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Released by: Cinema Epoch
Released on: 4/10/2012
Director: Sonia Anderson
Cast: Led Zeppelin
Year: 2010
Purchase from Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Led-Zeppelin-C...d+and+confused
The Movie:
With so much media out there about one of rock's most influential bands, one has to wade through a lot of mediocre material in order to find something of real interest. Especially when the band's history and their impact on the scene has been dissected over and over again. And for those who are looking to learn new stuff about the foursome, finding a book or documentary worth the time spent with it can be a challenge. After watching Led Zeppelin: Dazed & Confused, the challenge remains the same.
One glaring problem with this documentary is the fact that they didn't have clearance to use the actual music, so instead they use music that Vanilla-Ice's a few Zeppelin riffs and then plays them over and over and over and over and over. Change one note or rearrange a couple notes and you're in the clear. “Kashmir†and “How Many More Times†are two of the ones they continue to get mileage out of, and it gets pretty annoying.
Old interviews are used, plus a few new ones (at least they got Robert Plant to talk, and he mentions stuffing a sock down his pants), to tell the origin of the band and talk about some (not all) their albums. They also throw in some old concert footage (but use it over and over and over, with that fake Zeppelin music playing the same riffs again and again). As stated, nothing new is revealed, and they barely mention tragedies and controversies surrounding the band members (though they do mention some of the stuff Page “borrowed†from).
The new interviews aren't without merit, and the people talking about their experiences with the group have interesting things to say. What really kills it is not having the rights to use the real music. Why someone would make a doc about any musician or group and not secure the rights to the music is anyone's guess. It's no different than making a documentary of a filmmaker and not being able to show clips from movies.
Maybe for a person with a passing interest in the band might get something out of it, but people even somewhat into the band might want to skip this one.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The movie uses material from a lot of different sources with varying degree in picture quality, the new material looks great. Nice detail, great looking color, and a sharp image. Even the older footage looks probably as nice as it can. No authoring issues were noticed. A single audio track is available, and it's a 2.0 Dolby Digital one. That's just fine because the music is annoying enough without it being all around you. The balance seems correct and the dialogue is easy to understand. No troubles to report. The disc's sole piece of supplementary material is a minute-long still gallery of screen captures with crowd noise playing in the background. Lame.
The Final Word:
Honestly, unless you simply have to see everything on film/tape that mentions Led Zeppelin, you can pass on this documentary and not miss a thing. The lack of extras, the useless re-hash of information, and a mere 57 minute running time makes for a disc that is difficult to recommend.
That girl must be higher than Jebus to think that.