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In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted, obliterating the ancient Italian city of Pompeii under ash and pumice, killing thousands. After the ash cleared, only ruins were left. In 1972 AD, nearly 1900 years later, filmmaker Adrian Maben convinced the four members of Pink Floyd, the rising stars in the world of psychedelic progressive rock, to film an outdoor concert on the amphitheater area of Pompeii.
The audience: only the filmmakers, and the eventual moviegoing public. And so, a giant gong was brought out first, followed by the camera equipment, Roger Waters and his bass guitar, David Gilmour and his lead guitar, Richard Wright and his heavy Hammond organ, Farfisa organ and grand piano, and Nick Mason with his drum kit, all set up on this hot outdoor pavilion, mostly shirtless during the sweaty Italian day and mostly shirted in the cool darkness.
At the time, Pink Floyd was still reeling from the firing of their good friend and founding member Syd Barrett from the band in 1968. Barrett was suffering from severe mental illness and had been erratic for some time. The remaining members continued on as a four-piece, with Gilmour brought in as Barrett’s replacement and Waters becoming more confident in his songwriting. Each album and tour since had brought the band increased acclaim and sales in Britain, but international success was to elude them for a little bit longer.
Pink Floyd at Pompeii is a snapshot of a band with incredible talent at their fingertips, on the verge of superstardom. The best thing about this remaster is that it looks and sounds incredible in IMAX. Indie rocker turned remix auteur Steven Wilson revamped the audio meticulously across both 5.1 and Dolby Atmos formats (depending on your local IMAX setup), and Lana Topham, Director of Restoration for Pink Floyd, supervised the frame-by-frame visual remaster, keeping the original grain but upgrading the colors and repairing frames as they went.
In this concert film, Pink Floyd are making sounds that no band has ever made before in startling clarity. Gilmour’s lead and slide guitar distortion effects circle the soundscape. Waters’ picked bass is thick and heavy. Wright makes magic with state-of-the-art equipment, experimenting with sampling, audio effects, distortion and more, when many of their contemporaries eschewed keyboards altogether. Mason is a maniac on a basic taped-up drum kit, and, at one point, drums so emphatically that his stick flies into space and he has to grab another in a hurry.
Pink Floyd at Pompeii — MCMLXXII (Sony Music)
Maben only filmed about an hour of useful footage at Pompeii itself, along with some studio performances in Paris, and the initial 1972 release had this hour of the band running through seven songs:
- An original instrumental Pompeii intro
- “Echoes, Part 1” (the long, side 2 of their then-new album Meddle split into two halves)
- “Careful With That Axe, Eugene” (a B-side instrumental that appeared on the compilation Relics)
- “A Saucerful of Secrets” (an instrumental, the title track from their second album)
- “One of These Days” (mostly instrumental from Meddle)
- “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” (from Saucerful of Secrets)
- “Mademoiselle Nobs” (a country-infused goof with a harmonica and a howling dog)
- “Echoes, Part 2”
When Pink Floyd hit it big on their following record, the immortal Dark Side of the Moon, this film was re-released in 1973, but with additional, recent music played in the background over band members noodling on instruments at Abbey Road Studios. No attempt was made to match the hairstyles, facial hair or clothing from two years earlier. This is in the version of the film that was remastered.
- “On the Run”
- “Us and Them”
- “Brain Damage”
There’s also a few added bits with the band and production staff eating and joking around in the studio commissary, and precious little Q&A with members of Pink Floyd. One highlight: Mason is asked what motivates him and the band. “Lust for money,” he quips, Monty Python-style. “Only jokingly,” he says a minute later. “Naturally, four less money-minded people would be hard to find.”
As mentioned, what this remaster does right is that it looks and sounds spectacular. What it does wrong is that it’s a chopped-together music documentary made in 1972 and 1973. No attempt is made to introduce the band members or producers with voiceover or on-screen graphics, and there’s no context about the band’s status or place in music history up to that point. Some of the songs are introduced with on-screen titles, is all. The remaster is scaled up for IMAX, but does not try to smooth over the original’s rough spots.
The result is that this film isn’t necessarily for the Pink Floyd newbie, as they’ll be hopelessly confused as to who is who — however, they may still be able to take in the incredible music. And Pink Floyd at Pompeii captures a Golden Age just beginning — a whole lot of spectacular music was soon to come from Waters, Gilmour, Wright, and Mason. You could see it coming, clear as an eruption from the grounds of Pompeii.
Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII is available in limited release beginning April 25th, 2025, depending on your local IMAX. Check pinkfloyd.film for details, and check out the trailer below.
English (US) · 