“Becoming Led Zeppelin” A Terrific, Nostalgic Documentary With A Killer Soundtrack

“Becoming Led Zeppelin” traces the journeys of Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham and Robert Plant through their childhoods in post-war Britain, the music scene of the 1960s including Shirley Bassey performing the “Goldfinger” theme with Zeppelin players on it, their meeting in the summer of 1968 and meteoric ascendency throughout 1969 and culminating in 1970 when they became the No. 1 band in the world.

The story is told by band members with the late Bonham represented by archival audio interviews. The documentary features, full, never-before-seen footage of the band’s early American and British concerts and unseen material from the band’s personal archives.

If anyone out there is a Led Zeppelin enthusiast and loves their music, then make sure you check out this incredible documentary!

“Becoming Led Zeppelin’ delivers quite a few insightful interviews from the band members. Throughout all of the interviews, we get to explore the individual journeys of the band members and how they eventually came together. The documentary also includes a never released audio interview with John Bonham that allows fans to hear his voice and perspectives, which also added a real nice touch for the film.

It was also incredible seeing some restored footage of early Led Zeppelin performances, which offers us a glimpse into their early years. This documentary also features some of their awesome songs, such as “How Many More Times,” “Good Times Bad Times,” “Dazed and Confused,” “Whole Lotta Love” and so much more.

“Becoming Led Zeppelin has been really well-received by fans, with many praising its ability to provide new insights into the band’s early years and its immersive concert experience. Also, I think creating a documentary is a better alternative to a traditional biopic where several things could be missed in a scripted narrative.

“Becoming Led Zeppelin” was researched and written by Bernard MacMahon with screenwriter and producer Allison McGounty, the two having worked together on “American Epic” - a series investigating American music styles. Bandleader Jimmy Page and frontman Robert Plant were already fans of the series.

Page told the filmmakers that he had turned down a lot of “pretty miserable" pitches over the years to make a film or documentary about Led Zeppelin. But from MacMahon and McGounty he received a deeply researched proposal focusing almost exclusively on the music and chronicling the band’s birth and it’s early rise.

The documentary was announced in 2019, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the band forming. In May 2024, Sony Pictures Classics acquired distribution rights to the film in North and Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia (except Japan).

MPA: PG-13 for some drug references and smoking  (running time 122 minutes)

• Announced in 2019, the documentary had its preview at the Venice Film Festival of 2021, as a work-in-progress.

• Some of the vintage flyers shown in the film feature the caption "Don Arden Productions." Don Arden was an infamous and legendary record company man and band manager, but is probably best known for being the father of Sharon Arden (later Sharon Osbourne), and of course, the future father-in-law of Ozzy Osbourne.

• Becoming Led Zeppelin was researched and written by Bernard MacMahon with screenwriter and producer Allison McGourty, the two having worked together on American Epic—a series investigating American music styles. Bandleader Jimmy Page and frontman Robert Plant were already fans of the series.

• Page told the filmmakers that he had turned down a lot of "pretty miserable" pitches over the years to make a documentary about Led Zeppelin. But from MacMahon and McGourty he received a deeply researched proposal focusing almost exclusively on the music and chronicling the band's birth in 1968 and its early rise.