The Led Zeppelin doco 'Becoming Led Zeppelin' that's been in the works is now complete. The doco directed by Bernard McMahon. It will feature new interviews with surviving members of the band Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones. In addition it will feature old interviews with the late John Bonham.
In a statement McMahon said “Becoming Led Zeppelin is a film that no one thought could be made. The band’s meteoric rise to stardom was swift and virtually undocumented. Through an intense search across the globe and years of restoration of the visual and audio archive found. This story is finally able to be told.â€
Led Zep an American Epic
McMahon's other directed works have been American Epic - about the early American roots music from the 1920s. In addition Page praises the film “When I saw everything Bernard had done both visually and sonically on the remarkable achievement that is American Epic. I knew he would be qualified to tell our story.â€
“I used only original prints and negatives, with over 70,000 frames of footage manually restored. Devised fantasia sequences, inspired by Singin’ In The Rain. Layering unseen performance footage with montages of posters, tickets and travel to create a visual sense of the freneticism of their early career.â€
The film traces the journeys of the the band through the music scene of the 1960s. Their meeting in the summer of 1968 for a rehearsal that will change the future of rock. When their second album knocks The Beatles off the top of the charts. They become the number one band in the world.
This is the first time that Led Zeppelin have featured in a documentary
In conclusion Becoming Led Zeppelin is the first time that Led Zeppelin have participated in a documentary in 50 years. With the band granting MacMahon “unprecedented access†for the film.