The Last Waltz review

Martin Scorsese's scorching rock-doc

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Thirty years before his kinetic Shine A Light, Martin Scorsese redefined rock flicks with a concert movie shot from a 300-page script in imposing 35mm by pro cameramen like Laszlo Kovacs.

The gig is root-rockers The Band’s San Francisco farewell in 1976, “a kind of elegy”, says Scorsese, for a band and an era buckled by drugs and time. Members seem blitzed in interview segments but the gig is alive and momentous.

Joined by mega-stars (Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, a steaming Neil Young...), The Band live up to their myth in Scorsese’s scorching testament.

Freelance writer

Kevin Harley is a freelance journalist with bylines at Total Film, Radio Times, The List, and others, specializing in film and music coverage. He can most commonly be found writing movie reviews and previews at 12DOVE.