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!...
"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!...