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The Last Waltz


Tenacious_Peaches

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I finally saw ?The Last Waltz? and I loved it. It's the last concert The Band played together, intertwined with interviews from the guys, and directed by Martin Scorsese.

The concert was so great. I can?t believe I didn?t know that much about them after seeing the lineup of guests. Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ron Wood, and Neil Young...all of these people were on hand to say farewell and take part in the celebration. I was completely blown away. And I loved seeing Scorsese as just a dorky filmmaker.

The interviews were the most interesting. I?m learning about the history of The Band a little at a time, and I could sense the tension between some of the members. They were like a family that had spent too much time together and were just slowly breaking each other down.

Is Robbie really that much of a bastard or did I read him wrong? He seemed a bit pompous and self-important...right? I understand that he might have been the most "visible" member of the group, but I would have loved to have seen more of the others.

Anyway, I am so glad I have taken this journey with The Band. I give this movie 10 thumbs up!

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Hey Peaches...I watched The last Waltz this afternoon. First time I've watched it since around '85. God! It made me feel so old. Neil Young...young indeed. Joni Mitchell with her cute over-bite. Van the Man on the Caravan. Awesome, eh? And some day we must start a thread that explores Dylan's influence on modern rock.

Just seeing those young faces and trying to come to grips with the fact that a couple are no longer with us. Hard to believe that Rick Danko's gone. And Richard Manuel. Man, he seemed like the most mellow guy in the band. How could he commit suicide?

Odd that after seeing this film about five times that this time I discovered something new. Perhaps you made this connection too? Scorcese interviewing Rick Danko. And Rick Danko looking like the spitting image of the young Robert DeNiro. If you've ever seen Scorcese's Mean Streets you'll know what I mean. Uncanny! I wonder if Scorcese noticed the resemblance.

Anyway, it made for a great afternoon. Again Peaches, thank you for leading me back to The Band.

PS: I'm not sure what you mean about Robbie Robertson. He wrote just about all of their big songs (and little ones) and just about every band member who wanted to sing got to sing lead on many of the hits. As for the film, I thought each member got equal time. I do recall the animosity between some members and Robertson when hits albums were released. Some felt they had contributed to the writing on a couple songs and weren't given writing credit...costing them individual royalties. Or are you referring to the manner in which Robertson carries himself? I saw the unmistaken glaze of drugs on his eyes at times. Maybe just my imagination.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Mother of god. This is without a doubt the most unbelieveable rock film ever made. Look at it. Paul Butterfield, into Muddy Waters into Eric Clapton. Everything about it is amazing. Robbie and Clapton going back and forth with smoking guitar solos, Van the man belting everything out, Muddy jumping around on stage, The whole band plus neil just belting out helpless. All the time Hudson just swaying back and forth, Danko just bumping along, Helm giving that mean look and just admiring all the talent.

I watched it for the third time while my dad and his friend downed a who quart of corvoisier. piss loaded =:P

Anywyas, unbelievable.

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I still have the video and I watch it from time to time... I must say that movie cheers me up... I even dreamed of it when I saw it for the first time, at the end of the concert, Keith (yes, he was in "The last Waltz" too in my dream) he was the one who throwed his hat to me...

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  • 9 months later...

I'm watching this as I type and have to agree with whoever said it's strange to see The Band young and know that some have passed away already. I'm just sorry to say I wasn't around to appreciate the significance of why The Band felt the need to make this film. They must have been really something back in the day to do this.

I have to say I think Rick Danko has got to be one of the more animated bass players I have seen in awhile. It was great hearing Helpless by Neoil Young, but I guess I wanted to hear a more straightforward version of The Weight. Don't get me wrong, it was really well done, but I'm just used to the version I heard on The Big Chill CD and was looking forward to seeing The Band take turns with the singing.

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My sister lives in Upstate New York, close to Woodstock. Levon Helms plays in a band with his daughter in a tiny bar up there quite often. I was lucky to see them there when I was visiting my sister. It was a real treat. He plays just for the love of playing.

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Levon Helm has had a pretty good career in motion pictures. In one of my favorite films "The Right Stuff", a film about the selecting of the original US Mercury astronuats, Helm plays Jack Ridley who was Chuck Yeager's engineer when Yeager broke the sound barrier in the experimental X1 aircraft.

My handle is rtstuff which stands for the movie title "The Right Stuff". In West Virginia Chuck Yeager grew up 40 minutes from my home.

My Beagle is named Yeager "The Right Stuff"

Chuck Yeager played by Sam Shepherd: "Hey Ridley do you have a Beamans ( a type of chewing gum).

Jack Ridley played by Levon Helm: "Yea I might have a stick".

Yeager: "Well how about loaning me a stick. I will pay you back later".

Jack Ridley: "Fair enough"

In one scene Yeager has to bail out of a jet when an engine fails and the ground crew is going out to the crash site to check and see if Yeager survives. The driver of the jeep sees an image coming up over the horizon and asks Levon Helm, "Is that a man over there". Levon Helm responds by saying "Your damn right".

rtstuff

Home of the Herd

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