Becoming Led Zeppelin, the new biography film about the rise of Led Zeppelin, will be released nationwide on 1000 screens on February 14, 2025. Eighteen markets will pre-screen the film on February 5 for one night only, and select IMAX theaters will broadcast the movie on February 7.
Tickets are now on sale at www.becomingledzeppelinfilm.com.
The movie, directed by award-winning, Emmy and BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Bernard MacMahon (American Epic), and written by MacMahon and producer Allison McGourty, explores the origins of Led Zeppelin and their meteoric rise to stardom.
As is well documented, before Zeppelin’s formation, Jimmy Page considered launching a new band with Jeff Beck, The Who bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon, and Moon derisively commented that the project would “go down like a lead balloon.”
After hooking up with vocalist Robert Plant, bassist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham, Page took a cue from Moon but opted to use the word “zeppelin” instead of “balloon” since it carried more weight. At the suggestion of manager Peter Grant, the band removed the “e” from the word lead. And a legend was born.
Powered by awe-inspiring, psychedelic, never-before-seen footage, performances and music, Becoming Led Zeppelin is a cinematic odyssey that explores the musical and personal story of the band’s origins and unlikely rise to stardom in just one year. The movie is told in Led Zeppelin’s own words and is the first officially sanctioned film about the group.
The hybrid docu-concert film also unveils a huge amount of unseen Led Zeppelin performance footage, including The Fillmore West (January 1969), The Atlanta Pop Festival (July 1969), and The Texas Pop Festival (August 1969). The result is a visceral musical experience that will transport audiences into the concert halls of Led Zeppelin’s earliest tours, accompanied by intimate commentary from the famously private band.
Becoming Led Zeppelin almost didn’t see the light of day. The filmmakers were up against epic challenges, including tracking down what little footage existed from the band’s early period. A global search ensued and the results are now available for all to see.
Highly anticipated since its announcement and subsequent work-in-progress screening at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, where it received a 10-minute standing ovation, the now completed film features a brand-new sound mix, newly unearthed material from the archives of all four band members (including home movies and family photos), and exclusive interviews with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones, as well as never-before-heard interviews with the late John Bonham.
“When I saw the early cut of the film premiered, at the Venice Film Festival, it was amazing,” said Jimmy Page. “The energy of the story, and the power of the music, is phenomenal.”
“We have spent years designing this film to be experienced on the big screen with the best possible sound,” added McMahon.
