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Becoming Led Zeppelinreleases in IMAX theaters on February 7 (nationwide the week after), touted as the “first authorized documentary” inLed Zeppelin’s 50+-year-long career. Following “rapturous applause” at an early screening at the Venice Film Festival in late 2021, as reported byVariety, the long-anticipated documentary strangely disappeared. We still aren’t sure what took the film so long — don’t rule out lawyers — but, at long last,Becoming Led Zeppelinwill finally see the light of day. After all that hype, is it worth the wait?
Directed by famed music documentarian Bernard MacMahon,Becoming Led Zeppelinpromises inside insight into the musicians' lives during the ascent of the pioneering band, which existed only from 1968 to 1980.Will it succumb to the clichés of the genre and be the standard hagiography or address the band’s many controversies & scandals, including swiping other artists' songs, their dalliances in the occult, the band’s lethal booze/drug intake, Jimmy Page’s relationship with a minor, and a certain incident involving a fish?
‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ Is Striking While the Iron’s Ice Cold
Forming from the rubble of acid-rock band The Yardbirds (that’s Jimmy Page behind the Fender Telecaster in Michelangelo Antonioni’sBlow Up),Led Zeppelin assembled arguably the most impressive line-up of the time, their musicomnipresent in pop culture. The Hall of Fame outfit consisted of Robert Plant on vocals, Page on guitar, John Bonham on drums, and John Paul Jones on bass, crossing the planet on a private Boeing jet with a fireplace and wet bar.
After a decade of dominating the nascent heavy metal genre, the group splintered. In their wake, they left an army of admirers and reels of concert film. The band was praised for delivering outstanding live shows. Their tight live performances were only matched by Robert Plant’s wardrobe, which appeared to have shrunk in the jet’s dryer.
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The legendary British rockers (sans their deceased drummer) reunited in 2007 for the first time in decades, proving that their labor of love had persisted across the generations and into the “realms of greatness,” as theNMEboasted. The documentary/concert film follows in the path of Martin Scorsese’s Rolling Stones film,Shine a Light, and Peter Jackson’s epic Disney+ exclusiveThe Beatles: Get Back. At the time of the first initial viewing, the Venice crowd wouldn’t stop cheering.
‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ Is a Movie of Utmost Security
Unfortunately, this one took a couple of years longer to bake in the oven. Reporters back in 2021 described the exaggerated security detail and secrecy surrounding the event, phones, and other recording equipment confiscated from the select attendees on arrival, which seems to imply there is new footage or revelations that you can’t find on YouTube. The documentary is stated to be narrated by the band and not talking heads, adding to the intimacy. If you’re worried about the directortaking dramatic license, relax. As we’ll discuss below, there’s no shortage of provocative material to include.The problem is what gets left out.
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What might account for the delay?Piecing together some clues from the early film in Venice and comparing it to the available information, we see that the runtime has been slashed.If we’re to guess, MacMahon trimmed interviews and a couple of B-sides. We don’t hold out any hope for you hardcore fans wishing to hear rare archival demos or deep cuts like “Boogie with Stu.” It’s an expensive IMAX movie aimed at normies, so expect all the hits you’ve heard on the radio or in commercials 10 million times.
The Elephant(s) in the Room
With their status and accolades comes a jetliner’s worth of baggage.The doc will only focus on the first couple of years, meaning their mid-’70s misadventures might be conveniently overlooked. Maybe that’s saved for a badly needed part two that’s still in development. Mystery surrounds the 1973 Drake Hotel robbery in NYC, numerous unattributed covers of folk and blues songs, not to mention Page’s obsession with Aleister Crowley. His journey into the occult generated rumors he was summoning spirits and hiding backmasked messages on his records to recruit kids to worship Satan. He always glossed over the topic, joking at anOxford Unionevent that “it’s hard enough writing the music one way around, imagine it backwards.” As for the story of the groupie and the mudshark, that’s largely been debunked.
Other anecdotes can’t be laughed off. Famous groupie Lori Maddox admitted to numerous adult lovers while underage, including Page. Though that dark aspect of Page’s life generally goes ignored because Maddox shrugs off the whole era as youthful indiscretions, as she communicated toThe Guardianin 2018.Considering this is an “authorized” biography, we are anticipating the director to play it very safe and the band members to keep mum on the taboo chapters of their lives.Documentaries have a habit of skipping over awkward bits, androck-themed films are no less disingenuous. A pity for all of us history lovers and fans who have already seenVH1 Legendsand countless other “rockumentaries.” But we’d love to be proven wrong.
The film debuts in limited IMAX venues on February 7 and opens nationwide in theaters a week later. For those in larger metro areas in the US and Canada,early IMAX screenings are available startingFebruary 5, though those seats are already selling out.
