Starring The Band, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, and Van Morrison
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Music and Lyrics by various
Let's celebrate Thanksgiving week with two very different rock movies from the 60's and 70's that were filmed or set during the holiday. The Last Waltz was supposedly going to be the final concert of Canadian-American rock group The Band in 1976, who had been touring for sixteen years. They invited many guest stars who were huge in the world of rock or folk music and even had Scorsese film the event. Scorsese took a different approach to making a concert documentary, starting with doing it on less grainy 35 millimeter stock instead of cheaper 16 millimeter. What else makes this stand out? Let's begin with a card telling us that this film should be played loud and see...
The Story: We get to know the members of the Band - drummer Levon Helm, saxophonist and pianist Richard Manuel, bassist Rick Danko, and guitarist Robbie Robertson - and their long career on the road and the artists who influenced them via a series of interviews. There's also segments in the studio where we hear them recording some of their best-known hits. They tell him how they got together, wild memories of their time touring, and why they want to make changes.
The Song and Dance: Wow. How's this for a concert line-up? In addition to the Band, special guests include Mitchell, Neil Young, Waters, Bob Dylan, Paul Butterfield of the Butterfield Blues Band, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Van Morrison, and Dr. John, with Ringo Starr of The Beatles and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones visible in the finale. Each and every one gets a chance to shine or a really good song or story, including the Band themselves. The movie even looks spectacular. It being shot on good 35 millimeter stock assures that every last drop of sweat and finger flying over guitar strings look as clear as the day it debuted. Scorsese's nervous energy even brings out the most in the interviews, making Robinson sound hilarious and bringing out some great stories.
The Numbers: We open with the Band's song that closed the actual concert, the rockin' "Don't Do It." The studio version of the instrumental title song is heard over the credits while ghostly dancers do an actual waltz. After the first interview segment, the Band returns to give us blistering versions of "Up In Cripple Creek" and "The Shape I'm In." Ronnie Hawkins comes out for the Bo Diddley favorite "Who Do You Love?" The Band follow this with their own "It Makes No Difference."
After a reading of the introduction to The Canterbury Tales by Micheal McClure, Dr. John comes on for "Such a Night." Neil Young gets the ballad "Helpless." He's not quite helpless, as we see a woman in silhouette providing the background singing. The lady turns out to be folk songstress Joni Mitchell, keeping out of sight to not take away from her own performance later. The Band returns with "Stage Fright" and a studio recording of "The Weight," the latter with lively black singing group The Staples Singers. We return to the stage for their own "The Night They Drove Dixie Down," best known as one of Joan Baez' biggest hits.
Neil Diamond is on next, but though he has one of his better songs, "Dry Your Eyes," his leisure suit and soft-rock sound seems out-of-place with the folk and hard rock tunes and less formal musicians around him. Mitchell comes across much better with her own "Coyote." Paul Butterfield picks up the pace with his rollicking "Mystery Train." They almost didn't film Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy." It's a fluke that one cameraman happened to catch it...and thank goodness he did! They would have missed one of the best performances in the entire show, with Waters really throwing himself into the blues number. Eric Clapton is nearly as into his performance of the early blues hit "Further On Up the Road."
Beautiful country-rock star Emmylou Harris joins the band for a studio version of the ballad "Evangeline" that's as pretty as she is. The Band takes over with their "Ophelia" and "Chest Fever." Van Morrison's dynamic "Caravan" is definitely a highlight of the second half. After poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti recites a "Loud Prayer," we finally get Bob Dylan, who doesn't disappoint with intense performances of "Forever Young" and "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" that were worth all the last-minute haggling. The last concert number, Dylan's "I Shall Be Released," brings back all the singers from the actual concert, with Ringo Starr and Ronnie Wood visible in the background. The movie ends with a reprise of the title song, this time done by the band in the studio.
What I Don't Like: First of all, the other band members were right that the film might focus on Robertson just a wee bit too much. He was the one who was friends with Scorsese, but I would have liked to have heard more from the others, too. Second, I'm glad they didn't film the rest of the poets whose recitations apparently took up a good chunk of the original concert. The two they do include really slow things down. And naturally, if you're not a fan of any of the artists seen here or the Band's brand of folk-hard rock, you won't be into this.
The Big Finale: One of the best concerts ever filmed, and one of the best concert movies ever created. Fans of the Band, any of the artists in question, or of folk, country, or hard rock in general owe it to themselves to see this one.
Home Media: Easily found on all formats, often for under $10. Tubi currently has it for free with commercials.
No comments:
Post a Comment