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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
For Led Zeppelin fanatics, this 1976 feature The Song Remains the Same is a treasure of searing live performances, particularly welcome in light of the sad scarcity of such visual material from the band's great decade. Despite the group's road weariness after a long tour, their final, three-night stand at Madison Square Garden in 1973 was full of the old power. Performances of "No Quarter," "Whole Lotta Love," "Black Dog," "Dazed and Confused," and "Stairway to Heaven" underscore Zep's charisma. Trouble is, you don't get an unbroken performance here. Viewers have to wade through a mishmash of documentary insight into the lives of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones, as well as fantasy sequences supposedly inspired by the thoughts and fantasies of the band's individual members. It's mostly garish and silly, but there are some nice elements, especially insights into the late Bonham's life. The DVD doesn't offer much in the way of add-ons (a theatrical trailer is about it), but there is also enhanced viewing for 16 x 9 televisions. --Tom Keogh
Product Description
The British hard rock band Led Zeppelin is seen on tour in their early '70s heyday plus each member appears in their own fantasy sequence.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
120 of 129 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This 1976 concert film is one Led Zeppelin item that really did deserve to be improved and expanded. In the November 2007 glut of new Zep products related to the film, this 2-DVD set is clearly the optimal purchase. (Note that this review was written after actually purchasing and consuming the item in question, which appears to be a real rarity so far.) The "Collector's Edition" DVD set adds merchandise that will only be of value to super-diehards, and the new edition of the soundtrack album is apparently built around the new remaster of the movie itself and displays some odd editing choices. I have always felt that the purely audio soundtrack of the movie suffers from the lack of visuals - for example, all 27 minutes of "Dazed and Confused" makes more sense visually because you can watch the theatricality of Jimmy Page's stage performance, while merely listening to the accompanying soundtrack can be tedious. To a lesser extent, the same goes for the extra lengthy "Moby Dick" because while soloing, John Bonham could be even more enjoyable to watch than to listen to. So the film itself is the apotheosis of the entire "The Song Remains the Same" project, and this 2-DVD set presents much needed improvements in audio and video quality, with some bonus items that add value for the enthusiastic fan without becoming obsessive.
Though I'm a lifelong Zep fan, I actually hadn't seen this movie in around 20 years. And I had forgotten how cheesy the non-concert footage truly is, with the fantasy sequences serving as little more than period vanity pieces that rarely rise above the amateurish. But who cares, because the concert sequences are stupendous, and in this DVD set they have been presented for maximum aural and visual impact (yes these two shows weren't the band's best, but they were still light years beyond most other rock acts). As for the DVD extras, the interviews and news segments have some curiosity value, but the true goodies are the extra concert sequences. We finally have official video for the blistering performance of "Celebration Day," which was always my favorite from the old original soundtrack album. Other bonuses include "Misty Mountain Hop," though the uncoordinated performance of this song deserved to be left out of the original film; plus a surprisingly heavy take on "Over the Hills and Far Away."
For many years the original movie and soundtrack were the only (official) live Zep documents available. For the real live goods, we now have the 2003 CD package "How the West Was Won" and the 2003 self-titled DVD set, which are considerably more hard-hitting and far-reaching than "The Song Remains the Same." But even though it's no longer the definitive live document, fans have long deserved an improved version of the film. For all but the most obsessive collectors, the 2-DVD set is the way to go. [~doomsdayer520~]
Though I'm a lifelong Zep fan, I actually hadn't seen this movie in around 20 years. And I had forgotten how cheesy the non-concert footage truly is, with the fantasy sequences serving as little more than period vanity pieces that rarely rise above the amateurish. But who cares, because the concert sequences are stupendous, and in this DVD set they have been presented for maximum aural and visual impact (yes these two shows weren't the band's best, but they were still light years beyond most other rock acts). As for the DVD extras, the interviews and news segments have some curiosity value, but the true goodies are the extra concert sequences. We finally have official video for the blistering performance of "Celebration Day," which was always my favorite from the old original soundtrack album. Other bonuses include "Misty Mountain Hop," though the uncoordinated performance of this song deserved to be left out of the original film; plus a surprisingly heavy take on "Over the Hills and Far Away."
