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Celebration Day Movie - Forum Reviews


SuperDave

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At the beginning of the movie in a near-full screen 5 at the Savoy cinema, Dublin, we were calling for the sound to be louder - and was just during the Tampa news clip. The sound did get louder - by the second half it was pounding almost like a real gig. Images were crystal, and yes, while the rapid editing worked a treat, a few more lingering shots would've given some admiration space. It didn't stop people clapping after each song, with a few whoops along the way from the mostly male, 30+ audience.

I can't add more than generally what has been said already - a beautiful film, often very funny with the glances between them. Jonesy is a damned Jedi of a man. Page digging out some truly demonic riffs and evil tones - a ladyfriend with me said "Wow it's so sexual isn't it?" Yes, yes it is. Another treat was seeing close-up shots of Page and Jones doing some sublime vibrato fretwork, esp on SIBLY and TSRTS.

Plant did a great job, getting looser and louder throughout, and peaking with Kashmir (the O2 version is now permanently prefixed with 'colossal'). You could imagine how he might not be able to do that for an entire tour (please let's not go there now!) but for this one intense show - terrific. I noted a very few tweaks on his vocal from the bootlegs I've heard; but the mix was generally perfect. I'm sure folks will find their preferred sound balance with the domestic release.

Jason nailed it - period.

IMTOD was an early highlight and For Your Life was a joy to finally hear. Crunched through it. Everything else just grooved so well, amazing to hear it after the various bootlegs. D&C was hot, and I note they helped cover up the so-called trainwreck by keeping the shots on the instruments while the band found its way again. Subtly done and I'm sure the anoraks (of which I'm one) will decode the edits in due course. It was great to hear a lot of notes and flourishes which were lost in the bootleg - esp Trampled Underfoot - Jimmy's playing was truly astounding and full of the energy of a much younger man.

The secret's out: JPJ is The Man stealthily keeping it all together; I noted one or two moments where his playing kept the whole thing moving forward. Tight but loose as usual. And so good-humoured. What a guy.

As mentioned above, if this is the last hurrah for Zep, then they retire with full honours intact... and just a little smug grin at everyone else who ever tried to play their game. *This* is how you do it, folks.

Overall, Celebration Day was so good that it reduced me to a babbling fool by the time were had a quick post-movie pint. "Breathe! Wipe that drool off your chin!" I am that gibbering fanboy. We are legion.

I was smiling throughout the show - that's my involuntary sign that I'm really, really enjoying the music. Nuff said. Thanks for reading.

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Was supposed to be at Imax in my town, it wasnt, alot of people here in Rochester, NY, started to get mad and rowdy, and the film was some kind of satellite feed, sound was WAY to low, bass and drums were lost, should have been the ear splitting sound of ANY movie, crowd was yelling and complaining, BUT JUST UNBELIEVABLE, cant wait for the dvd, I cant describe any better, than anyone else has, how great this was filmed, expect the unexpected, Trampled Underfoot, No Quarter, Misty Mountain Hop, Kasmir, and Stairway, blew my expectations, just a stunning OPUS to OUR band!

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That was quite something...

As it seems to be the trend, the sound at the beginning was a tad too quiet, but it got better as it went on. There were still a few problems, however; it sounded like a stereo mix trying to emulate a surround sound mix at times, especially during Jimmy's violin bow solo. I guess I'll have to wait until the Blu-Ray comes out before I can hear this performance with some more consistency.

Sound problems aside, though, it was so great seeing this in theaters. There was a sizable crowd at my theater, and there was some light applause and whoops. There were even a few laughs, especially at some of Jimmy's facial expressions and gestures, as if to say, "Oh, typical Jimmy..."

My only gripes were some of the cuts made, specifically Robert's speech before Kashmir, Jason's vocal solo, and some of the more playful moments during songs, like "Honeybee" during IMTOD and the "Boogie Chillin'" teaser during Whole Lotta Love. That's just me being nitpicky, though. I'm surprised they kept in so much of Robert talking to the crowd; it really made me feel closer to actually being there. All in all, I'm glad I saw this in theaters!

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I saw the movie tonight in Cincinnati, and it was absolutely phenomenal. The whole thing was awesome, but I would have to say the boys were at their absolute best in the series of five or six songs starting with Ramble On through In My Time of Dying. Tears came to my eyes in the middle of that set just seeing how tight they were, and how much fun they were having that night. I got the feeling that any worries they had brought into the gig washed away during that stretch of songs, and they knew they were squarely in the middle of something special and simply went apeshit with the feeling. Jimmy's playing was incredible, I expected that. But what surprised me a little bit was how well Robert Plant sang. Yes, he had to round off some edges and find his way a little differently on some of the more difficult notes. But, it worked in that moment and did not come off as a compromise at all.

As an American, I was a little upset that we would likely never see them live in our country again. I thought maybe one more show in the States, if only for a nod to how big their success was here was in order. But, after seeing Celebration Day, they did it right. Robert Plant was right. A night of absolute perfection was captured for posterity, and it likely could never be this great again. I cannot wait for the Blue Ray release so I can so can start breaking this concert down over and over again.

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What a marvelous concert. Until.....

The cops showed up.

I saw Celebration Day at the Northpark theater in Dallas just now, and what a fantastic experience it was. Then about ten minutes before the concert ended the manager showed up with two cops and started pointing out people in the theater to be led outside. One of them was directly behind me. I had to hear there conversation right during Jimmy's WWL solo. People weren't smoking pot in the theater I can assure you, the only thing I can figure is that certain people were recording snippets of the movie with their cell phone. There were people literally plucked out by the cops all over the theater.

Apparently these people couldn't have possibly been confronted when the movie was over. The fact that everyone there had paid fifteen bucks a piece to see the film meant little to management or the fuzz. Jerks.

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Saw Celebration Day tonight in Dallas. It was a small theater with about 200 seats.

I sat in the front row because that is where the sound was the loudest.

I actually got up about 2 songs in and asked the Mgr. to turn up the volume, as it was not near loud enough. The result was Loud, but not The Who "Tommy" movie loud, which was ear splitting back in the day.

I look forward to the CD set and the Audio Only Blu-ray that I will be ordering soon from Import CD, when they make it available (by this Friday me hopes). The performances were all good to great throught! A friend is getting the Deluxe package, so he will share the Rehearsal DVD with me, for sure ! :)

As to the filmimg of the concert, it was great in some parts, and, well, so-so in others.

There are very few "long" shots, timewise, or visually. What you will get, are mostly facial and hand close-ups, with fewer shots of the whole band member, and even much rarer, shots of the whole band playing together onstage.

I disagree with Director Dick Caruthers choice to show the "grainy" big screen images interspersed throught most of the film. I found those grainy images of no help at all. They were not necessary, and, in fact, I found them distracting. The non big-screen HD images were all good and exceptionally clear.

I also protest the omission of Robert's build up to "Kashmir". It works very well on the audio bootleg I have of the show.

It was fun and thrilling to sing along with "STH". I do feel that Jimmy really should have put an extended solo in with this STH. The song, in this O2 context befits that, imo.

Watching the O2 concert brought back floods of memories from concerts gone by, especially from the 1975 and 1977 shows, that I was lucky enough to see.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Trivia Question..... On Jimmy's "Orange" boxes onstage, the"an" is covered over, so the boxes actually read "OR GE" -- get it ? ? !

When was the first occasion that Jimmy's Orange Boxes were so labeled ? ? ? (I don't know the answer to this Question, which is why I'm asking You !)

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Hi so basically I need to see it again in a venue where the speakers work properly (left side was far less audible for most of the show so sequences like Jonesy's NQ solo were barely audible or Pagey's bow in Dazed was intermittent - right side yes, left side, no) and the volume is up (I could literally hear grabbing my popcorn, people whispering). It was kind of like when you don't put your headphones all the way in and you get that weird distant sound if you know what I mean. They seemed to have figured it out but Kashmir. Plan't vocals, though, were great, I mean REALLY great throughout. So despite the speaker problems, it was, nevertheless, breathtaking.

How can you put into words experiences like that? They were so locked into one another and the songs. They looked so happy. Even after all this time they'd wipe the floor with most everyone else. When you're watching the show you get easily and quickly seduced by the desire of wanting them to tour again. To tour forever. But then in the quiet cool air after the show you realize that maybe it worked because they did it the right way for the right reason, and so everything came together at the right time. There's a fine line between recreating that magic and chasing after it, always a bit more behind each time. Nobody wants to be Vegas Elvis.

Because of the sound issues, I couldn't really get into it until No Quarter, and then it got me. So numinous. There's just no other band like them. Always leaving you wanting more.

p.s. for any Torontonians/GTAers, if you could suggest venues that were good, I'll travel to wherever. Thanks :)

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I do not know the answer to the question The Rover, but I did at least notice that ;-)

At the theatre I attended, we too had the sound issue, and there were some ceiling lights that needed to be turned off. Most in the nearly sold out theatre were shouting, "turn the sound up", "turn the lights down". Both happened during the GTBT. However, during Ramble On, the screen went white. The boos began.

Someone addressed the crowd to announce that they were starting the film over so that everyone could enjoy it properly from the start. Nice!

I cannot really add anything new that has not already been said. I had a wonderful time and wished I could have stayed for the second showing, but an annoying thing called waking up for work is in the way.

