When walking into a theater, preparing to watch a 2-hour movie on one of the most famous music groups in the world, you’d be surprised to learn that the group’s most famous songs are not mentioned, let alone played. This is the case with Becoming Led Zeppelin; many of the band’s most popular songs, including “Black Dog” and “Stairway to Heaven,” are not included in the detailed documentary. This is by design. Becoming Led Zeppelin, as the title implies, is not about the band’s entire history, but about their transition from humble beginnings to world-wide success.
“I expected the movie to be about [Led Zeppelin’s entire] career,” an anonymous junior said. “It did focus on the few first years of the career—up until 1970 to ‘71—[but] the main focus of the film is becoming Led Zeppelin and how they came to be. [The documentary] ended a little bit abruptly, but in retrospect…it was meant to showcase that advancement to stardom and track that journey in an interesting way, and it did.”
While much of the music people, especially young people hear today is contemporary pop, or rap/hip-hop, it becomes clear that a love of rock ‘n’ roll has not yet died out, even among the communities of Skokie. When I walked into the single IMAX theater at AMC Village Crossing, excited to see the movie on the night of its debut—Feb. 7—I was intrigued yet unsurprised by the audience that sat before me. Even when the movie was over, I had difficulty finding more than a few people in that packed theater who looked to be under the age of 50. And these people were like no audience I had ever heard before. Claps were rampant throughout the movie as song intros started and long performances ended. People woo’d and shouted at the sound of their favorite song openings. I could even hear a middle-aged couple next to me, whispering about things they recognized in the movie—about the band—and memories that were associated with them. Clearly, a love for older music was still alive around Skokie, albeit from the expected age demographic.
“Going in there, I wouldn’t have expected the audience to [consist of] many people under 30, even though, for reference, my mom is in her 50s [and is] a huge Led Zeppelin fan,” an anonymous junior said. “[But she] was born after most of their seminal works came out, so it has that far-reaching influence. It was nice because you could tell [the audience] had a really strong connection with the music and they really enjoyed the movie on a deeper, much more personal level.”
As for the film itself, while not your typical movie, it is still a professionally and passionately crafted production that keeps the audience engaged in the early lives of the band members. Every member of the band is interviewed for the movie—Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and even the late John Bonham is heard via a never-before-heard interview. Every band member’s story, appropriately, is told chronologically and through personal interviews recounting their past experiences, right from early childhood and ending at the first signs of global notoriety. And unlike, say, your typical Disney animated film, which takes about four years to make, Becoming Led Zeppelin took twice that long to reach the big screen.
“It was well executed,” an anonymous junior said. “They did a really good job of showing a human side to the band members.”
As is expected with any documentary, old yet remastered footage is used to gain a better understanding of the band’s lives at any given time. Clearly, the team behind Becoming Led Zeppelin sunk their hands deep into hard-to-find sources, utilizing cutting-edge video technology, creating a great level of authenticity for the film. This is to say that one of the largest contributors to and aspects of the film’s development was the “pursuit of the finest materials available,” as described by Post-Production Supervisor and Online Editor Lauren Sorofman. In fact, footage is so unseen that even the band members themselves are seemingly shocked and flattered to witness such footage, and this includes the interview with John Bonham.
“Part of my day-to-day was supporting the producer and helping the archive producers hunt down and keep track of the treasured materials you see and hear on screen,” Sorofman said. “All of the materials were meticulously researched and verified to align with the timeline of the film, then transferred in their highest quality possible, licensed, and cataloged. [It was] tremendously difficult. There were many long days until 3 or 4 in the morning, but the work was incredibly rewarding. Every part of the process was important, and you could feel it in the air. We knew we had something truly special. The roller coaster of discovery, disappointment, perseverance, achievement…it truly is a life-changing experience to be part of this great art and further to share our joy. Some of us don’t have children and our films are our kids. This film is the next generation to me.”
One unique aspect of the film worth mentioning is its use of music. While the film expectedly and necessarily uses songs from the band Led Zeppelin—and their musical predecessors and inspirations—how they use it is certainly of intrigue. There are several instances in the documentary where old, specific footage of the band members playing their best songs at the time frags on for several minutes, showcasing a performance Led Zeppelin is displaying. This isn’t the studio versions of the songs either; the actual audio footage from long-forgotten performances is paired with the visuals of the performances themselves, creating a sense that the audience of the movie is really the audience of a concert.
“The movie did a very good job of incorporating [the band’s] actual music into the narrative,” an anonymous junior said. “Although, at times, [songs] would go on for a while, they integrated concert footage to give you a sense of [Led Zeppelin’s] musical identity at that point. That was cool to watch because you get to enjoy the music but you also get to understand the progression of the band. I would give it an 8/10.”
Overall, the documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin doesn’t give you exactly what you’d expect, but somehow less and more than that at the same time. Even for those who don’t know Led Zeppelin beyond their name, the film creates an intriguing and curiously crafted production for all audiences to enjoy. It takes viewers from their world surrounded by contemporary music and transports them back to the late 1960s, when the best bands of the ‘70s and ‘80s first got their footing. Whether you’re an old rock ‘n’ roll soul or a new age celebrity obsessive, Becoming Led Zeppelin will be a new experience with rockin’ music to match.
