On Thanksgiving Day in 1976, San Francisco’s Winterland hosted one of the greatest rock concerts of all time. After playing and touring for 16 years, the country-inspired jam group The Band decided to retire. They went out like a lion, with a massive concert that lasted for five hours and featured some of the greatest rock luminaries to ever grace the stage.
Lucky for us, a young and immensely talented filmmaker named Martin Scorsese was on hand to film a documentary about the final concert. He would edit performance clips, practices, and backstage interviews into a brilliant film called “The Last Waltz.” At the farewell concert, “friends” of The Band, such as Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Neil Young and Ringo Starr, came to say goodbye with music.
Scorsese captured everything on film with perfect grace in stunningly intimate concert footage that transports you right on stage with every song. Scorsese had just completed his gritty film “Taxi Driver” when he worked on “The Last Waltz,” and he would follow the rockumentary with his dark masterpiece “Raging Bull.”
Scorsese, director of photography Michael Chapman, and seven cameramen captured The Band’s final show to make the first ever 35mm feature-length concert documentary.
In the days leading up to the concert, Scorsese created a 300-page shooting script that choreographed every camera movement to every lyric. But being the skilled director that he is, Scorsese also adapted to the unexpected and caught unplanned moments on film.
Even though the concert is efficiently planned and executed, Scorsese allows us to experience a handful of surprises. During one song, where Eric Clapton is onstage playing along, his guitar strap breaks mid-solo. The Band’s tragically underrated lead guitarist, Robbie Robertson, picks up exactly where Clapton left off. This little act of guitar bravado leads to a good-spirited solo battle between the two musicians that is an auditory treat at the very least. Robertson never achieved the name recognition that Clapton has, but he is every bit as skilled on the instrument.
“The Last Waltz” has often been called “the greatest rock documentary ever made,” and it’s hard to argue with that assessment. Seamlessly flowing between onstage and off, the riveting music performances are bookended by The Band’s hilarious and tragic stories of being on the road and playing music for a decade and a half.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the movie’s release, and to celebrate the occasion, MGM, Warner Brothers and United Artists are teaming up to re-release the film along with a special-edition DVD and a four-CD box set of the concert.
All of the sound has been digitally remastered in a massive project overseen personally by Scorsese and Robertson.
The result is spectacular. Scorsese’s film has been touched up, and the clean print looks almost brand-new. The sound is rich enough to transport you to Winterland as if you are standing onstage watching the whole thing unfurl.
There is nothing comparable to hearing The Band’s music in the rich theater surround sound.
The group was masterful at creating simple, hooky melodies that fill the room with sound. All their years on the road together clearly paid off, as is evidenced by their perfect harmonies and tight musicianship.
This re-release is an amazing theatrical experience that should not be missed. It serves up a healthy dose of nostalgia to moviegoers and music-lovers of a time when everything wasn’t digital and commercial, but rather all about the love of music.
“The Last Waltz” will only play for a short time; don’t miss your chance to hear it, see it, and experience it.
