| | |  | FOLK MUSIC | Home » » Last Days of the Fillmore | | | | | | | Description: | | Legendary rock impresario Bill Graham closed the Fillmore West in early summer 1971 with five nights of all-star concerts, the last curtain going down on July 4. The storied San Francisco venue had become an institution, an integral part of the West Coast music scene of the '60s and, now, an essential element of the
mythology of rock 'n' roll. Always the showman, Graham made sure the Fillmore West was sent off in a blaze of glory, spotlighting bands - including the Grateful Dead and Santana-that rose to fame at the hall. The madness leading up to the
shows and the concerts themselves were filmed for FILLMORE: THE LAST DAYS, a gritty, behind-the-scenes look at a fascinating moment in rock history and a showcase for great performances by iconic artists who epitomized 'the San Francisco
Sound.' Originally released in 1972 and long out-of-print, the documentary film makes its DVD debut with Rhino's landmark reissue. | | | Features: | |
• The Grateful Dead
| | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Various Artists | | Director:
| Various | | Format:
| Color, DVD, NTSC | | Language:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Rhino Records | | Run Time:
| 160 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| June 02, 2009 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 38 reviews |
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| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 38 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
97 of 104 found the following review helpful:
 Rhino ....You guys cut the best part out of the dvdJun 05, 2009
By Michael W. Dark
"mr. dark"
I was a little bit shocked that this version of the Documentary "Fillmore, the last days" isn't even the complete film.
Rhino what in the world possessed you guys to elminate the best performance in the movie? Was it money? It certianly wasn't due to a time constraint.. Did Boz Skaggs not want any involvement? I find it hard to understand that aspect as there where announcements regarding the release of this months ago on his website.. Why the sudden disappearce of his footage and involvment? The movie itself is just O.K. but when you take out argueably one of the better performances it doesn't make it any more attractive to purchase..There were so many better performances that week that got captured on audio, Only the visuals are lacking.. (where is "Brother can you spare a dime" w/t Tower of Power horns" ... damn what a shame... Rhino.. I guess this probabley is the main reason this release was held up and pushed back..Money , Money , Money, not art.
Also this would have been the perfect type of release that would have cried out for extra bonus footage and important talking heads going on and on about the Fillmore and what it meant to them..Oh well another missed opportunity..I hope Rhinos other ventures into films and their preservation at least have the sense to realize that a film is a piece of art no matter how big or small and deserves to be seen as the director intended..Not cut for time or money concerns..put it out like it was meant to be seen..truly dreadful Rhino..
indeed..
69 of 73 found the following review helpful:
Not The Real ThingJun 04, 2009
By Bradley Addams
This is not the movie that was in the theaters. This is much shorter and leaves out great bands and substitutes the best parts with filler. Save your money or be prepared to be disappointed.
25 of 28 found the following review helpful:
 What's leftMay 27, 2009
By Michael L. Knapp
I've waited for so long for this to be released but there are some major disappointments in what is missing. No Stoneground, no Sons Of Champlin, great songs replaced by jams. Went to all the last shows but one and this does capture the closing of the Fillmore West (not to be confused with The Fillmore) in a somewhat clinical maner. No matter what you do, there is really no way to fully cature any event. I remember being somewhat disappointed when this movie originally came out. It's still a good movie, just not as good as it could have been.
51 of 63 found the following review helpful:
 Thanks Bill Graham For A Fitting Send-OffFeb 18, 2009
By Shell-Zee
If I could get into an H.G. Wells like time machine and travel back through the years, where would I want to go?....Well heck, Monterey Pop is not a bad place to start. Afterall it's the grand-daddy of rock festivals. Of course Woodstock readily comes to mind...It was the biggest ever and certainly boasts perhaps the greatest roster of artists. There was also Watkins Glen; The Band, The Dead & The Allman Brothers...Not too shabby by anyone's standards. And then there's the closing of the famed Fillmore Auditorium. Admittedly the talent pool is not quite as deep as the aforementioned extravaganzas. But the question that begs to be asked is, how great were the performances by many of the artists at those huge outdoor events? True, there were some real standouts. Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix clearly left it all on-stage at Monterey. Sly Stone, Santana and Joe Cocker were awesome at Woodstock. And The Dead were in their prime at Watkins Glen. But what of the balance of the acts that comprise those seminal events? Crosby Stills & Nash were certainly not ready for prime-time at Woodstock. The Band were racked by thunderstorms at Watkins Glen and played slightly less than forty five minutes before, as Levon Helm put it, "it began to pour like a cow pissing on a rock". And The Mamas & The Pappas were nowhere near the top of their game at Monterey. Their stage monitors were so faint that they couldn't get into their signature harmonies. Even Mama Cass sounded flat, (no pun intended).
