Barnes & Noble

Whether you subscribe to notion that The Last Waltz really was the last waltz -- a matches-flaming final encore for the American rock of the ‘60s -- or a farewell concert overfreighted by some fans with cultural import, there's no escaping its sheer brilliance as a film. Restored and sonically enhanced for its 25th anniversary and DVD debut, The Last Waltz is a searing musical party with soaring ambitions that rarely disappoints. At the time, director Martin Scorsese was in the middle of filming New York, New York, the much-anticipated follow-up to his one-two punch of Taxi Driver and Mean Streets. This groundbreaking concert film-cum-documentary afforded Scorsese -- who had served as an editor on Michael Wadleigh’s Woodstock -- another chance to apply his craft to nonfiction; and together with Band frontman Robbie Robertson he crafted a film of mythic proportions. The premise was simple: The Band -- roots rockers long before roots rock became a Grammy-graced movement (see Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? and its concert spinoff, Down from the Mountain) -- paid homage to significant influences and invited like-minded friends to join in. One by one, the group is joined by Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Dr. John, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, and Neil Young. A satisfying, earthy vibe simmers throughout the evening, and the re-recorded sound makes everything percolate -- it's like comparing Mr. Coffee to Starbucks. The Last Waltz Special Edition is a wonderland of special features, including previously unseen jam footage, audio commentary with Scorsese and Robertson, and a new featurette, "Revisiting The Last Waltz." It’s one of the year's best DVDs, and we're especially glad MGM pulled this one out of the time capsule and dusted it off. Greg Fagan

All Movie Guide

Martin Scorsese's documentary of the 1976 final performance of the legendary Sixties rock group The Band is at once a show featuring some of the greatest rock performers of their generation and a bittersweet look back at an era that was just beginning to fade. As Scorsese guides the group through interview segments discussing their 15 years together, these relatively young men sound like battle-weary survivors. But The Band were in splendid form for this show, and their multiple guest stars pulled out all the stops, especially Muddy Waters, whose "Mannish Boy" is so powerful it nearly burns a hole in the screen; Van Morrison, with a rousing performance of "Caravan;" and Bob Dylan, whose "Baby Let Me Follow You Down" displays the brilliant cockiness of his barnstorming days with this band. The all-star camera crew and superb stereo sound mix create what is considered to be of the best-looking and sounding rock films ever (as the opening credit says, play this movie loud!), and two studio-shot sequences with Emmylou Harris and The Staple Singers stand on their own. Mark Deming

Village Voice

[Gathers] so much talent into one theater that the stage buckles and the subject drops out of sight.

Washington Post

Still sounds powerful, vibrant, imaginative and adventurous. Richard Harrington

Chicago Sun-Times

A revealing document of a time. Roger Ebert

Product Details

• UPC: 027616150240
• Source: MGM (VIDEO & DVD)
• Region Code: A
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Editions: Subtitled
• Time: 1:57:00
• Sales Rank: 1,828

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Martin Scorsese Film Collection
• United Artists Super Deluxe Gift Set (90 films)

Features: