The Song Remains the Same
- 1976
- Tous publics
- 2h 17min
Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueThe pioneers of hard rock take the stage - and blow your mind. Led Zeppelin storm Madison Square Garden in this collection of footage taken from their legendary performances at the New York ... Tout lireThe pioneers of hard rock take the stage - and blow your mind. Led Zeppelin storm Madison Square Garden in this collection of footage taken from their legendary performances at the New York venue in 1973.The pioneers of hard rock take the stage - and blow your mind. Led Zeppelin storm Madison Square Garden in this collection of footage taken from their legendary performances at the New York venue in 1973.
- Réalisation
- Scénario
- Casting principal
- Self - Lead Singer
- (as Led Zeppelin)
- Self - Guitarist
- (as Led Zeppelin)
- Self - Bassist & Keyboardist
- (as Led Zeppelin)
- Self - Drummer
- (as Led Zeppelin)
- Self
- (non crédité)
- Self
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- Self
- (non crédité)
- Self
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- Self
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- Self
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- Self
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- Self
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- Self
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Avis à la une
The film opens with an odd gangster-style sequence, where faceless mobsters are mowed down by what would appear to be rival gangsters. Whatever meaning this scene is meant to represent is not clear, however it has been suggested that the faceless mobsters are the British press, who had vilified Led Zeppelin through their entire career. Who knows, but it certainly makes for an interesting start to the film.
From there the film takes an interesting turn. Each individual band member is introduced. We see drummer John Bonham ploughing his fields in a tractor, bassist John Paul Jones reading nursery rhymes to his children, singer Robert Plant playing with his wife and children in an English country lake (the scene resembles the cover of Led Zeppelin's 1973 album 'Houses of the Holy'), while guitarist Jimmy Page is introduced next to a riverside. They each receive a letter informing them that they are to tour the next day.
Once Led Zeppelin take the stage at New York's Madison Square Garden, the action really begins. The band run through some of their absolute classics, including 'Whole Lotta Love', 'Stairway to Heaven', 'Heartbreaker' and a massive version of 'Dazed and Confused'. The quality of musicianship is amazing. Page's guitar playing belies belief and John Bonham's twenty minute drum solo is awe inspiring. As the band plays there are more fantasy scenes, the best of which includes Robert Plant as some kind of Arthurian hero. The way in which Led Zeppelin embrace and play on the Tolkien-like world of mystical fantasy is truly refreshing in these over-stylised days, where musicians are more concerned with the amount of gel in their hair than the music they produce.
Watching the band at work you get a distinct feeling that the musicians of today really aren't as proficient as they were twenty or thirty years ago. Led Zeppelin it seems were better live than on record, which would be unheard of today.
As an audience we are able to see "The Song Remains The Same" for what it is: a timepiece. Post-1975, Led Zeppelin's work became gradually lower in quality and as Punk revolutionised the music scene, they became dinosaurs at the end of the decade. But in this time, their 1971-1975 period, Led Zeppelin were the biggest band in the world, and their power is captured with brilliant clarity on this film. Whatever happened after this time is a moot point; this is how Led Zeppelin should and will be remembered. A must for any serious music fan.
Back to my original comment. I am obsessed with this movie for the same reason I am obsessed with the music of Zeppelin in general, because after giving it time to grow on me and develop a taste for it, the movie became addicting to watch. I have now watched it so many times that I have learned to appreciate the purpose of the fantasy clips, the placement of the songs on the DVD, and why they all tie together the way they do.
I do agree with those who believe that skipping the shootout in the beginning is the right thing to do. The country life sequence, however, provides tremendous insight into each of the band members and completes the picture of the ordinary human side as well as the psychedelic band member side. Robert Plant shares a peaceful moment with his wife and skinny-dipping children. John Bonham plows his fields. John Paul Jones reads Jack and the Beanstalk to his children. And finally Jimmy Page sits quietly by a lake and plays a hurdy-gurdy.
Coming into the concert, one already has the vision of the four men as normal people in the back of their minds, not just eccentric, wild rockers, so the viewer is not alienated from the band as they launch into their classic tunes with barely time to catch a breath in between. Augmented by the music, the viewer dives deeper into the minds of the band members with an emotionally profound vigor.
