Jack and I loved this documentary about the seminal musician and his troupe. Narrated by Robertson himself, often speaking in the present tense to an unseen interviewer, it features historical footage and photographs and oh, so many songs. The recurring theme is, "No one had ever done that before."
Directed and written by Daniel Roher (he's new to me), it has nary a dull moment for music lovers.
Martin Scorsese is one of the producers and also one of the interviewees. In his varied filmography Scorsese has made documentaries about George Harrison, the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, and, of course, The Band in his coverage of their 1976 final performance in The Last Waltz (1978). Footage from The Last Waltz is included at the end of Once Were Brothers. The excellent sound quality is a departure from the rest of the concert recordings. I recommend this 2012 Rolling Stone article about some of Scorsese's best musical moments.
Robertson didn't stop working after The Band's last waltz, but that's where this movie ends. He was last blogged as a composer for The Irishman, which Scorsese directed.
The official soundtrack (at 3 hours 22 minutes, it's about twice as long as the documentary) is available only on Apple Music.
With 25 producers, this movie is another entry in the Producers Plethora Prize (here's my running list).
Singing its praises, we're in line with Rotten Tomatoes' audiences at 92% rather than its critics at 79.
The movie is available as pay per view on many streaming platforms. However, we chose to support our city's oldest independent cinema and you can, too, by going to the movie's home page and choosing SUPPORT THEATERS. Then the one you choose will get a commission on the rental. You'll get an email with a link for streaming and an address to write if you have any problems. Problems were had, in our case, but our email was answered promptly, even outside of bankers' hours, and we streamed it April 4.
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