Toward the end of the tumultuous production of New York, New York (1977), director Martin Scorsese got a call from Jonathan Taplin, his former producer on Mean Streets (1973). Taplin, who had once been a roadie for The Band, informed Scorsese that the legendary group were making a final concert appearance at Winterland in San Francisco on Thanksgiving Day and would be joined by several of their musician friends like Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison and Muddy Waters. Scorsese, a longtime fan of The Band, contacted Robbie Robertson, the unofficial spokesman for the group, and made arrangements to film the concert. Their collaboration evolved into a two-year project during which time they became housemates. The resulting film, The Last Waltz (1978) not only featured all the musical high points from the seven hour Winterland concert but also included an additional filmed musical sequence shot at a MGM sound stage with Emmylou Harris and The Staple Singers. There were also candid interviews with all of the members of The Band, particularly Robertson who articulately conveys the ups-and-downs of sixteen years on the road. Most importantly, the film departed from the usual concert film format by avoiding gratuitous audience shots. Instead, it accurately captures the interaction of The Band musicians with each other and their guest artists.

Logistically, The Last Waltz was not an easy shoot. Even though Scorsese was working with some of the top cinematographers in the business - Laszlo Kovacs, Vilmos Zsigmond, Michael Chapman, and Freddie Schuler - the prospect of capturing a live concert presented numerous problems in the area of lighting, camera movement, and audio recording. In Martin Scorsese: A Journey by Mary Pat Kelly (Thunder's Mouth Press), the director recalled, "we would put two cameras on the side behind The Band, and a camera on the lip of the stage. The idea was that it not be a typical concert film. We had decided that if we were going to do that with the cameras, if we had that much control, we should use 35 millimeter instead of 16....But the floor was built over an ice rink and the floor bounced when everyone was there jumping up and down. The place would rock - literally. In this case the joint was really jumping, so we had to pour concrete to lock the 35 millimeter cameras into that. Then we had to anchor a big tower for shots of the stage."

"We got the set from La Traviata, from the San Francisco Opera Festival, but the stage was small. We had these big, wooden pillars and chandeliers, so there was very little room on stage. The main thing was that I was forced to make a script from what Robbie gave me. He gave me a sheet for each song, which had the title, the vocals, the verses, who would be playing what instrument, who would be the most important person at that place in the song. I designed the lighting with different lighting effects going on and off. Not like the old psychedelic shows but very, very simple, with each color in some weird way meaning something."

"Michael Chapman was at the light board. He got upset because I wanted to use violet and yellow for the song, "The Weight." He said, "Those two colors are Catholic colors and this is a Protestant song. I'm not going to let you do that." He loved The Band's music so much. He argued with me that since I'm Catholic, I don't understand their music because it was so influenced by gospel music. We had great religious discussions and fights about it. It was great to have that kind of enthusiasm."

Obviously, The Last Waltz was a labor of love for Scorsese and for fans of The Band, it is full of unforgettable moments: wild man Ronnie Hawkins bopping on stage to the tune of "Who Do You Love," Neil Young's performance of "Helpless," Levon Helm and Robertson recalling their first trip to New York City, Garth Hudson revealing how he overcame his parent's objections to a rock 'n roll career. Yet, despite the film's infectious good cheer, there is also an underlying sadness and sense of melancholy to the proceedings because The Last Waltz is, in effect, a fond farewell to a whole era of rock music that has since disappeared. It is also a reminder of the hard road professional musicians must sometimes tread. Robertson says, "That road killed Elvis; it killed Hendrix" and it clearly took its toll on The Band. Richard Manuel committed suicide in 1986 and Rick Danko died of a heart attack in 1999. But Robertson and Helm continue to record music and tour and a film like The Last Waltz helps explain their obsession with their craft.

Director: Martin Scorsese
Producers: Robbie Robertson, Steven Prince, Jonathan T. Taplin
Cinematography: Michael W. Watkins, Vilmos Zsigmond
Production Design: Boris Leven
Set Decoration: Anthony Mondell
Cast: Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ron Wood, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Diamond, Emmylou Harris, Ronnie Hawkins, The Staples Singers.
C-117m. Letterboxed.

By Jeff Stafford