For many years the original movie and soundtrack were the only (official) live Zep documents available. For the real live goods, we now have the 2003 CD package "How the West Was Won" and the 2003 self-titled DVD set, which are considerably more hard-hitting and far-reaching than "The Song Remains the Same." But even though it's no longer the definitive live document, fans have long deserved an improved version of the film. For all but the most obsessive collectors, the 2-DVD set is the way to go. [~doomsdayer520~]
140 of 154 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
Unfortunately the Blu-ray version of this concert has a 7-second long sound dropout in the TrueHD soundtrack at timecode 1:40:45 - all copies of the Blu-ray currently available are affected. The TrueHD soundtrack of the previously released HD DVD does not suffer from this dropout (nor does the Blu-ray's lower quality DD soundtrack), so it is clear this was an encoding goof-up on Warner's part.
This type of QC problem is unacceptable for a product that costs $20, yet Warner has not mentioned any intention of fixing the issue. Hopefully they get on the ball and set up a replacement program for those who buy this defective disc.
Note that the recent re-release of this disc still suffers from the dropout problem. Maybe the third time will be the charm... :\
This type of QC problem is unacceptable for a product that costs $20, yet Warner has not mentioned any intention of fixing the issue. Hopefully they get on the ball and set up a replacement program for those who buy this defective disc.
Note that the recent re-release of this disc still suffers from the dropout problem. Maybe the third time will be the charm... :\
239 of 278 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I'm a Zeppelin freak. I own everything they've ever released. Probably twice. I bought this the minute I saw it.
Now I wish I hadn't.
The T-Shirt inside is very thin and not at all an XL as it states on the tag. If it were an XL, I'd wear it with pride. As it is, my wife can wear it. (What kind of material is that, anyway -- gossamer?)
But once the T-Shirt is removed...
That's where the problem with the packaging comes into play.
The T-Shirt is what held the DVDs and the extras in the box, which is a very thin cardboard to begin with. Take the T-Shirt out and you have a large space in the box. When you put back the DVDs, they rattle around in the box.
If you take them out of the box, they're packaged in their own little sleeve, but the cardboard of the sleeve is very thin, too. If it was a heavier slipcase-like cardboard, it would be okay. But it's not. It barely stands up on its own. By the way, one item in the sleeve is the 2-DVD set. The other item in the sleeve holds the bonus materials. But, together, they're only 1-1/4" deep. The box is 2" deep. The T-Shirt took up the remaining 3/4" to make the box full.
So, okay, minus the T-Shirt and despite the wafer-thin cardboard, what do we have left? What are the bonus materials?
Again, no great shakes. There are numerous postcards (most pictures are blurry and oddly cropped) and movie promotional items, plus a couple of other pieces of colored cardboard meant to look like tickets. Big deal. Interesting, perhaps even cool. But worth another $10-$20 over the price of the 2-DVD set by itself? You be the judge.
So, okay, minus the T-Shirt, despite the wafer-thin cardboard, and aside from the assortment of passable postcards and promotional items for the movie, what's in the box?
When all is said and done, what's really in the box that I care about is the 2-DVD set of the remastered The Song Remains the Same concert (one DVD is the concert, the other DVD is bonus materials) -- which, last time I looked, was only $13.99 on Amazon. So the Zep movie not only costs less, but the standard 2-DVD set of the remastered The Song Remains the Same is a traditional DVD box. In other words, it's sturdy. It'll stand on your shelf without falling over, getting crushed, or scuffed up. And to watch it, you don't have to yank apart a box, fumble around for the slipcase, extract it, and then attempt to get it back in when you're done -- all without further damaging the cardboard. Sounds like a losing proposition to me.
In short, although the remastered The Song Remains the Same movie is outstanding (and the 2-CD audio set is stunning!), this Collector's Edition DVD set is flimsy, not well thought out and surprisingly unspectacular. I didn't get the "Wow!" factor when I opened the box. I got the, "Gee? Now what do I do with these parts now that the T-Shirt (which served as a spacer in the box) is removed?" factor.
I say save your money on this Collector's Edition DVD set. Buy the remastered 2-DVD set of The Song Remains the Same instead. You'll get what's really important and you'll avoid the headache of trying to figure out how to carefully store the "bonus" items without damaging them.
Now I wish I hadn't.
The T-Shirt inside is very thin and not at all an XL as it states on the tag. If it were an XL, I'd wear it with pride. As it is, my wife can wear it. (What kind of material is that, anyway -- gossamer?)
But once the T-Shirt is removed...
That's where the problem with the packaging comes into play.
