The trailer for the upcoming authorized documentary about Led Zeppelin finally dropped, and it could very well become a groundbreaking piece of music history. The upcoming Led Zeppelin documentary, titled Becoming Led Zeppelin, will follow the rise of the iconic rock band in 1960s England, including the band’s famed late drummer John Bonham. Bonham, for reference, passed away at the age of 32 in 1980, marking the end of the band. The film will pay particular attention to the rehearsal in 1968 that changed the lives of the band members forever, leading to their first tour in the United States.
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The documentary has been a long time coming, and director Bernard MacMahon managed to take the film to the Cannes Film Festival back in 2019 when it was still in post-production. Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, guitar virtuoso Jimmy Page, and bassist John Paul Jones have participated in the project. MacMahon has a rapport with music history filmmaking, as he helmed the roots music documentary American Epic back in 2017.
“When I saw everything Bernard [MacMahon] had done both visually and sonically on the remarkable achievement that is ‘American Epic’, I knew he would be qualified to tell our story,” said Page of the upcoming documentary.
At the Venice Film Festival, Becoming Led Zeppelin received a 10-minute standing ovation.
You can watch the trailer below:
‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ Documentary Features Unheard Audio of John Bonham
The trailer for the documentary features some previously unheard archival audio of John Bonham in an interview.
“The first time we played together, it was stunning,” Bonham can be heard saying at the end of the trailer. “It was like a gift from heaven, wasn’t it?”
The film will include a significant amount of archival footage and audio, in addition to modern-day interviews with the surviving Led Zeppelin band members. The soundtrack for the doc is also expected to be quite stunning.
“We spent five years flying back and forth across the Atlantic scouring attics and basements in pursuit of rare and unseen film footage, photographs, and music recordings,” said Allison McGourty, writer and producer for the film. “Then we transferred each piece of media with custom techniques so that in IMAX, these 55-year-old clips and music would look and sound like they came out of the lab yesterday.”
Becoming Led Zeppelin comes over 40 years after the band initially split in 1980. Fans will be able to see the film in IMAX theaters on February 7 of next year.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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