So what can be said of the performances at The Fillmore West during those final days?...Nothing short of pure magic!....Just listen to The New Riders enliven the crowd with their old smuggler's tale Henry. The Dead are right-on with smokin' versions of Casey Jones and Johnny B. Goode. Quicksilver, a real bay area favorite wails into Mojo and Fresh Air...What pipes on the young Dino Valenti! And what more can we say of Santana's inspiried treatment of the Miles Davis classic In A Silent Way (actually writen by Joe Zawinul) and Incident At Neshabur? Another bay area band and crowd favorite It's A Beautiful Day perform a mavelous version of their signature song White Bird. While Boz Scaggs positively shines as never before on an amazing nine minute version of the old Steve Miller tune Baby's Calling Me Home. With help from the incomparable Tower of Power, Boz raises the roof and gets the audience on their feet! And let's not forget Hot Tuna's Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burnin'. Papa John Creech was cookin', as were Jack and Jorma....There was Lamb, Elvin Bishop, Malo (Carlos Santana's brother if you didn't know), Tower Of Power, Stoneground, Cold Blood and a memorable finale by Taj Mahal, Elvin Bishop and Boz Scaggs that left the audience, as Taj would say "satisfied and tickled too".
Yes, there were bigger events in the world of the rock festival extravaganza. But none can rival the inspiried performances, the sheer energy and all out intensity of the artists that played to a grateful audience those final five evenings. So point my time machine in the direction of San Francisco, set the date for June 30-July 4, 1971. Pack my tie-dyed t-shirts, fadded jeans and sandals and look for me up front and center stage. I'll be smilin' for sure and rockin' out to some of the greatest sounds ever to grace the fabeled walls of the one and only... the original Fillmore Auditorium. Thank you Bill Graham. You sure gave the place a fitting send-off.
P. S. I just recieved notes on the DVD release so I thought I'd ammend my review with the following: Unfortunately There is no footage of Boz Scaggs performing Baby's Calling Me Home. This was a real stand-out in the original audio release. Secondly the only inclusion of The New Riders of the Purple Sage is during a brief sound check with Jerry Garcia. Hot Tuna does "Candy Man" and "Uncle Sam Blues" and not "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burnin'". The wonderful finale by Boz Scaggs, Elvin Bishop and Taj Mahal didn't make its way onto the DVD release and neither did the very underated Malo. And finally there are two songs featured by The Jefferson Airplane ("Volenteers" and "We Can Be So Good Together"). These were not included on the audio release. However keep in mind these are not live performances but the original studio recordings set against a film collage of the Height Ashbury Summer of Love. In light of these omissions I'm changing my overall rating to 4.5 Stars.
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Not the Movie I Saw in the TheatersJun 06, 2009
By C. Merganz
I saw this movie when it first came out in the theaters and it was a great send off for the Filmore West.All these years I waited for a video release and got it the day it came out.Its been over 30 years and I didn't remember who all was in the movie but I WAS looking forward to the long Jam of Boz Scaggs'"I'll Be Long Gone", which took my breath away.For whatever reason, it wasn't there....a BIG dissappointment. the performances included are nicely done in 5.1 but it lost a lot of it's magic with the "missing performances". If you are curious about the whole Filmore scene and the band's that made it the venue it was , then by all means purchace this DVD. If you are dissappointed with the DVD try to find the CD 2-disc set. You won't be dissappointed there .
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