Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

MovieHoliks I had never seen this entire film, hailed by many as one of- if not the greatest- concert film of all time; but finally got to see in it's entirety here recently off Netflix. "The Last Waltz" was a concert by that Canadian rock group the Band, held on America's Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. It was advertised as the Band's "farewell concert appearance", and the concert saw the Band joined by more than a dozen special guests, including Paul Butterfield, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Ringo Starr, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood, Neil Diamond, Bobby Charles, The Staple Singers, Eric Clapton, as well as two artists the Band was actually the back-up band for at one time- Ronnie Hawkins, and later Bob Dylan. The event was filmed by director Martin Scorsese and made into a documentary released in 1978.I read all kinds of stories about the goings-on with this concert- the clashes between front men Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson, the legal issues that came up with Dylan's appearance in the film, and all that cocaine??!! LOL Apparently Neil Young's nose was covered in it in a shot, which was later edited out of the film-??? Director Scorsese even admitted he was a cocaine addict when he shot this film. And just a heads-up: apparently this movie is now streaming on Netflix and there have been some issues with the audio during the interview scenes between the performances. I heard this may have had something to do with some legal issues, but not sure-??-and not sure if the problem has been fixed as of yet. No matter- see this for the great musical performances- a once-in-your-lifetime event!...

secondtake The Last Waltz (1978)I see this movie gets high marks by lots of viewers, and I'll say right off that I like the Band, and love most of the performers in the movie. And some of the individual performances are terrific, which live shows do not guarantee. Getting unadorned footage of Neil Young or Joni Mitchell is great, and lots of different songs by the Band itself, excellent for what it all is.But as a movie, something to sit and watch and get involved in? Not a chance. The interviews were really really boring even for someone like me prepared to be fascinated. And there is a lot of it, people sitting around talking about how really great the music was and how the concert was meant to be more than just music, but a celebration, blah blah. My god, these are adults talking! Ha...so full of themselves, and Scorsese, a great director, seems sucked into the rock star worship, too, forgetting to film it, edit it, and make it more than just another rock and roll concert film. Which is what it is.As a quick comparison, you find something similar in Jonathan Demme's "Stop Making Sense" which is better just by virtue of being more polished and devoid of silly interviews. And there's "Woodstock," which has a whole other level of historical interest. Maybe there was a feeling "The Last Waltz" was in fact an historical moment, but not really, not for anyone except, maybe, the Band. You all know who you are. If you love the music, you'll love the music. The interviews are hard to imagine liking more than once, if that, but the music is what it is. I'd recommend the CD.

tracyfigueira Back before disco, back before punk, back before MTV, music didn't suck. At least not like it does today. Youngsters who cut their teeth on Britney Spears wouldn't know a good tune if it jumped out and clubbed them on their heads. I know I sound like an old geezer, but bear with me. The Band was one of my two favorite rock 'n' roll groups of all time (the other is the Doors) and their farewell concert, staged at San Francisco's Winterland on Thanksgiving, 1976, may well have been the definitive moment of rock 'n' roll history, much more than Woodstock, Altamount, or even Elvis's first appearance on Ed Sullivan. Probably no musicians in history received as much hatred as The Band, who became a lightning rod for folk music purists who blamed them for Bob Dylan's defection. By 1976, however, the early 60s folk revival was little more than a footnote in music history. Although Dylan's set closed the show, he and The Band shared the spotlight with a veritable Who's Who of music greats: Neil Young, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Doctor John, Neil Diamond (I normally cannot stand him--I loved his set here!), Muddy Waters, and the man who gave The Band their start, rockabilly great Ronnie Hawkins (The Band started out as the Hawks). The film contains several musical highlights not part of the actual concert, which were filmed on a soundstage later (Emmylou Harris, the Staple Family). Director Martin Scorcese's backstage interviews are humorous and nostalgic but leave unsaid the friction and inner turmoil that led to The Band's break-up. This is a great film with great music. What more needs to be said?

sme_no_densetsu For their final show (circa 1976) The Band assembled an all-star cast of musicians and had Martin Scorcese film the event. The results are at times brilliant and at times tiresome.Considering that Scorcese was in the director's chair it's no surprise that the direction is better than you would normally expect for a concert film. The only exception is the Muddy Waters performance which, due to a miscommunication, was lucky to have been caught on film at all.The music of The Band (and their guests) may not be to everyone's taste but if you're a fan then you won't be disappointed, at least by The Band's performances. On the other hand, Neil Diamond is out of place, Van Morrison over-sings terribly on his own "Caravan" and some of the other performances are comparatively lackluster. The most interesting thing, for me, was discovering that Robbie Robertson is underrated as a guitarist.The documentary segments are interesting but the studio performances don't come close to matching the fervor of the live performances. The two-hour running time is a little disconcerting as well, considering that there are bound to be at least a handful of performances that you won't enjoy as much as the others. In my case, most of my favorite performances are over before the halfway point.