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Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains the Same Actors: John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant Directors: Peter Clifton, Joe Massot Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Format: Color, Dolby, Widescreen Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Running Time: 136 minutes Studio: Warner Studios Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 1999-12-21 Buy from Amazon |
 "Bogus Widescreen!"What can one say about live Zeppelin? They were unmatched. (And still are.) Besides being the only official film of their live show, I think it is a great performance! Frankily, I don't understand when people say that this was a so-so performance; I think it's outstanding! The DVD version is different from the VHS version in the following ways: It was very nice to see extended scenes in the "Mob Rubout" chapter and some better editing overall. Of course, the picture and audio quality are far superior than the VHS version also. My main gripe about this DVD is that the "Widescreen" is totally fake! What I mean by this is that all they did was put black bars over the same picture in the VHS version. (I compared them side-by-side.) True Widescreen is when you get extra picture on both sides and the shot is shrunk down to fit the TV. So really what we're getting here is the top and bottom of the picture cut off! What an insult! I don't think most people would notice this, however, so I can really only subtract 1 star for this must-have Zep DVD! "Definitely Of Its Time"I have to give this film four stars, despite its many flaws. I've loved Led Zeppelin for about 22 years now, and parts of this still give me chills: when they kick off with "The Song Remains The Same", I wonder how great it must have been to witness them live, which I never got to experience. And though I haven't seen this in years, I can still remember the fantastic, 15-minute version of "Whole Lotta Love" with Robert singing back at Jimmy's theremin squeals. I don't know if it sounds cheesy, but to a fifteen year old who saw this for the first time in 1981 at the midnight show, it was pure greatness. I still wonder now if there's ever been a better band. People talk endlessly in the music papers about the greatness of the Beatles, and that's fair enough. But Led Zeppelin were, for me, the greatest band rock has ever produced. That said, parts of this movie don't stand up well, and others are downright embarrassing: the dream sequences may have played well on the film's release, but you might catch yourself giggling watching it now. The performance footage, all shot at Madison Square Garden in 1973, is about as good as you could expect. And there probably are days when you could do with a much SHORTER version of "Dazed and Confused", but there's no denying the power of the violin bow sequence - it's downright chilling near its conclusion. So, if you love the band and aren't too fussy about film quality and transfer, you'll probably be happy for the most part. Even with the new 2-disc Led Zep DVD on release, there's still a shocklingly small amount of film devoted to this great band.  "ALMOST, BUT NOT QUITE FANTASTIC"I first saw this movie back in '77, and being a huge a fan of the group, I was both delighted and disappointed. The group performed predictably well over the 3 nights at the Garden when they were filmed, but the live footage of the band was mediocre with too many close-up shots and not enough of the band performing as a whole. (There's amateur bootleg video available of the group from '75 in Chicago that has the vantage point that I wish this movie had - single camera from the first row.) With the exception of Plant's fantasy section during "The Rain Song", the others were distracting and disjointed, and only stole away from the performance. (Fans may care to seek THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME outtake bootleg video, which has the "damsel in distress" role played by Plant's ex-wife, Maureen.) Another major problem with the movie from an historical perspective is the somewhat outdated nature of the live material shown. Back then, the group had the classic PHYSICAL GRAFFITI album out for 2 years when the movie was released, but none of that material was covered. If they included footage from the '75 tour, that would have helped tremendously. Also, if the band had performed an acoustic set during those shows, that also would have given the overall performance more flavor. The addition of some offstage footage of the group (in their famous Starship jet, for example) would have added interest to the film. One major plus with the movie is the inclusion of "Since I've Been Loving You", with didn't make it to the soundtrack album (but that's another review). In summary, the movie would have been more enjoyable if it was longer and without the peripheral "fantasy" sequences. It's unfortunate that so little quality film footage is available from this legendary band, which by default makes this film the best live document available. It's too bad that the group never performed at Woodstock, because their performance in that film would have been awesome. (Note: The band was actually in the region during that week in August '69, performing in Canada. DAMN!) But, save for a few decent bootleg videos (Danish TV, Staines, Paris '69; Chicago, Inglewood '75, etc.), this film will unfortunately remain the best historical concert film document of Led Zeppelin, and as such should be regarded as indispensable.  "Bombast"[Bad] concert footage and self-indulgent bio spots that say and do nothing, but that is what Led Zeppelin is; stated better than I, "Zeppelin are the most important band to say nothing". Compare to the "The Kids Are Alright" and you then see what it should be about. signed, Led Zeppelin fan, but not a Led Zeppelin freak  "Midnight at the Movies"I must have seen this movie 20 times at the local theatre. Friday and Saturday nights at midnight they'd play Rock n Roll movies. I have never been able to stay awake through the whole movie. I thought at the time it was because we were staying up past midnight to watch it and we were just to tired to make it to the end. So when I picked up the DVD and brought it home after not seeing it for so many years I thought "I'm finally gonna be able to see this movie from start to finish". I still fell asleep. This movie has not aged well. I LOVE ZEP. But this movie reminds me too much of Spinal Tap. The dream sequences.........Why are the there? The band looks very bored. They also seem to take this whole 'rock star' persona way to seriously. Spinal Tap was a spoof. This was not and looks like one. Long live Zep...........but you don't need this DVD in your collection. |