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Just saw it in Orland Park (Chicago) Illinois. Can't wait for the DVD. IMTOD, Kashmir, MMH, TSRTS were highlights for me. Was expecting more of Trampled Underfoot. I loooove the Earls Court DVD version. Same as alot of people said, sound got louder a couple songs into it. I am looking forward to hearing it on my stereo at home so I can adjust the sound to my liking. Who knows if the theater I saw it at had the right sound mix or just the theater in general has sound issues. Definitely seemed muddy in places, drums too loud, not enough guitar, etc. Loved the smiling between the guys and seeing Jonesy playing the bass pedals with his feet (boots). More proof Led Zeppelin is the greatest rock band ever and shall ever be!

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My Wife and I just got home from the showing in Nashville.In my opinion most of the movie was fantastic and am glad we went.Highlitghts for myself were MMH,NFBM,TSRTS,IMTOD and Kashmir while the rest was so-so.I don't get why all the distorted shots as opposed to all in live HD.

A great part of the night was Bullshitin with about 10 or so others who were in our seats very early.Alot of fun it was chattin with those fans and I wanna give a shout out to a Gal named Connie who was very friendly and had the most amazing ZEP tats I have ever seen.Thx for reading and enjoy the mighty ZEPPELIN.Cheers,TRW

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Got back a couple of hours ago, from seeing this for the second time. Saw the NYC premiere last week. Been spending the time, since I got back reading so many of the great, detailed reviews over the last day or so. It's getting late, so I'll post another review sometime tomorrow. This film is just so good!

Hopefully, I can find another showing over the weekend in my area. Not to far from NYC, so that may be a possibility. We'll see!

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Film was SPECTACULAR!!!!! Theatre was a bit less than half full, but the people were really into it - made it a lot of fun. Like everywhere, the sound was a little low at the beginning, and someone got up to let them know. I wonder if it's on purpose though, as it may be the way they dealt with the feedback issues.

I particularly enjoyed the interaction between the guys. They seemed to be having such a good time, and it only got better as the show progressed. Loved Nobody's Fault But Mine, SIBLY and Kashmir. And everything, really :) It amused me that a bunch of people got up to go to the restroom when Stairway started. Around the middle of No Quarter, I had a fleeting thought that it was too bad they didn't go on the road for a bit, but it was fleeting. This is a great way to wrap things up.

So glad I saw it in the theatre. No way it would be the same in my living room, although I do have wine at home. They did not serve it at this particular theatre. I will remember to take my movie going dollars to another county without such weird alcohol laws :D

All in all, a wonderful evening!!!

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My wife and I just got home from the show. It was just plain awesome! They fixed the feedback and the visuals were fantastic! It was everything I could expect, the thundering Zeppelin in full flight! Gotta get the DVD so I can play it loud enough...

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Trivia Question..... On Jimmy's "Orange" boxes onstage, the"an" is covered over, so the boxes actually read "OR GE" -- get it ? ? !

When was the first occasion that Jimmy's Orange Boxes were so labeled ? ? ? (I don't know the answer to this Question, which is why I'm asking You !)

It was done for the 02 concert, actually, and they were also custom-covered in black tolex instead of signature orange textured tolex.

jp_collection_05_zps620357d6.jpg

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Just got back from seeing the film, it was incredible! A few notes on the film itself:

- The audio quality is fantastic, a great balance in the instruments and everything is clear and discernable

- Plant's voice is suprisingly powerful and consistent throughout the show, which wasn't as evident in the audience recordings due to Plant's voice not being as up-front in the recordings

- There isn't a substantial amount of overdubbing. Yes Dazed & Confused is fixed plus probably some minor things here and there but overall the audience recordings showed that this was a pretty consistent show to begin with.

- I know people say "Jason is not John Bonham, Bonzo will never be replaced blah blah blah" but here is the deal: Jason rocked it, plain and simple. I was astounded at how well he fits with the rest of the guys, the songs were done justice and he really helped kick the overall energy of the songs into overdrive.

- For me the highlights were Trampled Underfoot, SIBLY, Stairway, No Quarter, and Kashmir. Kashmir was the highlight of the show for me, and I can honestly say I consider it one of the best performances of the song I have heard - it is heavy hitting and Plant really nailed the intensity of the vocals.

All in all I am soo glad I was able to catch it on the big screen! If anything this film just further solidifies how awesome a full tour would be but hey such as life right? At least we have this incredible footage to rock out to :)

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Just got back from San Fran, and the movie ended about two hours ago. I absolutely loved the movie. It was the shortest 2 hours of my life. Robert absolutely nailed Kashmir, and IMTOD was outstanding. The only thing I have to complain about is the theater didn't have it loud enough. Can't wait until I can see it in my living room.

