In the opening moments of The Last Waltz—Martin Scorsese’s chronicle of the final concert, in 1976, of The Band—bassist Rick Danko says this about a game of pool he’s setting up: “Your job is to keep your balls on the table and knock everybody else’s off.” You might think this means to set up a concert full of competition, among Danko and fellow Band members Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson, to say nothing of the notable guests who join them onstage: Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Dr. John, Neil Diamond, and Eric Clapton, among others. Yet what we get is the opposite: a communal celebration of each other’s talents and the shared bliss of being together in concert. Still, Scorsese’s camera always seems to find Robertson, which is understandable. Clearly the most charismatic, whether telling stories backstage or conducting the action on it, Robertson has the air of a shaggy, savvier-than-he-looks savant. (Also a producer on The Last Waltz, Robertson would go on to contribute as a composer or music consultant on Scorsese’s films until the end of his life.) Some things here do give one pause in 2023; The Band’s Dixie posturing—from their song “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” to the Confederate flag hanging backstage—has never seemed lamer for a group consisting almost entirely of Canadians or more suspect for a white rock act from anywhere. Even so, as a document of some of the top musical talent of the 1970s, The Last Waltz has a time-capsule quality that’s off the charts.
(9/20/2023)
