Led Zeppelin Announces First Authorized Documentary For Band’s 50th Anniversary
The surviving members of British rock band Led Zeppelin have taken part in a new documentary that celebrates the band’s 50th anniversary.
The film, which has yet to be titled, is currently in post production, The Guardian reported. This will be the first time Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones have come together for such a production, and it will reportedly contain new interviews with the band members. The movie will also include rare interviews with the band’s late drummer John Bonham, as well as previously unseen photographs and film footage as well as interviews with other artists.
British film-maker Bernard MacMahon will direct the film. MacMahon previously directed the four-part documentary American Epic in 2017.
“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,” Page, 75, said in Wednesday in a statement announcing the documentary.
Plant, 70, also like the idea of MacMahon being involved with the project.
“Seeing Will Shade, and so many other important early American musicians, brought to life on the big screen in American Epic inspired me to contribute to a very interesting and exciting story,” he said.
The upcoming Led Zeppelin documentary will feature a comprehensive overview of the legendary outfit through never-before-seen archive film footage and photographs. https://t.co/Otbomqu1Pm
— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) May 8, 2019
The Guardian reported that MacMahon will focus on Led Zeppelin’s development and rise to fame, following how the musicians came together in 1968. The film will only document their career until 1970, which means a lot of the band’s story, including the death of drummer John Bonham, will not be covered. Also not to be covered is the making of one of the band’s most iconic hits, “Stairway to Heaven,” which was released in 1971.
The film will instead center around new interviews with the three surviving band members, with “no outside voices or conjecture,” according to The Guardian.
Many critics consider the band to be one of the most innovative rock bands in the world. From 1960 to 1980, the band experienced immense success. The band released eight albums over their career, and in 1976, the band released The Song Remains the Same, a concert film that accompanied the release of their album of the same name.
Interestingly, last year, the band’s single “Immigrant Song” hit number one on Billboard’s chart 47 years after it was released, as it was featured in Marvel’s box-office hit Thor: Ragnarok. From the album Led Zeppelin III, the single experienced a 977 percent increase in sales after the film was released, Grammy reported.
The band broke up in 1980, when drummer Bonham was discovered dead after a day of heavy drinking.
A release date for the documentary has not yet been announced.
