The guest star who convinced Martin Scorsese to do ‘The Last Waltz’
Martin Scorsese is far more well-known for his violent fictional features than his forays into documentary filmmaking. The director’s name sparks imagery of boxers, mobsters, and millionaires more than it does musicians. Nonetheless, in the mid-1970s, Scorsese took a break from his usual stylings to combine the two when he took on The Last Waltz.
Taking place in November 1976 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, The Last Waltz was touted as the farewell concert from The Band. Guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson had grown tired of touring, so he planned a return to the venue where they had made their debut just seven years prior.
The Last Waltz was a huge event that would ensure The Band went out with a bang. They invited along an impressive collection of guest stars, including folk legend Bob Dylan, country rock icon Emmylou Harris, ex-Beatle Ringo Star, and the Godfather of Grunge himself, Neil Young. But there was one name, in particular, that drew Scorsese to the project – Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison.
The director had previously worked on the filming of Woodstock in 1979 and was credited as one of the editors when the documentary was released a year later. Following that, he worked with The Band’s former road manager and film producer, Jon Taplin, on Mean Streets.
Just after Scorsese had wrapped up work on New York, New York, The Band’s Robbie Robertson approached the director regarding The Last Waltz just a month and a half before the gig. He thought the “nervous, fast-talking Marty was his ticket into Hollywood,” according to singer and drummer Levon Helm in The Independent via the Joni Mitchell website.
It didn’t take much to convince the rock-loving legendary director to take the project on. According to Helm, Scorsese was immediately sold when he heard that Morrison would be making an appearance onstage. “‘Van Morrison?’ Scorsese said. ‘Are you shitting me? I’ve got to do this!’ This was in early October, six weeks before the show,” Helm explained.
Robertson and Scorsese’s shared love for Van Morrison’s music was even captured on film by fellow director Peter Hayden, who spent the mid-1970s making a documentary of his own on the beloved filmmaker. Movies Are My Life: A Profile on Martin Scorsese followed the director throughout the process of finishing New York, New York and working on The Last Waltz.
The opening scene of the film shows Scorsese, Hayden and Robertson listening to Morrison’s ‘Tupelo Honey’. “Maestro, I wanna play you a song before we knock off here. This is a song, Peter, it’s got nothing to do with anything, but you’ll understand exactly what we mean. This is by Van the Man,” Robertson states. The three of them sit and enjoy the soft sounds of Morrison.
The director’s love for Morrison was clear – he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to document his performance on film, and even his documentarian opened his Scorsese profile with the sounds of Morrison.
Revisit Van Morrison’s performance in The Last Waltz below.
