Martin Scorsese

The Last Waltz

The Last Waltz

More than just one of the greatest concert films ever made, The Last Waltz is an at once ecstatic and elegiac summation of a vital era in American rock music. Invited to capture the farewell performance of the legendary group the Band at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom on Thanksgiving, 1976, Martin Scorsese conceived a new kind of music documentary. Enlisting seven camera operators (led by director of photography Michael Chapman, and also including renowned cinematographers Vilmos Zsigmond and László Kovács) and production designer Boris Leven to design the strikingly theatrical sets, Scorsese created a grandly immersive experience that brings viewers onstage and inside the music itself. That music—as performed by the Band and a host of other generation-defining artists, including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, the Staple Singers, Muddy Waters, and Neil Young—lives on as an almost religious expression of the transcendent possibilities of rock and roll.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 1978
  • 117 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.85:1
  • English
  • Spine #1118

Director-Approved 4K UHD + Blu-Ray Special Edition Features

  • New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Martin Scorsese, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack supervised and approved by musician Robbie Robertson
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • Two alternate soundtracks: the original 1978 2.0 surround mix, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio, and an uncompressed stereo mix from 2001
  • Two audio commentaries, featuring Scorsese; members of the Band; members of the production crew; and performers Dr. John, Ronnie Hawkins, and Mavis Staples
  • New interview with Scorsese, conducted by critic David Fear
  • Documentary from 2002 about the making of the film
  • Outtake
  • Interview from 1978 with Scorsese and Robertson
  • Trailer and TV spot
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Amanda Petrusich

New cover by Fred Davis

Purchase Options

Director-Approved 4K UHD + Blu-Ray Special Edition Features

  • New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Martin Scorsese, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack supervised and approved by musician Robbie Robertson
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • Two alternate soundtracks: the original 1978 2.0 surround mix, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio, and an uncompressed stereo mix from 2001
  • Two audio commentaries, featuring Scorsese; members of the Band; members of the production crew; and performers Dr. John, Ronnie Hawkins, and Mavis Staples
  • New interview with Scorsese, conducted by critic David Fear
  • Documentary from 2002 about the making of the film
  • Outtake
  • Interview from 1978 with Scorsese and Robertson
  • Trailer and TV spot
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Amanda Petrusich

New cover by Fred Davis

The Last Waltz
Cast
Rick Danko
The Band
Levon Helm
Garth Hudson
Richard Manuel
Robbie Robertson
Paul Butterfield
Performers
Eric Clapton
Neil Diamond
Dr. John
Bob Dylan
Ronnie Hawkins
Emmylou Harris
Joni Mitchell
Van Morrison
Ringo Starr
The Staples
Muddy Waters
Ron Wood
Neil Young
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Poems
Michael McClure
Credits
Director
Martin Scorsese
Treatment
Mardik Martin
Executive producer
Jonathan Taplin
Producer
Robbie Robertson
Associate producer
Steven Prince
Interviewer
Martin Scorsese
Editors
Jan Roblee
Yeu-Bun Yee
Director of photography
Michael Chapman
Production design
Boris Leven
Set decoration
Anthony Mondell

Current

The Last Waltz: Long, Hard Road
The Last Waltz: Long, Hard Road

At once euphoric and elegiac, Martin Scorsese’s concert documentary captures the members of the Band on the brink of spiritual and physical collapse as they mount their transcendent final send-off.

By Amanda Petrusich

Ty Segall’s Top 10
Ty Segall’s Top 10

The Los Angeles–based musician’s list of favorite films celebrates the kooky, the trippy, and the dystopian.