Rating: 
Summary: A Visual Mind Trip Nearly Ruined By Unnecessary Indulgence.
Review: First of all I would like to point for those who quite rightly did not like the director's cut, that included in this DVD is the original concert (minus the interviews) untouched by Adrian Maben totally unnecessary new indulgence.
Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii is probably one of the best music documentaries ever filmed, and captures perfectly the essence of the band, from choosing a location that fits the music and the mood of Pink Floyd so well,to deciding not to have any audience:the emptiness,silence and morbid history of Pompeii with its live volcanos add an invaluable depth (Echoes!) to the songs. Moreover,to watch the interviews, rehearsals and samples from the studio,recording Dark Side of The Moon,is to witness an unpretentious and raw creativity at work.
The film also offers an early indication and insight on the condition of the band, and the inevitable break up years later that was in a way waiting to happen. With all PF members admitting to a friction that resulted in many fights back in '71, and with Roger Waters obvious controlling and imposing attitude,it is surprising the band survived until The Final Cut!
The selection of the tracks is very good indeed, getting to hear again the 'forgotten' Floyd repertoire. The term 'Mind Trip' and 'Masterpiece' are overused these days, but one should really listen and as equally vital watch Pink Floyd to really understand what these terms mean!! To listen to Careful with that Axe Eugene, Set The Controls for The Heart of the Sun and the epic Echoes is to be taken on a mind trip like no other music manages to take you in the true sense of the word(strangely and sadly these songs are very much omitted from Gilmour and Waters concerts-it would make a very interesting listen to hear them again using modern production/or with a new interpretation).
I also loved Maben's emphasis on Nick Mason's play, (in my opinion with Kansas's Phil Ehart and Eloy's Fritz Randow, the best drummer in rock, in all its genres).You will simply look in sheer amazement at this wonderful artist 'playing his heart out'.
Now to the Director's cut.
To be honest it was a total futile and strange exercise. In some parts I cringed at the new shots inserted! especially the Koyanisqaatsi influenced space rocket in first part of Echoes..the musuem shots of statues, or worst of all the virtual reconstruction of the Pompeii temples in the second part of Echoes!! It is bewildering!! Why would the very same man who conceived and directed the original film would want to tamper with it in such a cheap way? I can not start to imagine!
Nevertheless, since the original concert is included, with little nice extras as well, and since it is Pink Floyd with their ethereal and timeless music, (hence my 5 stars) this DVD should at no account be missed.
Rating: 
Summary: should we expect more for 14 bucks?
Review:
there had to be a catch, i guess....... 4% PAL to NTSC speed up .... ridiculous (not neccessarily chipmunk floyd but extremely annoying to any one sensitive to the pitch and tempo of the orignal soundtrack......better than the vhs only in the sense, that it won't wear out thru multiple viewings, and the mix is certainly better..........i guess remixing the music from the original multitracks and transfering at the CORRECT speed (for NTSC ) was too much....... trouble ?!?! bottom line. Floyd deserve to be remembered better than this.......and we, in the NTSC market shouldn't support productions that are too ___________ to perform a proper NTSC xfer that retains the integrity of the original product. hello there Universal.......WHAT? were you thinking? oh they won't notice that nick mason sounds like a............. girl? to all those who produce DVD's for the world market, and slog off on proper xfers for either your PAL or NTSC markets.......we're fans, not region codes or dollar signs, how would you like it if we took YOUR favourite movie, cd, or dvd, and sped it up 4%.......all the while knowing that someone else across the pond was listening to it at the correct speed?!?!?notice how the producers of the who, kids are alright dvd, FIXED the speed problem with the original kids VHS (which suffered from a 4% speed up) THEY did it right.....their product got BETTER. you guys went backwards. shame shame mr.maben and company......... buyer beware ! gee, i WONDER if they are gonna put out a new directors cut mixed from the "original multitracks" with a "new" 5.1 soundtrack blah blah blah.........RIDICULOUS.....and you wonder why people are fed up, when they keep buying their favourite movies or albums over and over and over again, because the first release was shoddy, and subsequent releases promise better quality........reminds me of the 1st edition CRAP kubrick boxset, and then the reissue, with a special documentary, that you could only get if you bought the whole damn thing AGAIN! i think we all deserve better.
