Yes, it’s a Thanksgiving movie. In a world rife with Christmas movies, what do we really have for Thanksgiving ones, other than maybe “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” and the scene in “Rocky” where Paulie chucks Adrian’s turkey into the alley. So, yeah, “The Last Waltz” is a Thanksgiving movie. Why? Because the recorded event – a grand occasion marking the arranged end of one of the truly great and important bands of the 20^th century, The Band – took place on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, and somehow as a result it’s become tradition to view this particular film on or around Thanksgiving. And you can’t argue with tradition. (at the least, I guess, it correlates to the idea of ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ being a Thanksgiving song).

But more importantly here, “The Last Waltz” remains the apex of its kind, the best music documentary film ever. The succession of incredible Band songs, and the staggering procession of guest appearances is without parallel. It’s been critically hailed as “The greatest rock concert movie ever made – and maybe the best rock movie, period.” Rolling Stone has simply called it the “Greatest Concert Movie of All Time.” And in 2019, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, recognized for being “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant.”

So, following the latest of my customary re-watches (I couldn’t quite wait for Thanksgiving this year), I thought we’d recount some of the biggest reasons for just how phenomenal it is. How about we do it in 15 helpings. (Why 15? To approximate the number of items in a proper Thanksgiving dinner, at least 3 of which should be gravy).

“The Last Waltz” in 15 delicious Thanksgiving servings

1. Produced and managed by legendary promoter Bill Graham, the concert was held at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom, with an elegant décor of chandeliers, candelabras, and mirrored balls befitting the night’s magnitude. Robbie Robertson described the location’s significance as being “the first place the band played as The Band.”
2. The first song shown in the film, ‘Don’t Do It,’ was actually the last song played of the evening (and of The Band’s existence), occurring at around 2:15AM. Rick Danko steps to the mic and introduces the song thusly: “Happy Thanksgiving.” When it ends, just before the band leaves the stage, Robbie Robertson addresses the audience: “Thank you. Goodnight. Goodbye.”
3. The Band had provided details as to who sang what and who soloed when for each song to Martin Scorsese – did I mention that Martin Scorsese directed “The Last Waltz”?! Scorsese, who was first contacted only six weeks prior to the planned date, meticulously storyboarded the songs beforehand, setting up lighting and camera cues to fit, thus providing the single greatest aspect of the film: the camera invariably goes where your eyes would want to if you were in the theater attending the show. The distinction in viewing experience is unquantifiable.
4. All five band members are highlighted in illuminating ways at different moments throughout: There’s the wispy tuft of hair that dangles over Garth Hudson’s face as he resolutely attacks his keyboards; the revelation that because of the mic placement up and to his right, Levon Helm – rock’s greatest singing drummer – essentially played the drums without ever looking at them; the stylishly scarved Robbie Robertson making his guitar absolutely squeal all night long; Rick Danko, possibly the best ever harmony shouter, joyously belting his vocals out; and Richard Manuel’s akimbo arm and shoulder movements while drumming on ‘Evangeline’ and haunting second verse on the movie closer ‘I Shall Be Released.’
5. Neil Young’s greeting: “I’d just like to say before I start that it’s one of the pleasures of my life to be able to be on this stage with these people tonight,” then being joined by Joni Mitchell singing from off stage amid his rendition of ‘Helpless’ (and later looking plain goofy and super wasted during the finale).
6. The huge horn section, first visible for the intro of ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,’ was charted and arranged by New Orleans R&B luminary Allen Toussaint.
7. A dazzlingly soulful rendition of ‘The Weight’ – performed on a sound stage several days after the show along with The Staple Singers (with the camera panning to Mavis Staples’s gospel hand claps during the last verse).
8. Muddy Waters jumping, jiving, shaking and baking his way through ‘Mannish Boy.’
9. Van Morrison’s kinetic performance of ‘Caravan,’ punctuated at its close by a couple spastic leg kicks and then Van The Man calmly ambling off the stage as the tune continued.
10. This is the rundown of classic Band songs performed in the film: ‘Up On Cripple Creek,’ ‘The Shape I’m In,’ ‘It Makes No Difference,’ ‘Stage Fright,’ ‘The Weight,’ ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,’ ‘Chest Fever,’ and ‘Ophelia.’ Rock solid.
11. When Eric Clapton’s guitar strap breaks during the opening solo of ‘Further on Up the Road,’ Robbie Robertson takes over with the utmost vigor and quite literally without missing a beat.
12. Robertson outing Dr. John’s real identity with the intro: “You all know the doctor, Dr. John…Mac Rebennack. C’mon Mac!”
13. The clunky transition during Bob Dylan’s segment from ‘Forever Young’ into ‘Baby, Let Me Follow You Down,’ which you can pretty much see Dylan and the band working out on the spot.
14. Though the concert obviously took place indoors, the super close-up of Helm singing ‘Ophelia’ clearly showed smoke somehow puffing from his mouth.
15. And then there are the affecting and absorbing interviews conducted by Scorsese in a variety of settings and interspersed throughout the film; thoughtful reflections on The Band’s past, windows into their future, and purposefully placed within the thematic chronology of the documentary (the song order as used in the film differs significantly from the sequence of the actual live show). Here are 6 of my favorite moments:
    • Robbie Robertson describing their start at the roofless Skyline Lounge in Fort Worth, TX: “About three people in the audience, a one-armed go-go dancer and a couple of drunk waiters. And a fight starts! There aren’t even enough people in the place to get angry?! And then we found out a few years later that it was Jack Ruby’s club.”
    • Levon Helm outlining music origins via Memphis: “That’s kind’ve the middle of the country, right there, so…bluegrass, country music, blues, y’know if it comes down to that area and if it mixes there with rhythm and if it dances, then you’ve got a combination of all those different kinds of music” (Scorsese) “And what’s it called then?” (Helm, laughing): “Rock and roll.”
    • Recounting how Garth Hudson joined the group, Robertson explains that it was conditioned on the other members paying him $10 a week each for music lessons, thus allowing the classically trained Hudson to tell his parents that he was a music teacher not merely in a rock and roll band.
    • Robertson detailing a late drunken night jamming with famed bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson, who literally began spitting blood from the intensity of playing his harmonica (which is followed in the film by Paul Butterfield blowing some serious harp on the song ‘Mystery Train’).
    • Rick Danko giving Scorsese a tour of The Band’s Shangi-La Studios, and becoming noticeably emotional when asked “Now that the Last Waltz is over, what are you doing now?” Danko carefully dons his fedora, hits the control board to begin playing a tune from his new solo work, and replies, “Just making music, man. Trying to stay busy.”
    • Robertson wistfully unfolding the decision to end The Band. “There’s not much left that we can really take from the road. Maybe it’s just superstitious. The road has taken a lot of the great ones. Hank Williams. Buddy Holly. Otis Redding. Janis. Jimi Hendrix. Elvis. It’s a goddamn impossible way of life.”

Though not necessarily due to “the road,” all five members of The Band have now been taken; Robbie Robertson was the last to depart in 2023. But we’ll always have this incredible 116-minute chronicle, “The Last Waltz,” as an electrifying and cinematic view of the band The Band simultaneously at their height and at their conclusion. That’s something about which it’s worth giving thanks, every Thanksgiving or thereabouts.

The Eric and Robbie showdown (Clapton’s strap comes off 55 seconds in)