Documentary film offers a fascinating glimpse into Led Zeppelin

LED Zeppelin make their first ever foray into the world of cinematic documentaries in this film from director Bernard MacMahon.

It is the first time that the three surviving members of the seminal rock band have agreed to sanction such a project and the film is made with their full blessing and cooperation.

The film has a rather narrow and specific focus on the band’s formative years, their initial coming together as a group and the overnight success of their first two eponymous albums.

While not a comprehensive history, the film does provide a fascinating glimpse into what made the group so special in the first place and will likely prove indispensible for fans.

As the title suggests the movie focuses exclusively on the earliest years of the band, their formation and early successes in the United States.

It features in-depth interviews with guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant and bassist John Paul Jones.

Drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980, appears via previously unheard audio recordings.

The movie also features never before seen concert footage from the band’s personal archives.

The band member reminisce about their early years, their childhood experiences in terms of their precocious interest in music, whether it was the rock and roll music of the day or the influential blues recordings that preceded it.

Both Page and Jones work as session musicians before Page joins band the Yardbirds. Bonham drums in a number of bands with friend Plant.

Eventually the Yardbirds disintegrates and Page forms Led Zeppelin with Jones, later inviting Bonham and Plant to join.

The group sets to work on their debut album in 1968, featuring such hits as “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” and “Good Times Bad Times.”

The album is a big hit in the States and following a successful tour the next year, Led Zeppelin II becomes an even bigger hit, establishing the group as the best in the hard rock business.

Of the handful of rock bands considered the very greatest, Led Zeppelin are, along with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, one of the first that come to mind.

Thanks to the guitar and producing prowess of Page, the resounding lyrics and powerful voice of Plant, the relentless groove of drummer Bonham and the intelligent work on bass and keyboards by Jones, the band have set themselves apart as one of the very best.

The vast majority of their work is sheer brilliance and it would probably take a series of documentaries to go through it all, so this film decides to focus of the band’s early magic.

That decision may frustrate fans looking for a more complete retrospective but what remains is purely fascinating.

The interviews with the surviving members are terrific. The three are filmed separately in a room resembling a grand antechamber in a medieval castle.

Page and Jones are charmingly enthusiastic, often breaking into big smiles as they talk about the music and the other members.

Plant is slightly more restrained, displaying a wistful, pensive energy.

The exclusive, newly resurrected footage of the band performing in 1968 and 1969, will delight fans and you feel it only scratches the surface of what else may be buried in the archives.

You come away disappointed only in the sense that you want to see more.

Becoming Led Zeppelin might limited in terms of its focus but what it does have offer will enthrall just the same.

RATING: ****

Matthew McCaul