Led Zeppelin songs have been featured in films such as Taika Waititi’s “Thor: Ragnarok,” Richard Linklater’s “School of Rock,” Ben Affleck’s “Argo” and Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous.”And while the band released a concert film called “The Song Remains the Same” directed b y Peter Clifton and Joe Massot in 1976, Bernard MacMahon’s “Becoming Led Zeppelin,” rated PG-13, is the first official, band-sanctioned documentary, said Katharine Wang, Park City Film Series executive director.“The film explores the origins of this iconic group,” she said. “It’s about their first year and how they came together and shot through the stars. It’s an unbelievable success story.”Park City Film will screen “Becoming Led Zeppelin” at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, March 28 and 29, and at 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 30, at the Park City Library’s Jim Santy Auditorium, 1255 Park Ave. Tickets are available at parkcityfilm.org. “Becoming Led Zeppelin” is one of many films about musicians and groups that have been making their way into the zeitgeist, Wang said.“At the Sundance Film Festival this year there were many documentaries about musicians, including Sly & the Family Stone, and we also saw a huge response to ‘A Complete Unknown,’ which is about Bob Dylan,” she said. “So, it’s been interesting to see how these films are coming to life.”The thing about Led Zeppelin’s music is how different it was from their contemporaries in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Wang said.“This was the time of The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin was new on the scene,” she said. “In the beginning, and you can see it in the trailer, people had their fingers in their ears going, ‘What is this?’”Still, in a very short period of time, the band — guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham — hit superstar status, according to Wang.“At one point they became more popular than the Beatles, but they were doing very different music, which I think was so exciting,” she said. “So to have this band come on the scene and be so successful in doing something that was so different.”The film takes the audience behind the scenes, according to Wang.“You are able to see the artistry behind the music,” she said. “It shows the mastery of the music and form of Led Zeppelin that they were able to create those songs in the ’60s and ’70s that are relevant today.”One of Wang’s favorite Led Zeppelin stories is telling her daughter about the band after hearing “Immigrant Song” in “Thor: Ragnarok.”“It is such an amazing song,” she said. “It’s about immigrants and diversity and about finding our place in the world. Having that conversation with my daughter about the music that Led Zeppelin did that crossed generations was so exciting.”Having the band’s compositions in films of today shows how transcendental Led Zeppelin is, according to Wang.“It shows how the music can be infused in other forms of art that is appealing to my 11-year-old daughter as well as to me in my advanced old age,” she said with a laugh. “It’s the soundtrack of my childhood, but of course, I grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, so it wasn’t new when I was a teenager. It’s just that the music has endured through the ages, and one of the ring tones for my daughter is a Led Zeppelin song.”Wang has another personal connection with Led Zeppelin.“One of my greatest accomplishments when I played guitar in high school was learning how to play ‘Bron-Yr-Aur,’” she said. “A friend of mine was an amazing guitar player, and he would put all of us to shame.”The song, an acoustic-guitar composition from Wang’s favorite Led Zeppelin album, “Physical Graffiti,” which was released in 1975, was a challenge to learn because of the tuning.“It’s not regular guitar tuning, so you’ve got this whole different thing going on,” she said. “It’s so out of the box and mind bending. I told my guitar teacher that I wasn’t going to be a professional musician but that I needed to be able to play this with all of its funky tuning.”Wang, who played cello for six years, decided to switch to the guitar after learning how much she’d have to practice to become a good cellist.“A friend of mine’s mom was a professional cellist for the New York Philharmonic,” she said. “I could see what it looked like to be a professional. I would have to practice two hours a day just to hold my own. I switched to guitar because it was much easier and fun. And you could take it around with you, because the cello isn’t something that is very portable.”“Bron-Yr-Aur” always comes to mind when Wang thinks of Led Zeppelin, but she loves the band’s other songs like “Over the Hills and Far Away.”“That’s the song I have on my phone,” she said. Wang is grateful for Park City residents Ben and Ray Kent for sponsoring this weekend’s screenings of “Becoming Led Zeppelin.”“They are some film lovers who love the band,” she said. “When they saw the trailer, they said they wanted to sponsor it. I feel that Led Zeppelin really hasn’t gotten their day. The Beatles have a ton of films about them, but not so much for Led Zeppelin. So, we’re hoping people will come, turn the sound up and immerse themselves in the great music of this great band.”Park City Film Presents ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’When: 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, March 28 and 29; 6 p.m. Sunday, March 30 Where: Park City Library’s Jim Santy Auditorium, 1255 Park Ave. Tickets: parkcityfilm.org/film/becoming-led-zeppelin Web: parkcityfilm.orgThe post Park City Film shows a ‘Whole Lotta Love’ to Led Zeppelin appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less