The Last Waltz (Special Edition)
|
List Price: Our Price: $6.48 You Save: $8.50 (57%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $5.55 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Last Waltz (Special Edition)
Movie Review: The First Waltz
Summary: 5 Stars
Great movie, I watched it and all of the extras and spent a bunch of time reading up on the band and their albums. But I still don't have an answer to the question that has been plaguing me: so many people are seen playing Fender Stratocasters in the film (Robbie Robertson, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Ron Wood), why do they picture a Fender Telecaster as the main symbol on the cover? Maybe we'll never know. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and shows The Band playing a gala "final" concert (they reformed without Robbie Robertson a few years later anyway) that marked a long break from touring and recording. The party was held in San Francisco, they served a turkey dinner since it was Thanksgiving, and they had actual waltzing. The bands played from 8:00PM to 2:30AM. While The Band can come off as a bit dull, old-worldly on the recordings, watching them is great because they all really look like they're having a great time. Levon Helm, the drummer, you get to see how he holds his drumsticks with the traditional grip, but the left-hand drumstick grip-outward. Robbie Robertson, well-known from his later career, is the only Bandmember who doesn't sing, despite the fine, raspy singing voice we all know him to possess. Garth Hudson, nutty and classical-trained, is not seen often. The editing of the film is strange, with the last number of the evening played first, interspersed with interview dialogue, and then non-concert bits, such as "The Weight" recorded with the Staples Singers (great, great, great), and "Evangeline" with Emmylou Harris (great, great, great). While the musical add-ons are fantastic, you would wonder why non-concert bits are included in a film document about a concert. Great scene with The Band, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, the Canadian music mafia, singing Young's "Helpless", a song about "a town in north Ontario." That's Ontario in Canada, not Ontario in California.Movie Review: Hard to imagine a better DVD of this film
Summary: 5 Stars
MGM really did an outstanding job with this release. The movie itself is justly celebrated as one of the greatest concert documentaries of all time. The Band is brimming with energy and they play their farewell concert, and the music sounds fantastic in the 5.1 mix. You don't even have to be a huge fan of The Band to enjoy this movie, as long as you like classic rock. There are so many guest stars that join The Band, including Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, The Staples Singers, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and many others.There are two outstanding commentary tracks on this dvd. One of them features director Martin Scorsese and Robbie Robertson (of The Band). Over the course of the film, they provide a great deal of insight into the making of the documentary. Equally valuable is the second audio commentary, which features many participants (the other surviving Band members, a few of the guest performers such as Dr. John and Mavis Staples, and several crew members, among others). Although the many participants were recorded separately, the track tightly edited with nary a dull moment. A nice touch: you can select a subtitle feature which will bring up the name of the person who is speaking while the commentary plays.
If all that weren't enough, the 20 minute featurette contains good recent interview footage with Scorsese and Robertson. And there is a 12 minute outtake which is an all-star jam session (the instrumental jam itself isn't all that exciting, but with that kind of line-up it's well worth watching). Even the Still Photo gallery had more care put into it than most dvds, with the photos divided into three sections, many featuring captions to identify what we're looking at.
The movie itself looks and sounds so good, it justifies the purchase. But the supplemental material puts this way above the 5-star level.
Movie Review: One of the best concert films.
Summary: 5 Stars
This excellent DVD gives us a remarkable version of Martin Scorsese's film. It has been color corrected by Scorsese himself, and remastered for superior sound quality.
The concert on Thanksgiving Day in 1976 was the final concert of The Band, with its original lineup. Numerous special musical guests enhanced the occasion. The Band were clearly at the top of their game that night, despite whatever personal tensions may have existed between them. Classic songs like "Up on Cripple Creek", "Stage Fright",and "They Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" are given excellent rendtions. The guest stars seem to be having a good time, with backing by The Band themselves. Ronnie Hawkins does an outstanding "Who Do You Love". Dr. John does his classic "Such A Night". Joni Mitchell performs her underrated "Coyote". A high-kickin' Van Morrison rocks the house with "Caravan". And blues legend Muddy Waters does a spectacular "Mannish Boy". In a "making of" featurette, Scorsese says Waters' perforance of this song was almost not filmed, because most of the cameras ran out of film. Fortunately, one cameraman caught the whole song, so we can have this excellent performance.
