Led Zeppelin: DVD (2DVD) [2003]

Given that they were the biggest band in the world, Zeppelin were notoriously camera-shy in their heyday. Their official filmic legacy until now has been just the fascinating but flawed The Song Remains the Same. While this new set presents some previously unseen footage from the same 1973 Madison Square Garden gigs, its real wonders lie in the earlier (1970) Royal Albert Hall footage and the later Earls Court (1975) and Knebworth (1979) concerts. Everything here looks and sounds new-minted, thanks to painstaking restoration and remastering of both audio and visual sources, a Herculean labour of love on the part of co-producer Dick Carruthers working hand-in-glove with Jimmy Page.

Trawling through thousands of yards of previously unseen film and unheard tape recordings--some with missing visuals, some with missing audio--Page and Carruthers have chosen only the best possible footage available. They were also at pains to make the segments segue seamlessly so that the viewer is treated to what feels like a continuous concert--just sample the transition from a grainy Super 8 "Immigrant Song" (Sydney, 1972) to "Black Dog" at MSG.

Highlights? It's not hyperbole to say that every powerhouse minute of this collection (some 230 minutes of concert footage plus another hour and a half of extra DVD material) is a rare musical and visual treat. But hearing Page's violin bow work on "Dazed and Confused" in DTS or Dolby 5.1 is an experience not soon forgotten.

On the DVD: Led Zeppelin two-disc set presents all the footage in pristine 4:3 picture ratio (the Madison Square Garden footage is letterboxed) with Dolby 5.1, DTS or PCM Stereo sound options. Note that the audio is uncompressed for maximum ear-shattering enjoyment. The menu screens do not pop up beforehand, but have to be selected. It's well worth doing so. Enjoy the music first, then discover that even the menus have been painstakingly designed to provide still more unseen footage and unheard recordings (some screens don't cycle round, but present another song in its entirety). Extras include rare TV appearances, interviews and bootleg footage. --Mark Walker

Anyone who appreciates rock music should buy it, as not only does it give you the shots of how they made some of those extraordinary sounds, but shows a fascinating insight into their thoughts at the time. It also explains why they never released singles in the UK, how they conquered the US, plus loads of bonus footage (including some bemused Danish teenagers who probably boast to their children and grandchildren about the fact that Led Zeppelin played to only about 50 of them in a studio). I would recommend this DVD to anyone who has ever owned any Led Zeppelin Album - and none of this was ever released on Video.
Jimmy Page and Dick Carruthers have gone to extraordinary lengths (must have taken them years to do this) to reconstitute film with sound from sources such as 2 inch Video (apparently they had to search world-wide to find anything to play the tape
on!!).
Don't delay - get this. It's bloody marvellous - most of it in DTS too. If you've got a good 5.1 system - why haven't you got this yet?!!


Please double the five star rating   June 11, 2003
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

This is undoubtably the best rock dvd ever. The 5.1 surround sound is excellent, and the picture is superb, yet again (even though they haven't been around for some 20 odd years) Led Zep shows the rest of the world how it should be done.
Okay so there may be a couple of minor gripes for those picky enough to find them, but the bulk of this release is faultless.
The best rock band ever, live in your own home, in gloriously clear colour, and superb surround sound.For those fans like me who were too young to catch the band live, this has got to be the next best thing, even better in some respects because you can relive the experience again and again and again.....
So why are you still reading this review, just buy the dvd now! and while you're at it get "How The West Was Won" on c.d. too, sheer flippin' brilliance.


Buy this now!!!   June 5, 2003
J Reid (England)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

As a 13 year old girl who missed them first time around, this is as close to seeing them live as I'll get. It is brilliant.
It starts with footage from 1970 at the Albert Hall with them all looking very young and less confident on stage than on The Song Remains the Same, but the music itself is amazing. It's worth watching just to see how young they looked.
Then it goes to 1972, with some 'bootleg' footage of them doing Immagrant Song. Next, is the songs from Madison Square Gardens that weren't shown on The Song Remains the Same. Well, two of them were. It is interesting to see their style of performing and confidence there compared to earlier footage. They were having fun and you can really see it.
Next is spome more excellent footage from Earls Court, showing three of their acoustic songs and the fantastic In My Time of Dying, as well as Trampled Under Foot and Stairway to Heaven.
Then there is Knebworth. They all look older, and more built (not fat at all, just bigger somehow) apart from Jimmy Page who still looks anorexically thin. The music is really good, especially Whole Lotta Love, with Robert Plant thanking the audience at the end for '11 years'. When they leave, the crowd sing 'You'll Never Walk Alone.' It looked really special, I just wish I could've been at ALL of the concerts shown.
Not to forget the Extras. There's some footage of them in the late 60s, all looking very very young but are very very good live on TV. Well, apart from one instance when they're miming badly. Also, there are interviews. One of them is asking Page and Plant about the Beatles, which is weird cause they are so different.
Anyway, if you're a Led Zeppelin fan, you simply have to buy this. It is ALL brilliant, amazing. BUY IT! BUY IT! BUY IT!!!


Led Zeppelin at their best   May 27, 2003
Robert R Rogers
23 out of 24 found this review helpful

Unlike the only other Led Zeppelin dvd, The Song Remains the Same, this dvd set has no annoying home videos or fantasy sequences. It is simply footage from some of their best concerts from the 70s. The highlights on this DVD set are the songs Led Zeppelin didn't commonly play live, White Summer (a Black Mountain Side type intrumental from Jimmy Page), What Is and What Should Never be (lovely performance here), The Ocean, Going to California, That's The Way, Bron Yr Aur Stomp (this 3 song accoustic set is perhapse my favourite part of this release - very very nice folk-style music which many people don't even know Led Zeppelin was great at) and of course Achilles Last Stand and Kashmir.

The interviews aren't particularly interesting, but at least you get to hear Jimmy Page's voice for a change which is nice.

The sound quality is amazingly good. The video quality is fine, obviously not like a modern recording but absoluteley fine for what this is - a live performance.

Jimmy Page and Dick Carruthers really have made a product worthy of possibly being Led Zeppelin's final release, and they have made up for the annoying (but still very good) The Song Remains The Same.