever made, period.  Chuck Rudolph, Matinee Magazine
"...will make you want to sing and dance.  Jeffrey M. Anderson, San Francisco Examiner
"An elegant toast to the glories of American rock 'n' roll.  Los Angeles Times
"The finest of all rock movies!  NewsWeek
"Still matters and still moves...  Robert Wilonsky, New Times

Editor's Note In what just might be the finest rock & roll concert film ever, THE LAST WALTZ celebrates the final performance by the Band (Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, Levon Helm, and Garth Hudson). The show took place on Thanksgiving Day in 1976, at San Francisco's Winterland Arena--where the group had played their very first show more than 16 years before. In order to make their farewell even more unforgettable, they recruited numerous guests to join them onstage, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Hawkins, Paul Butterfield, Emmylou Harris, Neil Diamond, the Staple Singers, Dr. John, Ringo Starr, Ron Wood, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Martin Scorsese, a former roommate of Robbie Robertson's, employs some of the world's greatest cinematographers--including Michael Chapman, Vilmos Zsigmond, and Laszlo Kovacs--to film the set in a way that captures the show's sweat and energy with a powerful intimacy. Interspersed into the songs are a series of interviews with the Band's members, who recall their early days playing for empty bars and their emergence as major players in the rock & roll game. THE LAST WALTZ is a thrilling concert film, mandatory viewing even for those unfamiliar with the Band or rock music in general.

	Bob Dylan - Featuring
	Boris Leven - Production Designer
	Emmylou Harris - Featuring
	Eric Clapton - Featuring
	Jan Roblee - Editor
	Jonathan T. Taplin - Executive Producer
	Joni Mitchell - Featuring
	Martin Scorsese - Director
	Michael Chapman - Cinematographer
	Muddy Waters - Featuring
	Neil Diamond - Featuring
	Neil Young - Featuring
	Paul Butterfield - Featuring
	Ringo Starr - Featuring
	Robbie Robertson - Producer
	Ron Wood - Featuring
	The Band - Featuring
	Van Morrison - Featuring
	Yeu-Bun Yee - Editor

Martin Scorsese's stunning THE LAST WALTZ captures the Band's historic farewell performance in San Francisco on Thanksgiving Day, 1976, and features many revealing interviews with members of the legendary group. Among the many titles included are "The Weight," "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," "Helpless," and "I Shall be Released." Featuring some of rock & roll's most revered figures--including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell--THE LAST WALTZ is unquestionably one of the greatest concert films ever. Variety
"...An outstanding rock documentary....The film is a series of highlights....Tight and exciting...It fits together beautifully..." 04/12/1978

New York Times
"...A dazzling array of talent on display here..." 04/26/1978 p.C15

Chicago Sun-Times
"...A revealing document..." 04/29/2002 p.36

USA Today
"...The first rock-concert film shot in 35mm....It's a RAGING BULL knockout job supervised by Scorsese and Band guitarist Robbie Robertson..." 05/10/2002 p.16D

Entertainment Weekly
"...Some of the best musical performances ever caught on film..." 05/10/2002 p.56

Rolling Stone
"...The film boasts kinetic, crisply lighted camerawork and foot-of-the-stage sound..." 11/27/2003 p.78

Total Film
5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he gig is alive and momentous....The Band live up to their myth in Scorese's scorching testament." 01/01/2012

Sight and Sound
4 stars out of 5 -- "It's worth seeing in a cinema, partly because Scorsese took uncommon care over little things like camera placement and content, but also because they really crank the volume." 01/01/2012

Eye Weekly 10 of 10
The Last Waltz remains an unusually dignified portrait of rock excess. Since its release in 1978, Martin Scorsese's documentary of the Band's star-studded "farewell" show in 1976 -- it reformed in the '80s, minus guitarist Robbie Robertson -- has been widely imitated by other concert films. Yet its most striking quality is its sense of restraint. The manic editing of most rock movies since Woodstock is largely absent. Simply put, Scorsese knew that when he had one camera on Muddy Waters belting out "Mannish Boy," there was no point to cutting away to a shot of an usher just for the sake of variety...Intercut with the concert footage are interview segments in which the nervy Scorsese tries to pal around with the infinitely cooler Band members -- the director's awe for his friend Robertson, who later created soundtracks for The Color of Money and Casino, is still very amusing. - Jason Anderson

Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
The rock documentary was filmed by Martin Scorsese at a farewell concert given on Thanksgiving Day 1976 by The Band, which had been performing since 1960, in recent years as the backup band for Bob Dylan. Now the film is back in a 25th anniversary restoration. "Sixteen years on the road is long enough," says Robbie Robertson, the group's leader. "Twenty years is unthinkable." There is a weight and gravity in his words that suggests he seriously doubts if he could survive four more years...In "The Last Waltz," we have musicians who seem to have bad memories. Who are hanging on. Scorsese's direction is mostly limited to closeups and medium shots of performances; he ignores the audience. The movie was made at the end of a difficult period in his own life, and at a particularly hard time (the filming coincided with his work on "New York, New York"). This is not a record of serene men, filled with nostalgia, happy to be among friends. - Roger Ebert