The Last Waltz review

Martin Scorsese's scorching rock-doc

GamesRadar Editor's Choice

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Thirty years before his kinetic Shine A Light, Martin Scorsese redefined rock flicks with a concert movie shot from a 300-page script in imposing 35mm by pro cameramen like Laszlo Kovacs.

The gig is root-rockers The Band’s San Francisco farewell in 1976, “a kind of elegy”, says Scorsese, for a band and an era buckled by drugs and time. Members seem blitzed in interview segments but the gig is alive and momentous.

Joined by mega-stars (Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, a steaming Neil Young...), The Band live up to their myth in Scorsese’s scorching testament.

Freelance writer

Kevin Harley is a freelance journalist with bylines at Total Film, Radio Times, The List, and others, specializing in film and music coverage. He can most commonly be found writing movie reviews and previews at GamesRadar+. 

Latest in Biographical Movies
The Wolf of Wall Street
The 32 greatest Leonardo DiCaprio movies
Billy Zane as Marlon Brando in Waltzing with Brando
Upcoming Marlon Brando biopic gets its first look and fans cannot get over how uncanny Billy Zane looks: "I honestly thought this was Brando"
Keke Palmer, Daniel Kaluuya, and Brandon Perea in Nope
Don't call Jordan Peele the best horror director - he'll tell you it's John Carpenter
James Cameron announces Avatar 2 has finished filming, Avatar 3 "95% done"
The Avatar sequels have a reported budget of $1 billion
New Avatar 2 set photos show James Cameron filming with underwater technology
Latest in Reviews
Doggerland player board
Doggerland review: "A delicate dance of survival and management that doesn't feel weighted toward a single strategy"
Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 DEX gaming mouse standing upright on a wooden desk
Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 DEX review: "a force to be reckoned with"
Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again season 1 review: "There have been far worse Marvel projects, but few as disappointing as this"
RTX 5070 Founders Edition and Asus Prime OC graphics card standing vertical on woodgrain desk next to plant and monitor
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 review: "far from a RTX 4090 rival, but I’d still call it a solid 4K GPU"
The two characters in Split Fiction dressed in fantasy gear each with a dragon on their back
Split Fiction review: "Cements Hazelight as the master of co-op games"
Acer Nitro V 14 gaming laptop on a wooden desk
Acer Nitro V 14 review: "a solid value proposition… if you can find one"