Considered by many to be the greatest rock film of all time, The Last Waltz is the last word on the Band’s final concert that took place on Thanksgiving Day of 1976. In 1978, it graced the silver screen and sent shivers through every last soul who wondered into the movie theater. Director Martin Scorcese made The Last Waltz like his other feature films — storyboarding each sequence and employing high-caliber cinematographers who were able to give the event its theatrical feel. San Francisco’s Winterland arena became an enclave to Scorcese’s vision, a “decayed elegance” bedecked with huge spotlights and opera house drapes and chandeliers. At its heart was the strange concoction of blues, Ragtime, country, folk and rock — served without pretense by the members of the Band — making each and every frame a gripping and memorable image in time. Twenty-two years later, the film has been restored, rolled through the theaters, and released on DVD. In the end, The Last Waltz is still one of the classiest rock and roll affairs ever committed to celluloid.
The Last Waltz was first and foremost an all-star event. The eclectic mix of guests included former Band employer Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield and poets Michael McClure and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The first one on stage with the Band was Ronnie Hawkins, the burly rockabilly singer who brought guitarist Robbie Robertson, keyboardist Garth Hudson, bassist Rick Danko, pianist Richard Manuel, and drummer Levon Helm together for the first time in Canada as his backing band the Hawks. Then, just when the concert was winding down, Ringo Starr, Ron Wood, Stephen Stills, and a slew of other musicians joined the gathering for a stirring encore of Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released.” In between songs, Scorcese interviewed the Band, each member regaling the filmmaker with tales of their traversing and bountiful career.
Robertson and his lethargic mannerisms suavely bore the brunt of a leader whose own ambitions were obviously being held at bay by the grind of the road. Over the years, Robertson went to great lengths to restore and re-release The Last Waltz on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. He included audio commentaries, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and additional unseen footage. Through it all, the film retains its magical quality. When the Band is joined by the Staple Singers for “The Weight” or Emmylou Harris for the haunting “Evengeline” — it seems like music as an artistic language just can’t get any more emotional. The same holds true during the opening and closing sequences of the Band on a quiet stage, each on a different instrument and still sounding as effervescent as ever while playing the film’s theme. While bitter feuding and the passing of Danko, Manuel, and Helm have all but extinguished the possibility of a Band reunion, Robertson continued to engross in the depth and conviction the group embodied until he passed away at the ripe age of 80 on August 9, 2023.
~ Shawn Perry
