#1118: SCORSESE, Martin: The Last Waltz (1978)

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SCORSESE, Martin (United States)
The Last Waltz [1978]
Spine #1118
Blu-ray


More than just one of the greatest concert films ever made, The Last Waltz is an at once ecstatic and elegiac summation of a vital era in American rock music. Invited to document the farewell performance of the legendary group the Band at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom on Thanksgiving, 1976, Martin Scorsese conceived a new kind of music documentary. Enlisting seven camera operators (including renowned cinematographers Vilmos Zsigmond, László Kovács, and Michael Chapman) and art director Boris Leven to design the strikingly theatrical sets, Scorsese created a grandly immersive experience that brings viewers onstage and inside the music itself. That music—as performed by the Band and a host of other generation-defining artists, including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, the Staple Singers, Muddy Waters, and Neil Young—lives on as an almost religious expression of the transcendent possibilities of rock and roll.

117 minutes
Color
5.1 Surround
1:85:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2022

Director/Writers

The Film

a

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by critic Amanda Petrusich.

Two audio commentaries

Featuring Scorsese; members of the Band; members of the production crew; and performers Dr. John, Ronnie Hawkins, and Mavis Staples.

Interview 1

With Scorsese, conducted by critic David Fear.

Documentary

From 2002 about the making of the film.

Outtake

Interview 2

From 1978 with Scorsese and Robertson.

Trailer and TV spot

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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