{"id":35989,"date":"2016-06-06T20:35:37","date_gmt":"2016-06-07T03:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/?p=35989"},"modified":"2016-06-06T20:35:37","modified_gmt":"2016-06-07T03:35:37","slug":"challenge-week-22-the-last-waltz-and-standing-in-the-shadows-of-motown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/challenge-week-22-the-last-waltz-and-standing-in-the-shadows-of-motown\/","title":{"rendered":"Challenge Week 22: The Last Waltz and Standing in the Shadows of Motown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most people haven’t themed their weeks at all, but Ryan McNeil of The Matinee<\/a> opted to give me a double feature of concert\/music docs, which is almost prescient, since I’ve recently been really interested to see more of those. Both of these two would’ve been high on my list, so I’m glad he pushed me toward them.<\/p>\n

The Last Waltz<\/em> is the record of The Band’s final concert in 1978, and one of the first times a single band’s concert was filmed and released in theatres (of course Woodstock<\/em> and Monterey Pop<\/em> predate The Last Waltz<\/em>). Martin Scorsese directed (his interest in music has resulted in several other music-related documentaries since this), and captured the joy and energy of the concert with some great cinematography despite having to be careful not to interfere with the concert from the live audience’s point of view.<\/p>\n

\"tf-band-guitar\"<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I’ll have to admit my slapdash musical knowledge for both of these films – I’d heard exactly one song by The Band before watching this (“The Weight”), but this is a style of music I really enjoy so I’m sure I’ll be digging deeper into their discography soon. They also had an incredible number of special guests join them, from Bob Dylan (they were his backup band early in their career) to Neil Diamond to Emmylou Harris to Joni Mitchell. Only a couple of these people were identified on screen (with the band introducing them), so I have to admit again that I didn’t recognize several of them, though I could narrow some of them down.<\/p>\n

The concert is intercut with interviews with the band – interview that aren’t totally biographical, but do give a snapshot of the time and place. Rather like a Woodstock<\/em> that focuses on just one band. That’s one of the aspects of music documentaries that I really enjoy, how they act as a snapshot not just of a certain band or even just music, but of the cultural zeitgeist in general. Music seems to reflect its culture more than other arts, or maybe I’m just projecting. In this particular case it was interesting because The Band seems quite clean-cut in comparison with what you hear about other bands of the ’70s. Maybe that’s just the image they wanted to project for the film.<\/p>\n

\"tf-guests\"<\/p>\n

It’s interesting that The Band got their start as a backup band, and Standing in the Shadows of Motown<\/em> is about a band that never got the recognition they deserved because they stayed a backup band – despite creating the sound that would be forever associated with Motown. This is more of a wide-ranging documentary than The Last Waltz<\/em>, not focusing on a single concert (though a reunion concert acts as a throughline and musical showcase – more on that in a minute) but highlighting the stories and accomplishments of The Funk Brothers in general and many of its members individually.<\/p>\n

Of course, this gets into quite a bit of cultural commentary, as we’re talking about largely black musicians (there are a few white members, and that gets discussed as well) in Detroit in the late 1950s and into the 1960s using their jazz backgrounds to create a new jazz\/rock fusion that found a home at Motown Records as the musical background for many of the biggest hits of the era – hits we associate with The Supremes, The Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Marvin Gaye, and others, but whose sound was largely determined by the Funk Brothers.<\/p>\n

\"tf-Meshell\"<\/p>\n

Tying the film together is a reunion concert with the Funk Brothers finally named and given credit for their accomplishments, while modern artists like Joan Osborne, Ben Harper, Me’shell Ndegeocello, and Chaka Khan. There were a few archival clips of the original songs and artists, but by and large the musical performances are these modern renditions – and I think that was a smart idea. First off, because we get to see how well these songs continue to work today, and also because it helps distinguish the song from the original artist with whom we associate them and tie the songs more closely to the Funk Brothers, which is the whole point of the documentary.<\/p>\n

I thought it was interesting that both films played with the chronology a little – The Last Waltz<\/em> started with the encore, then went back and did the rest of the concert largely chronologically. Meanwhile, Standing in the Shadows of Motown<\/em> waited to show us the beginning of the reunion concert until nearly the end of the movie, which led to the biggest emotional punch of the film – when all the musicians came out, bringing large photographs of the ones who have passed on and setting them in their appropriate sections in places of honor. That wouldn’t have meant anything if they’d done that first, as we wouldn’t have known who they were. After hearing about their lives, their accomplishments, and their deaths, seeing them given that honor made for a definitely teary moment.<\/p>\n

\"tf-setting-photo\"<\/p>\n

That ability to pull tears, and show some cultural history that I didn’t know gave Standing in the Shadows of Motown<\/em> the edge, though I enjoy The Band’s musical style more than Motown. Both these films were really great to watch, so thanks, Ryan!<\/p>\n

Stats and stuff…<\/h3>\n

THE LAST WALTZ<\/b>
\n1978, USA<\/em>
\ndirected by Martin Scorsese<\/em>
\nstarring The Band, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, etc<\/em><\/p>\n

I’m ranking all my Challenge films on Flickchart (as I do all the films I see), a movie-ranking website that asks you to choose your favorite between two movies until it builds a ranked list of your favorites. Just for fun, I will average out the rankings and keep a running tally of whose recommendations rank the highest. When you add a film to Flickchart, it pits it against films already on your chart to see where it should fall. Here’s how The Last Waltz<\/em> entered my chart:<\/p>\n

