The Last Waltz

One of the greatest concert films ever made, The Last Waltz is also a remarkable summation of a pivotal era in American rock music. Invited to capture the farewell performance of the legendary Canadian-American group The Band, Martin Scorsese created a new kind of music documentary. For the concert, held on Thanksgiving Day in 1976 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, he assembled a team of seven cinematographers – including Michael Chapman, Vilmos Zsigmond and László Kovács – as well as production designer Boris Leven, who devised the event’s striking theatrical setting. The result is a deeply immersive experience that draws the viewer onto the stage and into the music itself. Alongside The Band, the concert brought together an extraordinary line-up of artists representing an entire musical generation, including Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, The Staples, Dr. John, Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield, Ronnie Hawkins, Ringo Starr, Ron Wood and Neil Young.

Alongside the concert footage, the film also includes studio sequences and an interview conducted by Scorsese with the members of The Band, reflecting on the story of their career to date.

Roman Gutek

Martin Scorsese (b. 1942) – American director, screenwriter and producer. Considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, a master of storytelling and visual artistry. His films, such as Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), and GoodFellas (1990), redefined gangster and psychological cinema. He won an Oscar for The Departed (2007) and later impressed with the epic The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). Blending grand spectacles with intimate storytelling, he explores themes of guilt, redemption, and violence. His work is driven by passion, precision, and a deep understanding of human nature.