The T-Shirt is what held the DVDs and the extras in the box, which is a very thin cardboard to begin with. Take the T-Shirt out and you have a large space in the box. When you put back the DVDs, they rattle around in the box.
If you take them out of the box, they're packaged in their own little sleeve, but the cardboard of the sleeve is very thin, too. If it was a heavier slipcase-like cardboard, it would be okay. But it's not. It barely stands up on its own. By the way, one item in the sleeve is the 2-DVD set. The other item in the sleeve holds the bonus materials. But, together, they're only 1-1/4" deep. The box is 2" deep. The T-Shirt took up the remaining 3/4" to make the box full.
So, okay, minus the T-Shirt and despite the wafer-thin cardboard, what do we have left? What are the bonus materials?
Again, no great shakes. There are numerous postcards (most pictures are blurry and oddly cropped) and movie promotional items, plus a couple of other pieces of colored cardboard meant to look like tickets. Big deal. Interesting, perhaps even cool. But worth another $10-$20 over the price of the 2-DVD set by itself? You be the judge.
So, okay, minus the T-Shirt, despite the wafer-thin cardboard, and aside from the assortment of passable postcards and promotional items for the movie, what's in the box?
When all is said and done, what's really in the box that I care about is the 2-DVD set of the remastered The Song Remains the Same concert (one DVD is the concert, the other DVD is bonus materials) -- which, last time I looked, was only $13.99 on Amazon. So the Zep movie not only costs less, but the standard 2-DVD set of the remastered The Song Remains the Same is a traditional DVD box. In other words, it's sturdy. It'll stand on your shelf without falling over, getting crushed, or scuffed up. And to watch it, you don't have to yank apart a box, fumble around for the slipcase, extract it, and then attempt to get it back in when you're done -- all without further damaging the cardboard. Sounds like a losing proposition to me.
In short, although the remastered The Song Remains the Same movie is outstanding (and the 2-CD audio set is stunning!), this Collector's Edition DVD set is flimsy, not well thought out and surprisingly unspectacular. I didn't get the "Wow!" factor when I opened the box. I got the, "Gee? Now what do I do with these parts now that the T-Shirt (which served as a spacer in the box) is removed?" factor.
I say save your money on this Collector's Edition DVD set. Buy the remastered 2-DVD set of The Song Remains the Same instead. You'll get what's really important and you'll avoid the headache of trying to figure out how to carefully store the "bonus" items without damaging them.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Speedy Delivery
Such an awesome 2-Disk DVD special.. I caught it on one of the music channels on TV and knew I had to have it for myself.. Read more
Published 5 days ago by RoryO
much more than a live performance
when I bought this, I thought I was only getting a live performance of one of my favorites band, which was a good enough reason for getting it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Alvaro
led zep
excellent dvd..they never seen so close up, like the old tapes......big zeppelin fan great dvd
a must have, order it today you won't be disappointed.
a must have, order it today you won't be disappointed.
Published 1 month ago by frankd5423
led zeppelin dvds
according to page when this was released, they were having an off night i wonder what a excellent night for them would have been. this was one of their best concert ever. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Matthew Yu
excellent
this is one of the best movies I've ever seen in my life. it made me feel like I was on an acid trip in a dream. it's like an orgasm for your mind and eyes. Read more
Published 1 month ago by CrysLd
30/06/1980: Festhalle - Frankfurt 'Tour over Europe'
I saw them June 30, 1980 on thier 5th to last live performance ever. John Bohnam died not long after. Bohnam must have been in a downward spiral during the tour. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Snow Bird
LOVED IT!!!
This was bought for my fiance, for christmas, and he loved it!!! Other then my brother-in-law my fiance is the biggest Led Zeppelin fan i know and he absolutely loved this!!!
Published 3 months ago by Kristy K.
Wow...
As I was browsing Amazon, as I frequently do when I'm procrastinating while doing homework, I happened to stumble across this, and noticed that it is free (streaming) for Prime... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Joe P
Hammer Of The Gods... Live at Madison Square Garden
In the early 70's when Rock was still young and concerts were a major geographical social event, the greatest Rock band of all time decided to pursue a movie project and The Song... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Russell
Great!
I Loved Led Zepplin! Still Do. Jimmy Page is the BEST ever! (No offense Hendrix Fans.) :)
He knows how to rock it!
So HOT!
He knows how to rock it!
So HOT!
Published 4 months ago by Yves83
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