Pink Floyd - Live at Pompeii [1972]

Product Details

Director : Adrian Maben
Actor : David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters, Richard Wright (II)
Format : Anamorphic, Full Screen, PAL
Aspect Ratio : 1.33:1
Binding : DVD
EAN : 5050582013108
Number of Discs : 1
Product Group : DVD
Region Code : 2
Release Date : 2003-10-20
Running Time : 62minutes

ASIN : B00008S7KC

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

Conceived by the French director Adrian Maben as "an anti-Woodstock film," Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii was shot in October 1971 in the ancient city's vacant, 2,000-year-old amphitheatre--a venue chosen to accentuate the grandeur and spaciousness of the band's Meddle-era music. This disc contains a new, 90-minute director's cut as well as the original 60-minute concert film, whose production and effects feel inescapably dated. Maben's cut goes to great lengths to lend the film a more contemporary feel, but it's the earlier version that makes this disc such a gem, being more focused on the music and more holistic in vision.

The anamorphic, 16:9 director's cut interweaves the Pompeii performances with fascinating but distracting interviews and music snippets filmed later (mostly during the recording of Dark Side of the Moon). The movie was originally prepared in a 4:3 aspect ratio, however, and the widescreen version crops perfectly framed images like the nine-square mosaic of drummer Nick Mason in "One of These Days". The original offers plenty of close-ups of fingers on frets and keys, with shots that are often luxuriously long in duration. And the picture quality from Pompeii is revelatory: outstandingly sharp and clear, rich in subtle grades of light and colour.

Generous extras include everything from original posters, reviews, bootleg album covers and song lyrics, to a 24-minute interview with Maben. But for all the director's talk of the glorious acoustics in Pompeii's amphitheatre, there's little natural ambience to be heard. The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is clear, dry and two-dimensional, though notably better than any previous video release. --Michael Mikesell

Customer Reviews

excellent (2008-06-25)

I thought this was a brilliant flow between visual and the music.If you like the prior darkside of the moon,you'll love this.It's in one of my top ten dvd's.Some of the footage of the band playing is just magical.A must have from me.

Why is this not on CD? (2008-05-13)

In my opinion, this is the best Pink Floyd music there is, bearing in mind I am a fan of their earlier stuff. The versions of all the album tracks such as 'Careful with that Axe', 'Echoes', 'Saucerful of Secrets' and 'Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun' are much more enticing than the recorded versions. It is also nice to see the Floyd playing live (even without an audience) as you can get a good idea of their impressive improvisational skills which are heavily exploited in this album.I have the tracks on my iTunes, and they are my most listened to Floyd tracks and this is probably my favourite album ever along with a couple of others (yes I like it more than Dark Side!). For somebody who likes the early Floyd sound, and the albums I mentioned earlier, this is an essential addition to the Floyd collection.... but BE PATIENT WITH IT.....

It's Good (2008-04-16)

This is truly great Music. The DVD offers the "Director's Cut" which has interviews with Pink Floyd from that time, some scenes from Pink Floyd recording Songs for the 'Dark Side', and obviously the 'concert' in the amphitheatre with some new visual gimmicks, such as pictures of pompeii and computer generated planets or something. You can also choose to watch a version without any of these interferences (called original concert film in the features menu), just the music and the recordings of the amphitheatre. Its good value for the money, especially as a fan of Pink Floyd.

Pompeii (2007-09-16)

This dvd is a must own for anyone who enjoys progressive and modern music. The film is just brilliant and shows the band in a time when they were still pushing boundaries and making amazing music. I would get this even if I wasn't a Pink Floyd fan... It's just that good.

A unique piece of early 70s culture (2007-09-10)

Looking at this film thirty years after it was made, the first thing that hits you is how much bolder film makers and musicians were then. Even with all the technical advances that have taken place since 1972, no-one would dare to make a film like this now, even if they could get the financial backing.The original version of the film (which features as an extra on this DVD) is superb. The rather dated cinematography only adds to the period atmosphere and the audacious concept of playing a live concert in the empty amphitheatre at Pompeii with just the film crew there is just perfect for early Pink Floyd music and makes most other "performance" films seem pretty tame by comparison.The director's cut is a disappointment. The newly created footage is incongruous and irrelevant. The clips of the Abbey Road studios during the recording of Dark Side of the Moon are interesting but only serve to break the flow of the Pompeii performance. They should be available separately.Other extras are OK but it is the original film that makes this a crucial purchace for all Pink Floyd fans and fans of rock cinema.

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