Becoming Led Zeppelin

I went to the cinema to see 'Becoming Led Zeppelin' with my brother and saw it in IMAX. Didn't really know what to expect but I found the experience thoroughly enjoyable. I'm very familiar with their music catalogue and was a bit of a hippy myself in my teens, though post Led Zeppelin in the late 70's and early 80's, so I never saw them live (although I did go to a cinema 'all nighter that included 'The Song Remains the Same' movie!). I don't listen to them much these days but it was great to revisit their first two albums, hear their amazing music again and see the rare footage and listen to them talking nostalgically about those exciting formative days.

One of the things the documentary impressed on me was how stripped down those early performances were. There is hardly any lighting, the stages are often the size of a postage stamp and some the audiences on their first US tour were really tough (check out the kids putting their fingers in their ears - hilarious). This gave me a real appreciation for their dedication to the music as they give it 100% regardless.

So, I know there's been a lot of water under the bridge, and even though Robert, Jimmy and John Paul (and even John posthumously) are interviewed separately for this documentary there's a whole lotta love for the halcyon days of energy and creativity of the sixties. The documentary brings the era alive with some well chosen news reel footage and even rare footage of the band members playing pre-Zeppelin. In regard to this - a special moment is when they are reacting to video footage that they had not seen before - priceless.

On the picky side there is plenty of 'lick and stick' editing going on - you know, putting clips together with music from a different recording and making a less than convincing hash of it - but its a forgivable conceit really (for fans) and worth overlooking to make the most of all the archive material.

All in all we had a great night out at the cinema and I can say with some confidence that if you were ever a fan of the first two Zeppelin albums your gonna love this trip down memory lane - it's a whole lotta rock n roll nostalgia.

I did chuckle to myself watching this when the band talk about the bad reviews they received from the music press but how the fans ignored it anyway and through word of mouth the band became bigger and bigger with much adulation. Seeing the media reviews of this film against the fan reviews it seems nothing has changed in over 50 years.

But here's the thing. This is clearly made by a fan, for the fans. It's not for casual rock fans. It's almost 2 and a half hours covering only two years of the band (with the birth of the band covering the first hour or so) and it's power is in the build up, the interviews (only with the band and not the usual snippets from the cleaner and famous fans we've hardly heard of, which is the usual fare for these type of documentaries), the wonderful Bonzo audio and the phenomenal performances, some of which the band hadn't even seen. I can't wait for the inevitable (I hope) follow up. It's all I could of wished for when I first heard they were doing this, and more.

As a Led Zeppelin fan for the past five decades, this was an amazing trip, hearing all the stories of how four incredible artists happened upon each other to make rock history.

With genuine and thoughtful interviews from the survivors of the band and a really sweet and funny interview from the late John Bonham, (a happy voice from the past) this exciting and well crafted doc had wonderful historical footage and photos showing us how Led Zeppelin became Led Zeppelin.

If you can see it in IMAX, it's amazing. Some of the live footage is absolutely fantastic and the sound quality is remarkable.

Overall, this was a really fun ride down memory lane. I just wish I were 10 years older so that I had had a chance to see Zep before John passed.

Definitely a must see for any Led Zeppelin fan!

2025 has been the year of musical biopics so far, though this film about the early years of Led Zeppelin is a documentary / concert film, unlike any of those.

Looking to break away from his comfortable life as a session guitarist, Jimmy Page established his own band, bringing in fellow session player John Paul Jones as well as two prodigious talents from the West Midlands in Robert Plant and John Bonham. Their chemistry is immediate and they head to American to tour on preexisting contracts for Page's former band The Yardbirds. Their first album is a commercial success, though not well reviewed. They resolve to come again with everything they have for their second album.

The documentary has the full co-operation from the three surviving members of the band who all appear in talking head style interviews, explaining their story themselves. This is intercut with footage from various different sources showing the band performing, or home videos. There is also inserts from an Interview with John Bonham, that never aired anywhere previously, but cover his early life, and time spent with Plant before the band came together. It's quite emotional when they play the interview to the rest of the band, particularly a section when he talks about how he feels about his bandmates. It's a very well researched documentary, though does only get the bands opinions on what's going on, with none of the supporting characters offering any thoughts.

It's a criticism that you see in all the reviews, but it is valid. Ending where they do, with the release of Zeppelin 2, does mean that they can avoid all of the contentious topics that a full documentary would cover. So, there's no spiralling into heroin use, no talk of what they may have gotten up to with groupies and there's no actual discussion of Bonham's death, even how they feel about it. Maybe with the trust that Bernard MacMahon has established with them, they could come back and do a follow up "The End of Led Zeppelin".

If you don't have any interest in the band it's perhaps unlikely to change your opinion, but I enjoyed it.

A brilliant and insightful documentary, saw it at the Olympic Studios cinema; watching footage in the actual room they recorded Led Zeppelin I was fantastic, (In Dolby Atmos too it's was LOUD!) Their love of their craft shone through and the archive footage is phenomenal, the editing and montage sequences have painstakingly been put together and gave a real sense of a place and time, the raw live performances also hit hard and showed what fantastic musicians they were individually and as group, the candid interviews and audio clips of John Bonham were really powerful, just wish they'd make one for the next stage of their career.