Review of The Last Waltz (1978) by Adam W — 28 Feb 2009
One of the best concert movies ever made, filmed with a team of excellent cinematographers lead by Taxi Driver's Michael Chapman. The result is a movie that looks intimate and sensual, that captures spontaneity and the experience of a live concert within a controlled visual framework; you almost never feel the camera operator struggling to capture something.
The backstage interviews with The Band are fascinating; Robbie Robertson would work on the music of a few of Scorsese's later movies. The music stands on its own; there's Bob Dylan, Neil Young (on cocaine, but then so was Scorsese), Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton.
The best music numbers are probably The Band's own though, and when they do 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down' it's one of the best musical scenes in Scorsese's career. He was hired for The Last Waltz because of his use of songs in Mean Streets, and The Band was right to suspect he would be the right director because he had the right feel for music and imagery, and the magical ways the movies allow the two to interact.
This review of The Last Waltz (1978) was written by Adam W on 28 Feb 2009.
The Last Waltz has generally received very positive reviews.
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