I had the good fortune to catch Becoming Led Zeppelin the other night in Manhattan. Even better, I experienced this motion picture in IMAX.

What a cornucopia for the eyes and ears!
This top-drawer film is the first official, authorized documentary ever produced with the full cooperation of the surviving members of this rock & roll supergroup.
Through extensive, recent conversations with the filmmakers, bassist John Paul Jones, guitarist Jimmy Page, and vocalist Robert Plant reflect on their individual and shared musical journeys — from the rubble and rationing of post-World War II Great Britain to early exposure in America, and on to massive international fame and fortune. Drummer John Bonham passed away in September 1980. Nonetheless, he speaks via a heretofore-unheard interview.
Becoming Led Zeppelin promotional poster
This film relies extensively on long-forgotten or previously unreleased sights and sounds. This includes rehearsal and concert footage, TV clips, press-release headlines, and — as director Bernard MacMahon revealed at a post-screening Q&A session — “plastic bags full of photographs” and other materials that these musicians furnished. (MacMahon told me that these artifacts are now digitized and eventually will become publicly accessible.) Page’s calendars and diaries provide fascinating details on everything from tour personnel to recording-session start times, often after 11:00 p.m., following live concerts.
Well before any of this transpired, we see these young men pick up their instruments as kids. They learned to play in grade-school ensembles, at church, and in adolescent pick-up bands — generally with the support and encouragement of their parents. James Brown, Little Richard, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, and a host of American blues and soul artists were among their chief influences. Initial success in the Yardbirds morphed into the power quartet that soon became Led Zeppelin.
It’s easy to root for these scrappy, s...