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The Last Waltz [Blu-ray] | ![The Last Waltz [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JFQ6SRTCL._SL500_.jpg)
| Director: Martin Scorsese
Actors: The Band, Paul Butterfield, Rick Danko, Dr. John, Emmylou Harris
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: CDN$ 39.90
Buy New: CDN$ 25.94
You Save: CDN$ 13.96 (35%)
New (13) Used (3) from CDN$ 21.21
Rating:  116 reviews
Sales Rank: 8465
Format: Ac-3, Dolby, Ntsc, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), Chinese (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Korean (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Media: Blu-ray
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: MGMBR15024
UPC: 027616150240
EAN: 0027616150240
ASIN: B000EZ7ZZ4
Theatrical Release Date: 1978
Release Date: May 23, 2006
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new Item, factory Sealed. Buy direct from the U.S. and save! We only ship airmail to Canada (7-15 days).Caiman, les prix qu'on aime! Tous nos produits sont neufs. Envoi par avion des Etats-Unis
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.ca Canadian Essential
Universally acclaimed as one of the great concert films, IThe Last Waltz/I, Martin Scorsese's gorgeous account of the Band's star-studded 1976 farewell concert feels at times like a Canadian musical reunion, as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young join the Band in their celebration of a long life on the North American road. The movie captures some of the tensions between Hollywood-ready Robbie Robertson and his more inward bandmates, but its true glory is in the concert's camaraderie and good-natured one-upmanship, which drives great performances by Mitchell, Muddy Waters, the Staples Singers, and, best of all, Van Morrison's riveting "Caravan."
From Amazon.com
Martin Scorsese's 1978 capsule history of the Band is mixed with footage of the group's allegedly last performance (certainly their last performance as a quintet) in this particularly stylish concert film. Scorsese shoots the players and their sundry guests with the same flair and enthusiasm one can see in the later iThe Color of Money/i or iGoodfellas/i. He also proves a good interviewer with Band members, particularly Robbie Robertson, whose sleepy-sexy good looks make a star-caliber impression in close-up. But the film's real hook is the stage show, which features a rotation of rock legends (Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Paul Butterfield, Bob Dylan, and so on) playing with the Band before a wildly appreciative audience. i--Tom Keogh/i
Additional Features
For its 25th anniversary, IThe Last Waltz/I received a meticulous color-corrected new film transfer approved by director Martin Scorsese and a new digital 5.1 surround audio mix supervised by producer Robbie Robertson, better known as the Band's chief songwriter and guitarist. The DVD adds a crisp anamorphic digital transfer and a clutch of additional features that represent satisfying enhancements to this superb concert documentary. Two full-length audio commentaries tacitly acknowledge the schisms within the surviving membership of the Band: on the first, Scorsese and Robertson deconstruct the film and its production, while the second taps Band drummer Levon Helm and organist Garth Hudson, along with erstwhile mentor Ronnie Hawkins, pop gospel veteran Mavis Staples, and various crew members. A featurette offers new interviews with Robertson and Scorsese, and fans will relish extended "jam footage" of previously unreleased performances by members of the Band, Dr. John, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Paul Butterfield, Ron Wood, Stephen Stills, and Neil Young, although the footage itself never approaches the passion or coherence of the film's best songs. DVD enthusiasts disappointed at the lack of more audio bonuses should pick up the companion restoration of the movie's soundtrack, expanded to four CDs to contain a wealth of previously unreleased performances from the historic 1976 concert. I--Sam Sutherland/I
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| Customer Reviews: Read 111 more reviews...
 A feast for the eyes, ears, mind, body and soul August 21, 2007
David T. Mathias (Red Deer, Alberta Canada)
Buy this DVD...turn off the 'phone...put it on and let the most extraordinary rock concert ever filmed wash over you. The Band were extraordinary enough: a back-up group for such illuminati as Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan. A "back-up band" that became legends on their own. This concert which was filmed by the legendary Martin Scorsese is simply wonderful. The songs are great and then the list of guest artists is stunning! Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Dr. John, Bob Dylan...the list is endless and that's what makes this for me: the delectable and unpredictable extravagance of the guest artists that seamlessly make music with this timeless group. Buy this, and buy one for a friend. Buy one and give it to someone you don't know...yes...it IS that good.
4 Canadians and 1 American set the stage on fire!!!!!!!!!!!! February 1, 2007
Stephen Bieth (Mississauga/ Canada)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is an amazing Concert by a group of amazing people. The sound and energy of this show is flaw less. Everyone is playing at the top of their game. The band is playing tight and singing like it's that last show the would ever do(and it is). Most Rock and Film Critics say this is the best concert film ever made. It was shot 36 mm film (a first at the time) so it looks great. John Simon recorded the show (he also produced "Big Pink" and "The Band" CD's) so he has the sound down. Levon's Voice on "Up On Cripple Creek" will give you goose bumps. As is Rick Danko's version of "It Makes No Difference ". Outside of the band's own songs there is also classics from Neil Young (Helpless), Bob Dylan (Forever Young ), Dr.John (Such a Night), Eric Clapton (Further on Up the Road ), Joni Mitchell ( Coyote ), Muddy Waters (Mannish Boy) plus many many more. br / If this show dosen't move you check to see if you have a pulse.
