Led Zeppelin: arguably the greatest and most influential band to walk the earth. John Bonham’s thunderous drums, John Paul Jones’s booming bass, Jimmy Page’s screaming guitar, and Robert Plant’s soaring vocals combine to create a rock symphony that defined its generation and every generation that follows. Their classic rock hits and ballads have become legendary in music history and their impact and influence can still be felt today. They would influence many of rock’s greatest acts like Rush, Black Sabbath, Van Halen, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Jeff Buckley, and countless more.
You would think with such an impact and influence on the world of music, surely there would be countless videos and documentaries talking about their upbringing and career. While yes, there have been documentaries made about the band, none of them have involved full cooperation from the living members of Led Zeppelin—until now.
On February 7, 2025, “Becoming Led Zeppelin” was released in theaters in several countries around the world. Bernard MacMahon directed this documentary, and it is the first Led Zeppelin documentary made with the full cooperation of the living members of the band (Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones). The film revolves around the childhood years of the band members through the first few years of the band’s formation. It features never-before-seen concert footage from the band’s early years as well as unseen material from the band’s personal archives. The band members themselves tell the story of their humble upbringing in post-World War II Britain and the British music scene of the 1960s. The film even features recorded audio interviews with Zeppelin’s late drummer, John Bonham, who passed away in 1980.
The film was first screened at the 78th Venice Film Festival in 2021 and received critical acclaim. Sony then acquired the rights to distribute the documentary in North and Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia (excluding Japan) and the Benelux in May of 2024. Finally, they released it this past February. The film has been very successful so far and has received very positive reviews with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 82% on the Tomatometer (critics score) and a 95% on the Popcorn Meter (audience score). The film is still currently playing in theaters so if you like musical documentaries, classic rock, Led Zeppelin, or it just sounds interesting to you, I would highly recommend checking it out.
