Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
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
DVD Description
Track Listing:
- Echoes
- Careful With That Axe Eugene
- A Saucerful Of Secrets
- Us And Them
- One Of These Days
- Mademoiselle Nobs
- Brain Damage
- Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
- Echoes
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Floyd at their best. The now classic performance at the Pompeii amphitheater certainly is one of the highlights of Floyd's career. I have had the video for years (becoming pretty worn out) so I was really pleased with a DVD release. The 'directors cuts' is somewhat ... well, let's say surprising, but when listening to the interview it makes more sense.
And for the hard core purists, there's also the original movie included :-)
And for the hard core purists, there's also the original movie included :-)
Very much recommended!!!!
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
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.
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.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I can't believe people are moaning about this. Perhaps it is after the Apocalypse Now Redux, which they have now re-released in the original format on DVD, producers seem to have finally realised most people just want the original version that they know and love. So on this DVD they have given us BOTH versions and if you are watching the Directors Cut and get bored with the interview part press the 'step forward' button and it takes you straight to the beginning of the next song. Perfect! Well done! Thank you!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
pink floyds live at pompeii
this is a very good dvd which you can just watch the live at pompeii or watch the directors cut where they show you the making of dark side of the moon but came on time no... Read more
Published 25 days ago by calog
The music is great, but not the directors cut.
There is one big problem with the Director's cut version of live at Pompeii. Its poor, really poor.
However, its saving grace is the inclusion of the original and the... Read more
However, its saving grace is the inclusion of the original and the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by C. Matchett
Almost Converted Me!
Firstly, I would like to state that I bought this as a present for my Dad, for his birthday, so am writing purely on his reaction, and not of my own opinions of Pink Floyd. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Shazzeth
Pink floyd at their best
Classic floyd performance plus some really nice footage of the band recording and chatting. If you haven't seen this before, or like me, your VHS copy has had it after a thousand... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Ruski
Classic Early Pink Floyd
This is a must have Classic Pink Floyd Dvd Great Audio/ Visual of their early Music Recommended!
Published on 22 April 2010 by B. gibson
Pink Floyd: Everything you want them to be
If you want to learn more about the members of Pink Floyd, this is the DVD to watch. Not only do you see the human side of RW, DG, NM and RW, but realise once more the musical... Read more
Published on 8 Nov 2009 by Dr Pieter Pretorius
Review
This was pretty good. The original (not the default directors cut version) can be found buried in the menus and is much better.
Published on 16 Oct 2009 by James Bennet
A CLASSIC HAS BEEN 'MEDDLED' WITH!
The old adage which says "If it's not broken, don't fix it" is so apposite here. To me, the original film was fine. I loved it. It needed no `improving'. Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2009 by Mr. John K. Bishton
Great DVD But Lousy Directors Cut Default Version
I bought this film on VHS some 25 years ago and now I've finally laid that to rest after investing in this top quality DVD release. Read more
Published on 21 Jun 2009 by D. Turner
a masterpiece
Not a lot to say but simply a masterpiece!!!
The video is really old but timeless , absolutely superb!!
The video is really old but timeless , absolutely superb!!
Published on 20 Jun 2009 by gilly
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
