The Song Remains the Same

The Song Remains the Same is a concert film by the British blues/rock band Led Zeppelin. The recording of the film took place during a 3-night concert stand at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1973 during the band's Houses of the Holy tour. The film premiered on October 21, 1976 at Cinema I in New York. The video of the film was released on October 25, 1990 and the DVD was released on December 31, 1999.

Warning: Wikipedia contains spoilers

Since late 1969, Led Zeppelin had been planning on filming one of their live performances for a projected movie documenting the band. Peter Grant believed Led Zeppelin would be better served on the big screen rather than television because the sound quality of television he regarded as inadequate. The first attempt was the filming of Led Zeppelin's Royal Albert Hall performance on January 9, 1970. Film-makers Peter Whitehead and Stanley Dorfman were commissioned, however the resultant film was shot using indifferent lighting so it was canned (This footage later turning up on the 2003 release Led Zeppelin. Another attempt was organised for the outdoor Bath Festival on June 28, 1970, but again what little footage that was filmed was deemed unsatisfactory.

On the morning of July 20 1973, Jimmy Page and Peter Grant made contact with Joe Massot, who had previously directed George Harrison's Wonderwall. Massot agreed to film the band on the last leg of 1973 summer tour of the United States. A crew was finally assembled in time for Led Zeppelin's last leg of the tour starting on July 23, 1973 in Baltimore. Massot decided however to film the concert performances at Madison Square Garden on the nights of July 27, 28, and 29 1973. Both the fans and the band regard these nights of the tour as "average". In an effort to show the individual personalities in the band, footage of each band member in their own real world and fantasy world would also be included backed with a favoured song. The film would be entirely financed by the band and shot on 35mm with a 24-track quadraphonic sound recording. The live footage in the US alone cost $85,000.

Some sequences are as follows:

• Peter Grant and Richard Cole were filmed as hitmen driving towards Hammerwood Park estate in Sussex in a 1928 Pierce Arrow car. Roy Harper also makes an uncredited guest appearance as one of the "greedy millionaires" portrayed at a business meeting of multi-national corporations. Massot envisioned Grant and Cole in the hitmen roles, having to deal with the tough business decisions they had to make on behalf of the band. Grant's berating of concert staff over pirated merchandise and the gate crasher scene was filmed backstage at the Baltimore Civic Centre on July 23. The black limousines and skyscraper scene was also recorded during their journey to the Civic Centre. At 7:15pm on July 29, 1973, it was noticed $203,000 in cash from ticket receipts, was missing from a safety deposit box at the Drake Hotel, New York. Scenes from a television press conference interviewing Grant on the missing cash was included. The money was never recovered and no-one was charged.

• John Paul Jones was filmed first at home with his wife Maureen, and reading Jack and the Beanstalk to his two daughters, Tamara and Jacinda, before receiving a call to join the band on their American concert. His fantasy sequence involved a reinterpretation of the film Doctor Sin, a masked gentleman known as The Scarecrow who travels at night on horseback with three others and returns home to Sussex, an ordinary family man. The three other horsemen with him is a reference to the other band members. Filmed in October 1973. Thematic music: "No Quarter".

• Robert Plant relaxing on his Welsh country farm, known as Jennings farm, with his wife Maureen, and children Karac and Carmen. His fantasy sequence involves him being a knight rescuing a fair maiden, who is a symbolic representation for his vision of the ideal - his personal search for the Holy Grail. Scenes from the sword fight were filmed at Raglan Castle in Wales while the sailing and beach scenes were shot at Cardigan Bay near Aberystwyth, in October 1973. Thematic music: "The Song Remains the Same" and "The Rain Song".

• Jimmy Page sitting by a lake next to his 18th century manor at Plumpton, Sussex, playing a hurdy gurdy. The tune played is called "Autumn Lake" and the scene was filmed in October 1973. Page's fantasy role involved climbing up the face of a snow capped mountain near Boleskine House, Loch Ness during the nights of a full moon on December 10 and 11, 1973. The concept being a man fighting his way to the top, only to be greeted by Father Time, a cinematic representation of the Hermit on the album Four Symbols. Thematic music: "Dazed and Confused".

• John Bonham with his wife Pat and son Jason Bonham on their country estate, The Old Hyde farm in Worcestershire. The game of pool was shot at The Old Hyde hotel and the Harley riding near Blackpool. His fantasy sequence is the most straight forward of all the members, with Bonham drag racing an AA Fueler at 260mph at Santa Pod Speedway in California, in October 1973. Thematic music: "Moby Dick".

Unhappy with the progress of the film, Peter Grant had Joe Massot removed from the project and Australian director Peter Clifton was hired in his place. Clifton, in an effort to complete some close-ups and distance footage of the band members, assembled Led Zeppelin at Shepperton Studios in August 1974, with a mock-up of the Madison Square Garden stage. The bulk of the live sequence seen in the film however was from the 1973 concerts. A plan to shoot additional footage on the band's U.S. tour was abandoned due to Plant's car crash in Rhodes. The film was finally completed by early 1976, 18 months behind schedule and over-budget. Peter Grant later quipped "It was the most expensive home movie ever made". It grossed $200,000 in its first week at the box office.

Table of contents

1 Scenes 2 Cast 3 Personnel 4 Additional notes 5 External link

Scenes

1. Mob Rubout
2. Big Apple Credits
3. Country Life ("Autumn Lake")
4. New York ("Bron-Yr-Aur")
5. "Rock and Roll"
6. "Black Dog"
7. "Since I've Been Loving You"
8. "No Quarter"
9. Who's Responsible?
10. "The Song Remains the Same"
11. "The Rain Song"
12. Fire and Sword
13. Capturing the Castle
14. Not Quite Backstage Pass
15. "Dazed and Confused"
16. Strung Out
17. Magic in the Night
18. Gate Crasher
19. No Comment
20. "Stairway to Heaven"
21. "Moby Dick"
22. Country Squire Bonham
23. "Heartbreaker"
24. Grand Theft
25. "Whole Lotta Love"
26. End Credits

Cast

• Peter Grant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Robert Plant, Richard Cole, Derek Skilton, Colin Rigdon

Uncredited: Family members; the female passenger wearing a scarf, with Peter Grant driving on a country road is Grant's wife, Gloria; Roy Harper as one of the slain corporate goons; the white-shirted man Grant berates is believed to be promoter Larry Vaughan; the blonde maiden at Raglan Castle (unknown); the close-up of an Indian woman during the song "Since I've Been Loving You" is Maureen Plant's younger sister.

Personnel

• Peter Grant - Executive producer
• Jimmy Page - Producer, sound editor, sound mixer
• Joe Massot - Director
• Peter Clifton - Director
• Ernie Day - Camera operator
• Robert Freeman - Camera operator
• David Gladwell - Editor
• Eddie Kramer - Sound engineer
• Shelly - Special effects
• Ian Knight - Visual effects and lighting
• Kirby Wyatt - Visual effects and lighting
• Brian Condliffe - Technician
• Mick Hinton - Technician
• Benji Le Fevre - Technician
• Ray Thomas - Technician
• Steven Weiss - Shoot trouble
• Led Zeppelin - Music
• Cameron Crowe - Liner notes

Additional notes

Film length: 137 minutes, DVD length: 132 minutes plus extras including menu

Catalogue: Warner Reprise Video WHV 11389, (DVD) Warner 11389

External link

• Internet Movie Database entry