The Last Waltz<\/b> > Successful Alcoholics
\nThe Last Waltz<\/b> > The Kid Brother
\nThe Last Waltz < Clueless<\/b>
\nThe Last Waltz < Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!<\/b>
\nThe Last Waltz < The Abyss<\/b>
\nThe Last Waltz < Trainspotting<\/b>
\nThe Last Waltz<\/b> > Little Shop of Horrors
\nThe Last Waltz<\/b> > The Usual Suspects
\nThe Last Waltz < The Garden of the Finzi-Continis<\/b>
\nThe Last Waltz < Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs<\/b>
\nThe Last Waltz < Wait Until Dark<\/b>
\nThe Last Waltz<\/b> > Cars 2<\/p>\n

Final ranking #868 out of 3652 films on my chart (76%)<\/p>\n

It is now my #4 Martin Scorsese film, my #20 Documentary, my #3 Concert film, my #7 Music film, and my #5 film of 1978.<\/p>\n

STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN<\/b>
\n2002, USA<\/em>
\ndirected by Paul Justman<\/em>
\nstarring The Funk Brothers, Chaka Khan, Ben Harper, Montell Jordan, Meshell Ndegeocello, Joan Osborne, etc<\/em><\/p>\n

Here’s how Standing in the Shadows of Motown<\/em> entered my chart:<\/p>\n

Standing in the Shadows of Motown<\/b> > Successful Alcoholics
\nStanding in the Shadows of Motown<\/b> > The Kid Brother
\nStanding in the Shadows of Motown < Clueless<\/b>
\nStanding in the Shadows of Motown < Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!<\/b>
\nStanding in the Shadows of Motown<\/b> > The Abyss
\nStanding in the Shadows of Motown < To Kill a Mockingbird<\/b>
\nStanding in the Shadows of Motown<\/b> > Hero
\nStanding in the Shadows of Motown < Nanook of the North<\/b>
\nStanding in the Shadows of Motown<\/b> > The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit
\nStanding in the Shadows of Motown<\/b> > Jupiter Ascending
\nStanding in the Shadows of Motown < The Roaring Twenties<\/b><\/p>\n

Final ranking #758 out of 3653 films on my chart (79%)<\/p>\n

It is now my #15 Documentary, my #2 Concert film, my #5 Music film, and my #10 film of 2002.<\/p>\n

These two films were recommended by Ryan McNeil, a film blogger friend and sometime collaborator. Averaging together the #868 and #758 rankings of these films gives Ryan an average ranking of 813.<\/p>\n

A few more screenshots…<\/h3>\n

\"tf-joni-mitchel\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-Neil-Diamond\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-funk-brothers-sign\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-lens-flare\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-recording-studio\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-talking-with-joan\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-sax-&-guitars\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-vintage-band\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most people haven’t themed their weeks at all, but Ryan McNeil of The Matinee opted to give me a double feature of concert\/music docs, which is almost prescient, since I’ve recently been really interested to see more of those. Both of these two would’ve been high on my list, so I’m glad he pushed me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3027],"tags":[603,795,3295,3143,3145,3146,3144],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/tf-feat.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":36496,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/challenge-week-44-the-color-of-money\/","url_meta":{"origin":35989,"position":0},"title":"Challenge Week 44: The Color of Money","author":"Jandy","date":"November 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"It's honestly been so long since I've seen The Hustler that I don't remember the details all that well, but I don't think it really mattered going into this much-later sequel. Now Fast Eddie Felson (Newman) is retired from the pool circuit, instead doing very well as a liquor salesman.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/tf-feat-the-color-of-money.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":35387,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/01\/the-2016-movie-challenge-a-preview\/","url_meta":{"origin":35989,"position":1},"title":"The 2016 Movie Challenge: A Preview","author":"Jandy","date":"January 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Because I can't leave well enough alone, here's a brief rundown of (some of) what I'll be watching in 2016 for this crazy challenge. I currently have 50 people signed up to recommend me movies, and all but a handful have already chosen their picks, so this thing is scheduled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/fc-keaton.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1983,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2009\/01\/66th-annual-golden-globes-thoughts\/","url_meta":{"origin":35989,"position":2},"title":"66th Annual Golden Globes – Thoughts","author":"Jandy","date":"January 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"And spoilers, so if for whatever reason you haven't watched it yet and don't want to know winners - you're probably screwed, since it'll likely pop up in your feedreader, on your TV, in your newspaper, etc. But at least I warned you, so there. Golden Globe spoilers after the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35505,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/2016-challenge-debrief\/","url_meta":{"origin":35989,"position":3},"title":"2016 Challenge Debrief","author":"Jandy","date":"March 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, it's been almost three months since my year-long movie challenge officially completed, and it's taken me that long to decompress, rerank everything, and generally get ready to post a recap of the year. The short version: it was awesome! I watched a ton of movies I really liked, very\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/crop-400-Blows-watching.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36129,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/07\/challenge-week-28-i-confess\/","url_meta":{"origin":35989,"position":4},"title":"Challenge Week 28: I Confess","author":"Jandy","date":"July 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"It's pretty well-known among my friends and acquaintances that I'm a huge Alfred Hitchcock fan, so assigning me a Hitchcock film I hadn't seen was a kind of a gimme. This, I believe, was one of two American Hitchcock films I hadn't seen (now the only remaining American one is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/tf-feat3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":33343,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2013\/11\/the-story-of-film-on-tcm-chapter-9\/","url_meta":{"origin":35989,"position":5},"title":"The Story of Film on TCM: Chapter 9","author":"Jandy","date":"November 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"[Turner Classic Movies is airing Mark Cousins' epic documentary The Story of Film, playing one episode a week accompanied by films discussed in that week's episode. I'm writing up my thoughts on each episode. I got behind four weeks ago, but rather than give up, I'm going to just post\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/The_Story_of_Film-9.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35989"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}