a_baron I wasn't a Led Zeppelin fan before this film, and I still am not, but the first time I saw it, it blew my mind. Forty years on and having heard all the great rock guitarists, including seeing a handful in the flesh, I am not so easily impressed, but this performance by especially the amazing Jimmy Page still has the capacity to impress an old man the way it did a teen. Actually, as it was released on Guy Fawke's Night 1976, I was not quite a teenager, but you get my drift.At school I got into Elton John before anyone else, but the first heavy metal band I sought out was Deep Purple - one of the big three, the other being Black Sabbath. At least a couple of kids in my year were into Zeppelin, but apart from "Whole Lotta Love" - the theme music for "Top Of The Pops" - and of course "Stairway To Heaven", I hadn't really heard them. I went to see the film with a touch of cynicism. Immediately afterwards I bought the double album on tape. For me the outstanding track is the epic "Dazed And Confused", Page making wonderful noises with that bow. I was even more impressed later when I got into Al Stewart and realised he'd played on the "Love Chronicles" album, but here he is in his element, arrogant and nonchalant in equal measure, like a real guitar hero should be. Awesome stuff.

barryalmo I just had the pleasure of watching and listening to this again ! Not saying I,m old ... I saw it in 1976 in the local theatre !! Since then I have the VHS and DVD ... This time was the first in hi def ! And it was on TV !! (HollywoodSuite70s)Since I could put it on my PVR , Rewinding to review is very useful to check out some favourite bits . I would have given anything to be one of those lucky fans that took in the legendary shows !! I wore out my first LP , so I do know the music quite well !! It is still amazing to see the unique style of John Bonham and to see him even chatting it up with John Paul Jones a couple of times ! Even with all the edits , differences and time in between since last seeing it ... I still get happy watching this classic Led Zeppelin masterpiece !! No one will ever perform the same :-) :-)

Preston Rychetsky Led Zeppelin, the one of the most beloved (not to mention commercially successful) bands of all time, are the creators of one of the most interesting, weird and polarizing concert films of all time. The concert footage is from several 1973 performances at Madison Square Garden, and as per usual, the band rocks. Hard. The songs are a good mix from all 5 studio albums released until that point. Several concert staples are mysteriously missing, most notably Heartbreaker (and one of the better live versions, at that) and a shortage of songs from the debut. But all of this is nitpicking, as the title "The Song Remains the Same" does not hold true, as many songs are extended and improvised on quite liberally, especially, Dazed and Confused. All the concert bits are great, but the dividing thing are the live action sequences, witch range from vanity pieces to bizarre acid trips. Overall, they don't bother me, and are at least competently made, but some may feel that they distract from the music. However I more than recommend this film, for anyone who likes 70's rock, and for concert film buffs in general.

winner55 there's no blaming the filmmaker for the unmitigated disaster that is this film, it is all clearly the band's idea; they just seem to have forgotten what an idea is.To be sure, the sole survivor of this mess (and I include the audience at the concert this records) is Robert Plant; given the chance he reveals himself the definitive white tenor/falsetto blues singer, in complete control of his vocal range, and able to sing blues lyrics like poetry. This doesn't make him any less annoying, he just has a good voice. (Another reviewer complained he was off key; actually, Page is off key and Plant tries to get him back on.) If only he had a real blues band behind him, and didn't have to whine silly lyrics about heaven, hell and fairies.on the other hand there is the John Paul Jones masturbation number, "No Quarter", which supplied the raw material for the brilliant parody "This Is Spinal Tap".Alright, so the devil is walking with the dead: big deal. And it's all a Victorian masque after all - what disappointment! This film put an end to the concert film, and marked the beginning of the end of Led Zepplin and of the first wave of British Heavy Metal. It's easy to see why - every self-indulgent excess is worn on the sleeve of Jimmy Page, who seems to know how to play three notes very rapidly and repeated seemingly forever. Hurrah. No wonder metal heads began singing the praise of Tony Iommi so glowingly after this.No, really, if you want innovation, you listen to Greg Ginn; if you want to know where "No Quarter" ought to go, listen to Black Flag's "My War" LP; that doesn't even bother raising the question whether there is any quarter to be given, it just lashes out, cutting through all the pretentious psychedelic muck that informs this impossibly silly music video.This film pretty much put an end to one of the strangest phenomenons in music history: "British Rock and Roll"; white blues played by pill heads wanting to be Percy Shelly - HELP! There's only one thing a real rocker can say after surviving this expensive, over indulgent, over-rated piece of mud: THANK GOD FOR THE SEX PISTOLS!