Review of The Last Waltz (1978) by Charlie M — 23 Feb 2015

I was originally attracted to this movie in 2001 when I worked at Blockbuster because it contained some of my favorite artists and it was nice to have music on instead of Mulan. I knew the great Martin Scorsese had directed it, but it wasn't until recently that I saw the beauty in his sense of direction. It's the simple choices that amplify the power of these rock giants. It may not have seemed that way at the time, but with the onslaught of hair metal & hip hop this was really one last hurrah for rock.

The Band itself is some of the most popular music played at The iO Theatre where I currently work. They take the poetic simplicity of country & folk and wrap it with a 70's funk and delta blues that is unlike most music of the 60's. It's fun to hear the group joke around with interviews and get a feel for how cool this era was. Something that hadn't really been captured again until 2000's Almost Famous. I'm not a big fan of concerts (too many damn people. And the parking?!) but as far as concert films go, this is one of the greatest of all time. A great watch when you're multitasking so you can occasionally look over and say "Holy crap, that's Van Morrison.".