 Presentation overshadows music July 7, 2004
K. Gittins (CA USA)
2 out of 15 found this review helpful
I must say I'm not a huge fan of The Band, but I like Before the Flood. However, I was amazed at how poorly The Band played, and sang even worse, in this, their farewell concert. It is hard to believe they had played together for 17 years.pEven the guests, such as Bob Dylan, seemed to use their worst voice. Only Eric Clapton was really any good, though Van Morrison was acceptable. Otherwise, fairly embarrassing musical performances. At the end, *everybody* is onstage singing I Shall Be Released - killing an otherwise nice song.pObviously Scorsese got all the good film people and photographers to work on the project, and it was well done. So well done that the presentation outshines the music.pThere are some nice extras, including multiple commentaries. Hard to recommend it unless you are truly a Band fan.
 Not bad for a fiver June 4, 2004
0 out of 6 found this review helpful
I got this DVD at my brother's recommendation for a fiver in Heathrow Airport, and it was good value at that. Good American music and a very well shot concert movie (well, it is Scorsese!) The interview sequences are intersting and as a Chaucer fan I delighted at the intro to the Canterbury Tales being read out. I was unfamiliar with the group's music before seeing this, and whilst they aren't a patch on Creedence Clearwater Revival I still admire their music. An interesting insight to a little segment of rock history.
when the best rock band and movie director collide ... April 2, 2004
Raul (Spain)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
It's a worn-out formula nowadays. Bob Dylan did it, Chuck Berry did it, and Luciano Pavarotti does it all the time. They also do it every time somebody dies, and in this case you don't even have to be a musician. Yeah, I'm talking about that dreary event, the celebration concert with guest musician buddies. But there are exceptions to the rule, and this is definitely the case here. pTo celebrate that they were quitting the 'god---n impossible' life on the road after 16 years, The Band gave a farewell concert in San Francisco, on Thanksgiving Day, 1976. To join them, they invited artists who represented the rich and varied array of styles that went into their musical melting pot: Rock'n' Roll, Blues, Folk, New Orleans R'n'B, Country, Gospel, Rockabilly ... who would sing their own numbers backed up by them. They, noblesse oblige, brought in their first mentor, Ronnie Hawkings, a man who sure knows how to entice a teenager into joining a rock'n'roll band, and Bob Dylan, of course, (who had just released Blood on the Tracks and Desire), Joni Mitchell (The Hissing of Summer Lawns and Hejira her most recent albums), Neil Young (Tonight's the Night and Zuma were his latest solo efforts), Muddy Waters (who would release Hard Again, his best late day work the following year), and many, many more I have no space here to mention. All top-notch and in their musical prime. Well, and Neil Diamond. pThe result was a concert that can only be described as dazzling and magical. The Band do ecstatic versions of some of their best songs and the guest appereances are also amazing, Van Morrison does what's probably the best version ever of Caravan, Muddy Waters proves why he is the M-A-N, chile, The Staple Singers send a shiver up your spine that can rend you comatose for life, and Robbie Robertson and Eric Clapton bring the house down with their scorching six-strings and then they burn the ruins to ashes. All this just to quote a few. But I have a minor complaint here, the movie only features one song (The Shape I'm in) sung by Richard Manuel, one of the most soulful and moving singers that ever walked the face of the earth. This gives the newcomer a somewhat off-balanced account of how vocal duties were shared in The Band, as one can deduct that Levon Helm sang almost everything with a little help from his friends Rick and Richard. And Levon is darn good, but Richard is the shhh ....sheer top of the heap.pCasting these trifles aside, the movie is a masterpiece. Direcrted by a Martin Scorsese in a state of grace (those were the days of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull), and beautifully darkly photographed by Michael Chapman (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull), Michael W. Watkins (later X-Files direcror and producer), and Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Deer Hunter, Heaven's Gate), this was to be more than your average rock concert documentary.pThe filmmakers were set on an ambitious goal, to show what it is and what does it feel to play great music. And they achieved it in such a way that we mere mortals get to feel what it is to be up there on the stage, enraptured, playing that great music to an enthusiastic and receptive crowd. The featurette that is one of the DVD bonus add-ons shows how Scorsese had these sheets of paper with the lyrics of each song to be played written down in one column, the main moments of each performance in another (when a singer would join in the chorus, or the guitar solo was to begin, or a special part of the lyric would be sung, etc), and the camera shots and movements for each moment in a third column. This is called making the best of the means of your art instead of just doing anything that would do, and it shows on the screen in a way that leaves you breathless. Watching Scorsese frantically directing the movie like a tightrope walker with no net to fall down on must've been worth another documentary. They had only one take for everything, mind that, and I guess that's what might have attracted such a brave and audacious director as Scorsese: Jumping into the unstopping swirling midst of life and trying to extract art out of it with just spotlights and cameras. Souns enticing, isnt't it? And for no money nor any promises of getting more you-know-what than Frank Sinatra.
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