Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Yes, this is the greatest rock concert film of all time!
Martin Scorsese, the one director who can make film sing, captures The Band's farewell concert as a celebration of musical passion of religious zealotry perfectly wedded with expert craftsmanship. Coming along for the ride are some of the finest musicians of the 20th Century: Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young among others. Scorsese's camera soars, tracks, and dances around his subjects, bringing them off the stage and into your consciousness. The Band members themselves prove to be insightful, honest if rather surely as interview subjects. They do provide many amusing anecdotes about both the creative process and their direct participation in the rich history of American music. As the opening titles insist: This film should be played loud. When done so, The Last Waltz will literally set your feet to tapping and your soul to flying. Many many of my gray days have hit the road in the wake of watching this film. If you are a fan of great music, don't miss this one.
Rating:  - Good...not GREAT
Let's get something straight. The Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock movies are far superior concert films. This "greatest concert film of all time" hype was cooked up by the producers of this film and critics, the same bunch who are complicitus in fanning Michael Jackson's ego as the self-proclaimed "King of Pop".There are three great moments in the film:
1)Neil Young
2)Van Morrison
3)The Band singing "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" The rest of the film is a little too reverential for a band that had only two classic albums. For guys in their thirties, the band move and talk like weary seventy year olds. If they were so tired of "the road", why did they continue performing right after this film was made. Get a real job like everyone else! The symphony additions and the cheesy trappings of the "Last Waltz" set up is a little too stuffy for a great bar band.
Rating: - A testament on how corporations have destroyed music
Here is a concert that took place over 20 years ago and the music is fresh and enjoyable as if was when it was new. Even more important here is a group of musicians who were on the road for years, working clubs and bars that had a chance to become a success due to their musical ability not what company they were with. Not one person in this concert could become a success today. Imagine any member of The Band, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and any of the other players, on this special night, trying to make it in the business today. These people were not placed together to saturate a demographic. They were not assembled for a particular look to please the 12 to 15 year old female audiences. They were not a promotion by a record company or radio conglomerate to build up a profit base in a particular section of the country who haven't been buying enough records of a particular type in the last three months. These are a bunch of guys who got together to play music, get laid and party and are thrilled that you could come along for the ride. This is a look back on what was going on before music was a global business that completely controlled what was to be deemed talent.
I didn't mean to use the context of a movie review to spout off about what is going on today in the music business but the whole time I was watching I was plagued with the idea that the future generations would not have a Bob Dylan or Robbie Robertson to take inspiration from. Can the Backstreet Boys inspire you with their musical ability or Britney Spears, who can't even perform live, make you want to learn an instrument? I'm sure that there are many new talents, Alicia Keys and Creed come to mind, (both of whom were rejected by every major label) out there but will they get the exposure to effect the future as these people did; only time will tell.
This DVD release came out when there is a `revival' of the older 70's and 80's bands so it is actually timely. The reason of course for this revival of `oldies' is because there is so little in the way of creative music going on now and the copyrights have run out on the songs so for the most part the cooperations rake in all or most of the revenues from these greatest hits copulations.
The movie itself was a great mixture of interviews and the concert itself. The interviews were some single and some group but all very short glimpses into the character of each of these persons as part of the band. There were two songs that were done in the studio that really emphasized the roots that this music came from, Gospel (Staples) and Country (Harris) but both of these went with the flow. This is a concert of `imperfect' music with a sound from ordinary folks playing songs that most anybody with some guitar training could master quickly. This was an affirmation that this band, as a total, was certainly greater that each of its parts. A great way to spend an evening with a six-pack, a pizza and your system turned up loud.
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