The Last Waltz (1978)

The film begins with The Band performing the last song of the evening, their cover version of the Marvin Gaye hit “Don’t Do It”, as an encore. The film then flashes back to the beginning of the concert, and follows it more or less chronologically. The Band is backed by a large horn section and performs many of its hit songs, including “Up on Cripple Creek”, “Stage Fright”, and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”.

The live songs are interspersed with studio segments and interviews conducted by director Martin Scorsese in which The Band’s members reminisce about the group’s history. Robertson talks about Hudson joining the band on the condition that the other members pay him $10 a week each for music lessons. The classically trained Hudson could then tell his parents that he was a music teacher instead of merely a rock and roll musician. Robertson also describes the surreal experience of playing in a burnt-out nightclub owned by Jack Ruby.