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Hi 25 hours, I just got home from the Nashville show as well. We also had the same complaint as others on the sound

not being loud enough. Remember people getting loud shouting "Turn It Up", it got better as the film progressed. Wonder

was this the theaters oversight? I thought it was great. Theater maybe 3/4 full? Didn't get that for a town of Nashville's size,

especially since Plant has hung around here a bit. Thought there would be some new converts that would want to check this out.

Loved some of the looks between the guys. The Rover, and SAJ, I noticed the Orange boxes, but why was I thinking he had sold

those? Anyway can't wait for my deluxe edition to arrive on the 19th (yes same day release is worth the $2 something I paid x-tra)

Front row Dave..... I've subscribed to your facebook page. Was disappointed there were no promotional poster up for background for us, the theater

guy said none were send. We waited to take our pics together after the movie, and they had already put taken 2 up as what was

showing. We ending up in front of a bond sign, I like bond and all that......but come on this was Zep!

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AMC Theatres sound sucked!

The beginning was very low, but then the volume was raised some when an older usherette appeared and everyone screamed "turn it up!!!"

As for the film...wOW!!!!

Just amazing! :D

So many favorite moments...too many thoughts but here are a few...

Trampled Under Foot was sooooo freakin funky! Loved it! I really had a hard time sitting, I wanted to just dance!

IMTOD when Jimmy speeds up on the really snarky slide ....that is just the best sound everrrrr!!!!!

No Quarter was just plain spellbinding! JPJ cool as always!

Kashmir was perfect!

They were all four so good, but Jimmy Page owned that stage ...snarling, laughing, on fire, full of piss and vinegar ...., what a triumph!!!!

I am happy! :D

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I just got back from seeing it in Plano (Dallas) Texas. I have heard for years how good this show was, but I was just completely blown away. When Robert states it was the best Zeppelin gig in 30 years, he isn't joking! It's hard to pick highlights because every song for me was a highlight. I will respectfully disagree with a few in this thread and say The Song Remains The Same was incredible for me. But Kashmir is just absolutely unbelievable. Believe it or not, I've never really been to crazy for the tune, but that version almost had me in tears. I couldn't believe that much sound was coming from just 4 people. Incredible!!!!! Plant did sing his ass off. Jason played his ass off. Page was bringing the thunder. And Jones is still one of the coolest "mothers" to ever grace the stage. Can't wait to get the blue ray on my surround sound!

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Loved it! Had sound issues at the theatre. I asked them to turn it up and, right after the first song, everyone yelled to have it turned up.... so they did. :-)

It was perfect. I have to say that we are so lucky to have Jason. I dont think this could have happened with the same energy and feeling if he wouldn't have been in the picture. Plant and Page were just as amazing as they were in the 70s and Jones was brilliant. I'm so happy that I got to go.

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What a marvelous concert. Until.....

The cops showed up.

I saw Celebration Day at the Northpark theater in Dallas just now, and what a fantastic experience it was. Then about ten minutes before the concert ended the manager showed up with two cops and started pointing out people in the theater to be led outside. One of them was directly behind me. I had to hear there conversation right during Jimmy's WWL solo. People weren't smoking pot in the theater I can assure you, the only thing I can figure is that certain people were recording snippets of the movie with their cell phone. There were people literally plucked out by the cops all over the theater.

Apparently these people couldn't have possibly been confronted when the movie was over. The fact that everyone there had paid fifteen bucks a piece to see the film meant little to management or the fuzz. Jerks.

I saw "Celebration Day" at the 7pm showing at the Studio Movie Grill in Plano, Texas and only paid $9 for my ticket, however, I did purchase my ticket on October 4, 2012. (The NorthPark theater you saw this at and the Studio Movie Grill in Plano are no more than 15 miles apart).

At this particular theater you can order food and (alcoholic) drink(s) served to you as you enjoy the show. I was going to order the bucket of 5 Budweisers for $19 but changed my mind because the staff seemed to be very busy. Instead I ordered a Budweiser during "Trampled Underfoot" and got a Bud Light.

The theater was nearly full but since this was a Studio Movie Grill, the seating is unlike a normal theater where all the seats are in rows. I would estimate that there were at least 50 - 75 people in attendance.

As for the film/concert itself, I was very pleased with the direction and feel of the film. I have had 2 different versions of this show on bootleg dvds for at least 3 years now and have seen this O2 concert more than 50 times, so I was not in anyway surprised of the content and the song order that was played. Obviously, this being the real deal, the bootlegs I have pale in comparison. Of course I will be purchase this dvd on Blu-Ray the day that it is released.

MY HATS OFF AND A TIP OF MY COLD BUDWEISER TO JIMMY PAGE, ROBERT PLANT, JOHN PAUL JONES AND THE SON OF JOHN HENRY "BONZO" BONHAM, MR. JASON BONHAM.

LONG LIVE THE MIGHTY LED ZEPPELIN!!!

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