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The premiere of Becoming Led Zeppelin last week couldn't have gone any better, according to Jimmy Page.
Page was at the Venice Film Festival last weekend, where the first-ever official Led Zeppelin documentary was shown at two different screenings. The rock icon attended both events and says he was utterly humbled by how audiences reacted to the film and to his presence there.
In both cases, Page was greeted by standing ovations upon entering the theater; the first one lasted 10 minutes before he could say a word, he writes in a new social post. But audiences weren't just happy to see him; Page says they reacted similarly to what they saw on-screen.
"The audience bestowed such affection before the viewing it was quite overwhelming," he recalled. "As the film progressed the enthusiasm intensified and certain sequences were followed by applause. The audience were really connected and it was interesting to witness the communication and enthusiasm the event and the film were generating. After the closing credits, the audience rose to their feet and gave us another standing ovation, a thank you that I can't convey in words, but boy did I feel it."
Page also attended the midnight showing. Again, he and director Bernard MacMahon received an ovation before they could begin their introduction.
"It was so energising to feel the love, joy and anticipation from the public," he added. "The world press from the next couple of days was equally encouraging. They had had a private viewing so the questions were totally relative to the film documentary. The film had clearly touched the hearts of both audience and critics alike."
An official release date for Becoming Led Zeppelin should be announced this fall.
The film is described as a deep dive into Led Zeppelin's career that goes beyond what typical music documentaries cover.
"It's everything about the music and what would make the music tick," Page explained last week. "And it's complete versions of songs, not just a little sample and then talking heads. This is something in a totally different genre."
MacMahon said in a press release that the film "looks and feels like a musical," weaving together the diverse stories of the four band members, the chemistry between them and the environments in which they created such timeless music.
The film features rare and previously-unreleased media, new interviews with surviving band members Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones and long-lost archival interviews with late-drummer John Bonham.