The roller coaster ride extends from the "in-your-face" blues of Since I've Been Loving You to the dark edginess of No Quarter, from the whimsical strangeness of The Song Remains The Same to the beautiful stateliness of the Rain Song. Played in a different key, the Rain Song has the same amount of power and energy as its counterpart on the Houses of the Holy LP, but this live version delivers with a more triumphant, confident, and splendid statement than the reflective, oft melancholy LP take. As the song builds towards its rapturous (and victorious for Robert Plant) climax, the tone of the concert and DVD reaches it height. Then, in a stark contrast, the viewer then must sadly leave the sojourn in paradise and descend into the uneasy, convoluted maze of Dazed and Confused. Just when the viewer seems convinced that his descent has led him to hell as the song reaches the 26 minute mark, his reward for his own Zeppelin "endurance" is despite paradise being lost, finding heaven quite literally and being treated to the timeless Stairway to Heaven.
The fantasy scenes take the longest to grow on the viewer, but, with time, augment the music and vice versa. It is then that the film begins to resemble "Fantasia," only with Led Zeppelin music. This is particularly true of the bow solo in the middle of Dazed and Confused, because it eerily echos the equally long, convoluted, and edgy strains of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, but punctuated visually with the youthening of Jimmy Page as opposed to the aging of the early planet Earth.
That is the kind of appreciation I have for this movie, and although Led Zeppelin is by no means perfect in this movie, the viewer can come to respect that because they have that picture of them as ordinary men already in their mind. I believe this movie is overall genius and the most accurate canvas painting of all aspects of the four musical geniuses known as Led Zeppelin we possess.
It is in the concert footage the film does it's best, however, by giving Zeppelin fans (and possibly even non-Zeppelin fans) a treat of a motion picture with some of their best played and famous songs- The film's title song (my favorite of the concert), No Quarter (2nd), Stairway to Heaven (still awesome the 100th time you've heard it), Moby Dick (to anybody wanting to learn how to play good rock drumming), Dazed and Confused, extended 20 minutes longer than usual by the way, among others. Rock fans in general should also take a look, or possibly just watch the scenes on DVD that make more sense. My Grade: A-
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesFor their three New York performances, the band members wore exactly the same clothes to facilitate seamless editing of the film, except for John Paul Jones who wore three different sets of attire on each of these nights, which created continuity problems.
- GaffesThroughout the movie, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones have different outfits on. However, this is because the movie was filmed when the band played Madison Square Garden 3 nights in a row in 1973, and both Jimmy and John Paul didn't want to wear the same outfits. Small portions of songs were also filmed in 1974 at Shepperton Studios because of missing pieces of songs.
- Citations
Robert Plant - Lead Singer: I think this is a song of hope.
[singing]
Robert Plant - Lead Singer: There's a lady who's sure, All that glitters is gold, And she's buying a Stairway to Heaven...
- Crédits fous"Stairway to Heaven" is played in its entirely, resulting in several minutes with the words "Exit Music" on a black screen after the credits have finished rolling as the music continues.
- Versions alternativesUK cinema release was seemingly pre-cut for an A rating (roughly a modern PG), to remove a scene with frequent swearing. The backstage scene in question shows Peter Grant letting loose on a crew member for not clamping down on poster bootleggers. The several uses of strong language aren't mentioned in the BBFC's original cinema report, and the video report from 1987 questions the previous lack of mention of swearing - all UK video releases are uncut and upgraded to 15.
- ConnexionsEdited into Led Zeppelin: Black Dog (Live at Madison Square Garden 1973) (1976)
- Bandes originalesRock & Roll
Written by Jimmy Page (uncredited), Robert Plant (uncredited), John Paul Jones (uncredited), and John Bonham (uncredited)
Performed by Led Zeppelin
Music Published by Superhype Music, Inc.
Meilleurs choix
- How long is The Song Remains the Same?Alimenté par Alexa
Détails
- Date de sortie
- Pays d’origine
- Sites officiels
- Langue
- Aussi connu sous le nom de
- La canción es la misma
- Lieux de tournage
- Loch Ness, Highland, Écosse, Royaume-Uni(Moonlit mountain climb)
- Société de production
- Voir plus de crédits d'entreprise sur IMDbPro
Box-office
- Montant brut mondial
- 4 979 $US
- Durée2 heures 17 minutes
- Couleur
- Rapport de forme
- 1.85 : 1