Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains the Same [Blu-ray] | ![Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains the Same [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RyAqlFTjL._SL160_.jpg) | Directors: Peter Clifton, Joe Massot
Actors: John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $28.99
Buy New: $11.02
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Rating:  385 reviews
Sales Rank: 1794
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Original recording remastered, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: Blu-ray
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Running Time: 138 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 5.3 x 0.5
MPN: 883929010776
UPC: 883929010776
EAN: 0883929010776
ASIN: B0012YYZYK
Release Date: February 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 02/26/2008 Run time: 138 minutes Rating: Pg
Amazon.com
For Led Zeppelin fanatics, this 1976 feature The Song Remains the Same is a treasure of searing live performances, particularly welcome in light of the sad scarcity of such visual material from the band's great decade. Despite the group's road weariness after a long tour, their final, three-night stand at Madison Square Garden in 1973 was full of the old power. Performances of "No Quarter," "Whole Lotta Love," "Black Dog," "Dazed and Confused," and "Stairway to Heaven" underscore Zep's charisma. Trouble is, you don't get an unbroken performance here. Viewers have to wade through a mishmash of documentary insight into the lives of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones, as well as fantasy sequences supposedly inspired by the thoughts and fantasies of the band's individual members. It's mostly garish and silly, but there are some nice elements, especially insights into the late Bonham's life. The DVD doesn't offer much in the way of add-ons (a theatrical trailer is about it), but there is also enhanced viewing for 16 x 9 televisions. --Tom Keogh
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 385
 The Film Remains Slightly Better November 24, 2007
doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania)
70 out of 75 found this review helpful
This 1976 concert film is one Led Zeppelin item that really did deserve to be improved and expanded. In the November 2007 glut of new Zep products related to the film, this 2-DVD set is clearly the optimal purchase. (Note that this review was written after actually purchasing and consuming the item in question, which appears to be a real rarity so far.) The "Collector's Edition" DVD set adds merchandise that will only be of value to super-diehards, and the new edition of the soundtrack album is apparently built around the new remaster of the movie itself and displays some odd editing choices. I have always felt that the purely audio soundtrack of the movie suffers from the lack of visuals - for example, all 27 minutes of "Dazed and Confused" makes more sense visually because you can watch the theatricality of Jimmy Page's stage performance, while merely listening to the accompanying soundtrack can be tedious. To a lesser extent, the same goes for the extra lengthy "Moby Dick" because while soloing, John Bonham could be even more enjoyable to watch than to listen to. So the film itself is the apotheosis of the entire "The Song Remains the Same" project, and this 2-DVD set presents much needed improvements in audio and video quality, with some bonus items that add value for the enthusiastic fan without becoming obsessive.
Though I'm a lifelong Zep fan, I actually hadn't seen this movie in around 20 years. And I had forgotten how cheesy the non-concert footage truly is, with the fantasy sequences serving as little more than period vanity pieces that rarely rise above the amateurish. But who cares, because the concert sequences are stupendous, and in this DVD set they have been presented for maximum aural and visual impact (yes these two shows weren't the band's best, but they were still light years beyond most other rock acts). As for the DVD extras, the interviews and news segments have some curiosity value, but the true goodies are the extra concert sequences. We finally have official video for the blistering performance of "Celebration Day," which was always my favorite from the old original soundtrack album. Other bonuses include "Misty Mountain Hop," though the uncoordinated performance of this song deserved to be left out of the original film; plus a surprisingly heavy take on "Over the Hills and Far Away."
For many years the original movie and soundtrack were the only (official) live Zep documents available. For the real live goods, we now have the 2003 CD package "How the West Was Won" and the 2003 self-titled DVD set, which are considerably more hard-hitting and far-reaching than "The Song Remains the Same." But even though it's no longer the definitive live document, fans have long deserved an improved version of the film. For all but the most obsessive collectors, the 2-DVD set is the way to go. [~doomsdayer520~]
Not the same as the original November 3, 2007
Douglas R. Gould
42 out of 46 found this review helpful
For those of you writing reviews before ever viewing the dvd or knowing about its contents I am surprised. I am a Led Zeppelin fan and this dvd is not the same as its original. This is the whole concert in its entirety uncut with more than 40 minutes of added bonus material, including never-before-released performance footage not on the original release such as "Over The Hills And Far Away" and "Celebration Day"; plus performances of "Misty Mountain Hop" and "The Ocean"; a rare 1976 BBC interview with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page; vintage TV footage from the Drake Hotel robbery during the New York concert stand; and a Cameron Crowe radio show. This set also includes collectible vintage T-shirt with original album artwork design, soundtrack CD, lobby cards, reproductions of original premiere invites, tour schedule, and more. (As noted on http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/upcoming_releases/led_zeppelin_mothership_details.html)
The best footage we have. November 1, 2007
kb (milwaukee)
20 out of 20 found this review helpful
This is footage of Led Zeppelin at their peak period. The '73 tour, apart from the fact Plant's voice had already changed, is the best tour Zeppelin ever had. This film captures it. The sound is much more powerful than any other live releases, and the playing is perfectly typical of Zep in '73. It doesn't get any better. Certainly not the '75, '77, Knebworth, or early footage you get with the Led Zeppelin dvd. Don't be fooled by people who join the decades long critical bashing bandwagon. Some things get branded because it is easy to go along with the popular, yet incorrect, perception.
