The Last Waltz [Blu-ray]

The Last Waltz [Blu-ray] Review

.99? Are you kidding me? How much closer to getting it for FREE do you need it to be? Actually, IMHO, this DVD should be given away for free...to every 12 year old kid entering Junior High School. Day 1 at School "hello class, for your first assignment you are required to watch Martin Scorcese/The Band's "Last Waltz" "basically by doing so you will learn more about music, film making, interpersonel relationships and man's psychological struggles... than you will in anything else you do here in your next 6 years....all in 120 minutes".

I have seen this sooo many times since I went to see it at the Theater as a 12 year old when it first came out. Every time I watch it I get something new out of it, something subtle that I originally missed. This is unquestionably the greatest Rock and Roll movie ever made. The whole thing is a wonder to be seen, phenomenal. The interviews are classic and telling, not so much in words but in emotions, body language and silence. My hi-lites are Ronnie Hawkins the man who put the Band on the map when they were The Hawks. Ronnie has the least profile of any of the artists on stage that night but don't tell him that. Watching him strut around stage to a ripping "Who Do You Love" is riveting, almost worth the price of admission itself. Joni Mitchell makes me drool, so beautiful and elegant. Neil Diamond is dripping cool and studliness. Van Morrison is out of his mind doing "Caravan". Neil Young is whacked out on something (white powdery substance gracing much of his face) but I find "Helpless" to be just average. All you Clapton fans can see him in pretty good shape for a change on his numbers and Dylan is pure Rock majesty. The Band doing "The Weight with the Staple's singers is sooo good, makes my spine tingle. The glittering image of Rick Manual during the intro to "Stagefright" is classic. What the heck did he take before the show?

The Band's own music is amazing. The talent these 5 guys had will never be seen again. They could play circles around anyone else at the time, write and sing like Angels , every one of them save for Garth. They all had there own styles and signatures, unmistakably unique.. Polished musicians as a reult of years and years on the road playing with every one and having seen everything imaginable out there in the Rock and Roll world. The Band could rock and bring tears to your eyes. Imagine the Dead... but guys who could write , sing and play. (not gonna get alot of love for that I know).

The thing that fascinates me the most about this story is not so much the music anymore but the story behind the demise. The first few times I saw it as a kid, I could never quite figure out why the heck they were splitting up. They were doing so well, so much struggle and effort to get to the top and then to pull the plug on it all very suddenly. Why?

Robbie Robertson is way too cheery and relieved that it was all coming to an end...the other guys not so much..
You watch the Band's segments and all you see are 5 guys who are simply dripping with musical talent, these guys were born to sing and play and pretty much nothing else, save for Robertson who had it all mapped out as a solo star for years to come. Handsome , well spoken , great guitarist and feet firmly planted in Hollywood. Robertson was poised to be bigger than ever in the coming years. Its painful to watch the others in this film struggle with there own individual identies and the foretelling prophecy that life would be hard from here on in. Scorcese spends alot of time asking them... "well, its over...what are you going to do now?" The answers are pretty jumbled and saddening , Danko's silence when asked of this is in fact haunting. We all know the sad stories of Danko and Manuel and how they both painfully checked out eventually. Just makes my heart break. Am I bitter about Robertson, yeah, a little but who is to say that they wouldnt have eventually floundered after 2-3 more years? I saw The Band without Robertson in 83, they were brilliant. You know what, I didn't feel like Robertson was missed at all in fact. Everything I needed was there, the hearts and souls of 4 crack musicians who lived to play... and played to live.

God Bless The Band and Scorcese for doing such a wonderful job making this film.

The Last Waltz [Blu-ray] Overview

It started as a concert. It became a celebration. Join an unparalleled lineup of rock superstars asthey celebrate The Band's historic 1976 farewell performance. Directed by Martin Scorsese (Raging Bull, Goodfellas), The Last Waltz is not only "the most beautiful rock film evermade" (New York Times) it's "one of the most important cultural events of the last two decades" (Rolling Stone)!

The Last Waltz [Blu-ray] Specifications

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 The Color of Money or Goodfellas. 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. --Tom Keogh

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Oct 18, 2010 12:32:07

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