Neil Young, Eric Clapton,and Bob Dylan are just some of the other performers in this outstanding lineup. Scorsese also provides excellent behind the scenes interviews with the members of The Band.
The DVD also incudes two commentaries. One features Scorsese and Robbie Robertson, the other features Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and guests stars Hawkins and Mavis Staples. They all have good stories to tell, and serve to enhance the film quite well. A previously unseen jam, and an eight page booklet written by Robertson round out the DVD.
I highly reccomend this DVD to this classic film's many fans.
Movie Review: 100% Great!!! 4% .....
Summary: 5 Stars
.. I can't say it any better than the other reviewers said it. I remember seeing this film/concert on Showtime years ago, & it still sounds fresh every time I watch it now on this great DVD version. (And I watch it at least once a week). Here's the riff in all of this; aside from the 10 bucks each that Garth was charging the guys for music lessons, .. I thought Robbie had passed away, for the last 20 years. I had read this in a Rock Encyclopedia 20 some years ago, & believed it; & thought that rock had lost one of "the great musicians" of our time. Whether it be songwriting, or guitar playing, or producing, this man has made a significant contribution to music that is hard to rival. I don't care what Levon says .. lol .. & that is not to diminish Levons' own unique contributions. Robbie was the "guiding force" & leader of "The Band". Well, I very gladly learned that Robbie had not passed away during the Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Jackson Browne & Bob Seger .. the camera panned to a table where Bruce Springsteen & Robbie Robertson were sitting. I thought I'd seen a ghost .. "that's him, I know it is" & thankfully it was. I later learned that Richard Manuel had passed, & was incorrectly reported as Robbie. Both Richard & Rick Danko are gone now. Let's appreciate the surviving members. The Last Waltz has so many great moments; but one of my favorites is when Eric Clapton's guitar strap breaks & Robbie picks it up without missing a beat!!! "The Man" .. & the camera pans to Clapton who is smiling with gleaming approval of the performance. I thought Van Morrison gave the best guest performance as well. Great DVD!!!!Movie Review: My favorite film.
Summary: 5 Stars
There are so many good things about this film that you keep finding new parts of it to enjoy every time you watch it. First of all, there's The Band playing their own material and backing up some of the brightest lights of their time: Joni Mitchell ("Coyote"), Van Morrison ("Caravan"), Neil Diamond ("Dry Your Eyes", co-written with Robbie Robertson). There is the precious opportunity to see legendary bluesman Muddy Waters in all his glory, there's a thrilling performance of "Mystery Train" sung as a duet by Levon Helm and Paul Butterfield, with Butterfield giving a virtuoso performance on harmonica. It's a special treat to see The Band playing their own songs in their heartfelt last performance together, and to hear their stories about their past as folk rock trailblazers (in another Martin Scorcese film, "No Direction Home", Bob Dylan calls them "gallant knights" for sticking with him through his turbulent transition to electric music). This is really a magical film. The things that stand out are Levon Helm's drumming and his singing, Rick Danko's singing and his sense of humor, Garth Hudson's versatility (particularly noticeable when he plays the saxaphone), Richard Manuel's intensity, and Robbie Robertson's vision of what it all meant, as well as his one-of-a-kind songwriting and lead guitar style. Probably the best moment in the film is during the Bob Dylan set when Dylan is changing tunes but hasn't yet told The Band what's coming next, the look on the faces of Danko and Robertson as they go with the flow is instructive as to their musicianship and their sympatico relationship with their colleague Mr. Dylan.