The Mighty Zeppelin rules again! April 20, 2008
Jeffrey Smith (Dallas, TX USA)
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
Finally after many years of disappointment with this concert film, Page has set the record straight...He took over the controls and the result is a brand new Zep concert movie! The Blu Ray sound is great (MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT ABOUT THIS FILM SINCE IT WAS IN THE THEATERS) 5.1 mixed correctly. (for a change, not all the sound comes from the center channel, its mixed beautifully). There are very cool new stage edits not, for some reason, in the original cut. It was actually shot very well, just edited poorly (the original cut) Now I can safely say it is one of the best concerts film outs there! The 'fantasy' sequences are still dumb, but it was a sign of the times...You see why, if you never saw them, why they are still so popular!
"The Most Expesive Home Movie Ever Made"..Peter Grant. November 7, 2004
J. D. Scali
52 out of 60 found this review helpful
Potential viewers shouldn't be deterred by pointless and ridiculous commentaries of seemingly short-attention-spanned reviewers who like other bands anyway and shouldn't bother writing about Led Zeppelin.This movie was meant to present the four individuals of the band in a collective context,therefore each group memeber is showcased in the live footage and in a fantasy sequence.The original three-hour concert is not fully used,instead relevant parts where interwoven with off-stage scenes,hence creating a closer outlook on each individual.Jimmy Page is featured on 'Dazed And Confused'(where he plays a sort of warlock),Robert Plant on the "double header" 'Song Remains/Rain Song'(with an Arthurian character),John Bonham on 'Moby Dick'(he preferred an honest,family-and-friends environment) and John Paul Jones on 'No Quarter'(presenting himself as a man with two faces,one as a musician and one as a"pater familias").The live footage is superb and so is the playing.Critics of the era always stated the difference between the heavily orchestrated studio versions and the four-piece live arragements,often calling them "thin";their gullable readers trusted this assumptions and not their ears,and the accusation is present to this day.I'm not old enough to have seen Led Zeppelin Live but I have read such articles and I do trust my ears and you can trust yours by listening to this DVD,its soundtrack,the Led Zeppelin DVD and 'How The West Was Won' on CD,you'll be able to tell if live Led Zeppelin is worthy of the legend they created.The marvellous renditions of 'Since I've Been Loving You','Stairway','No Quarter',the title track,'Dazed','Heartbreaker/Whole Lotta Love' and the sheer power of the band on stage in '73 are enough reasons to purchase this DVD.There's a criticism by someone who claims to have seen Zeppelin in '77,if you want to experience the awesome power of the band in '77 go to the Led Zeppelin DVD,on disc two select promos and the menu is a bootleg recording of the June 21st concert at the L.A. Forum with accompanying bootleg footage(from Birmingham and NY),listen an marvel at it(the picture is not very good but the audio is excellent,that is why it was relegated to a menu feature).The only drawbacks in the movie are the re-enacment of some bits-mostly close-ups(Page had to struggle with gaps in the footage to match with the audio) that are only apparent by very close inspection.Also the audio editting suffers somewhat when matching,almost by force,some scenes.This does not occur on the soundtrack where such limitations where not imposed by the lack of visuals.Also the output of the DVD is not as loud as the Led Zeppelin DVD,but the '76 mixing work is outstanding.Another inhibiting factor is that the fantasy sequences are shown during some instrumentals,and songs like 'Over The Hills',although played at this concerts of July '73 when the shooting of the film took place,were discarded.This DVD is a great remnant of the Led Zeppelin experience.Miss it at your own risk.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 385
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