Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains The Same (Special Edition)

Record-breaking rock gods revisited

As a teenage boy, this writer recalls gawping in wonder at the sight of a 30-foot Robert Plant on the local Odeon’s big screen. In the days before DVD, or even VHS, a rock band at the cinema was a genuine event, and few were as mammoth or majestic as Zeppelin. The bombast and bellow of Dazed & Confused or Moby Dick was made for bumper-sized consumption, so the diminished impact of a front parlour experience is to be expected. Let’s not get picky. More than 30 years on, this remains one of the most powerful concert movies ever, no matter where it’s watched. This spruced-up edition has been expanded to feature the full gig and sundry extras: Plant interviewed while sailing along the Thames, manager Peter Grant making his towering presence felt by anyone foolish enough to throw a spanner in his works, and intriguing shots of the group disembarking from planes like mystical hippy royalty. Around 20,000 can relive the might of the revived Zep at the O2 Arena, but that still leaves an estimated 980,000 failed ticket applicants who’ll have a blast with the rock monsters courtesy of their home cinema set-up. Popcorn and patchouli oil at the ready, the beast awakens…

Warners | D 075624

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
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