The Movie: The Song Remains the Same (1976)
What Is It?: Led
Zeppelin’s concert film is packaged in all the
pretentiousness and bloat one could hope for from one of the most over-the-top Rock
& Roll bands of the seventies. The guys reveal themselves in their absurd
fantasy sequences. Jimmy Page scales a mountain to retrieve a mystical sword.
John Paul Jones attends a lavish, medieval banquet. Robert Plant swash buckles
to rescue a damsel in distress. And John Bonham? Well, he races cars. The
musical performances are actually much better than the film’s rep suggests, and I for
one love all seventeen hours of “Dazed and Confused”. However, Bonham’s track
skills are the only thing that might prevent you from fast-forwarding through
his year-long drum solo.
Why Today?: On
this day in 1973, the filming begins.
