Credit: Far Out / United Artist Films

The fiery moment Bob Dylan threatened to ruin ‘The Last Waltz’ for Martin Scorsese

Wed 6 March 2024 16:30, UK

The Last Waltz, the final performance of The Band in 1976, holds legendary status for numerous reasons. This iconic event was captured by filmmaker Martin Scorsese and released as a documentary of the same name two years later. It marked the beginning of a fruitful friendship and ongoing collaboration between Scorsese and The Band’s leader, Robbie Robertson. However, the legendary film and evening were nearly marred by none other than Bob Dylan.

To bow out properly, The Band were joined by many special guests, including their former employers, Bob Dylan and Ronnie Hawkins. Other prominent names to appear included Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood and Neil Young. The musical director for the evening was the American-Canadian outfit’s first producer, John Simon. The concert was produced and managed by impresario Bill Graham, who later saved proceedings from the prickly Dylan.

The show ran smoothly until the intermission when Dylan announced he no longer wanted to be featured in the movie just 15 minutes before the musicians were due back on stage. This was a catastrophic thing to hear, as Warner Bros agreed to finance the project only if the Duluth legend starred in it. With so much riding on his decision, the usually relaxed Scorsese freaked out, demanding answers from the shaggy-haired musician.

“Bob’s lawyer came out of Bob’s dressing room with an awful look on his face,” The Band’s drummer Levon Helm recalled in This Wheel’s on Fire. “Robbie [Robertson] was totally pale. They said, ‘Bob doesn’t want to be in the movie.’ Scorsese went nuts. Without Bob there would be no movie. It was all over. More than a million dollars were probably down the drain. Scorsese was beside himself. He demanded to know why Bob wouldn’t be filmed.”

Reportedly, it was due to Dylan recently completing the movie Renaldo and Clara, and as a true diva, he simply did not want to be in front of the camera again.

“So they asked Bill Graham to intercede,” Helm continued. “He went in and came out shaking his head. Bob, Bill said, claimed he didn’t even know anything about being in our movie. Never heard of it. Bob didn’t want to be filmed. In fact, when he went on, Bill was supposed to make sure that all the cameras were pointing away from the stage.”

Scorsese couldn’t take no for an answer; without Dylan, there would be no movie. “‘Don’t worry,’ Bill said over his shoulder. ‘I’m gonna make it happen.’ Man, they were all biting their nails,” Helm said. “I think Bill really pleaded with Bob for us, for the sake of the history of it all. He got Bob to the point where any film that might be shot would be carefully scrutinized by Bob before being considered for use. He was in there for a couple of minutes, but it seemed like an hour.”

Dylan finally agreed to be filmed, thanks to Graham’s influence. “With about five minutes left, word came down that the last two songs in Bob’s part of the show could be filmed, and only the last two,” the drummer concluded. “Bill Graham saved their asses that night.”

Despite this intense flurry of rage and awkwardness, Scorsese would go on to make two films about Bob Dylan, 2005’s No Direction Home and 2019’s Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story.

Watch Dylan perform at The Last Waltz below.