The first-ever authorised Led Zeppelin documentary film is out in cinemas this weekend featuring Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones as talking heads.
Titled Becoming Led Zeppelin, the emphasis is very much on the “becoming” as this 2 hour and 17 minute retrospective suddenly ends just as the band hit the big time.
Starting off strong, the three surviving members entertainingly describe their childhoods and teenage years from the late Fifties to the early Sixties, with some pretty funny anecdotes, including how Plant almost became an accountant.
A particular highlight of this film is previously unheard audio of John Bonham, who rarely gave interviews before his death, giving his insight into the early days of the band as the three others listen in with remembering smiles.
Fans will love the extended restored live takes of Led Zeppelin performing in their early days, including a set featuring a bemused audience with their fingers in their ears. Little did they know this little group would become the biggest band of all time after The Beatles and Queen. However, this rockumentary does drag a little in the middle and sadly ended just as it was getting particularly interesting.
Given it’s an authorised documentary, much of the addiction to drugs, booze and debauchery is glossed over. Of course the film does sell itself as an origin story, so here’s hoping there’s a sequel covering the rest of the Seventies, Bonham’s tragic death and the aftermath. Or how about an unauthorised version?
Becoming Led Zeppelin is out now in cinemas.