Rating: 
Summary: Tisk, Tisk, Tisk!
Review: shame on you maben! you create something so beautiful with one hand, and you destroy it with the other! i had this concert on video for a few years now, and never once has dust settled on it, because it was always being watched! and when i heard it was going to dvd i was over the moon, i pictured great extras, picture and sound so sharp, you'd cut yourself off it! to a certain extent thats all there too, but the essence of what made this film great is gone! SIMPLICITY!.. not the music, but the way it was captured, simple, raw.....BEAUTIFUL! a pink floyd fan.. wants to see and hear pink floyd! simple as that.. give that, and any fan will be happy! the vhs version i owned (with the DSoM interviews) had that and it was seriously the most valuable thing i owned because of it! if this dvd didnt have the full untouched version in "features"... id seriously wonder if id ever watch it again! but because of it.... i love it... and id recommend it to anyone! i just hope the pulse, and delicate sound of thunder dvds dont have any pointless and unrelated rubbish on em! just one mans opinion,
ringo!
Rating:
Summary: Its about time this came out on DVD!!!!!
Review: Been waiting for this for years!!! After buying more VHS versions than I can count, that were either played out, lost, stolen, or otherwise disappeared, I finally have the DVD!!! And the special directors cuts let me figure out how Gilmour played those esoteric Echoes lyrics. A MUST HAVE for any serious Floyd fan!
Rating:
Summary: Great DVD!
Review: First of all, the original concert film in Pompeii is the best part. The performance itself was and always has been amazing. Now the picture and sound have been incredibly re-mastered. For a film that was shot in the 70s, the footage of the band performing in the amphitheater is now incredibly crisp and vibrant on the DVD. I've only seen the concert on VHS once about seven years ago, but I've watched the DVD version about ten times (ah, the joy of not having to rewind!). The empty amphitheater creates an eerie yet artistic setting. The sound, although only stereo, absolutely rocks. I enjoyed the director's cut because it gave me a lot of insight on Pompeii and the state of Pink Floyd around the time the concert was filmed. The DVD also has interviews of the band members during the recording of Dark Side of the Moon. It was intriguing to see clips of their recording sessions. Overall, I thought it was a great DVD.
Rating:
Summary: A Letter To Mr Adrian Maben - Director
Review: Before I begin let me tell you Mr Director, that I am a total Floyd Head, and have been most of my life, and I am NOT a stoner who lives inside on a beanbag. The emminent release of Live At Pompeii has been a hilite of my year so far, and since I ordered it I have been hanging around the mailbox like a moth to a candle. But I have to tell you, I am VERY disappointed with your product. So this is the 'Directors Cut'...well Mr Director...you've had a shocker. Why oh why could'nt you have just left it as it was? The original version that i had on VHS was Perfect! But no, you had to go and throw a load of irrelivant shots of trains coming into stations and contemporary Italian Architechture into the mix, to what...make it better? Seriously Mr Maben, there was a time when you were a visionary, I mean to shoot a band like Pink Floyd in an empty Amphitheatre in Pompeii is genius, and the original Film was incredible, a real time capsule of a band at the peak of thier powers. Then to add in at a later date some footage of Them recording Dark Side Of The Moon along with a few crazed interviews and call it a 'Extended Version' was great! I mean, like you say, in the right place at the right time! But really, Mr Maben, that should have been it, you should have released the thing on DVD and been clear of it, for our sake. The original film opens with a beautifully paced, log zoom of the band accompanied to the sweet sound of 'Echoes', lovely stuff, beautiful. So I have to ask you Mr French Director, what makes you think that by putting footage of a rocket ship flying through space towards earth over the top of the lovely zoom ENHANCES the film? What were you on? OK, you get the point, I'm deeply, deeply disappointed. As the Director of Live At Pompeii, you have a responsibility to us, the public, to do the best job you can to enlighten us with your film, but you have been selfish in that you have lost sight of what it was that you made all those years ago. Live At Pompeii is a Historical Piece of music history, and is something that SHOULD NOT be modernised to suit your wavering career. To those of us that love the Floyd, it goes beyond just the music. I cant speak for others, but for me, it's part of my heritage and who I am, and you, my friend, have desecrated that. But there is hope. I hereby say to you now Mr Adrian Maben, you can redeem yourself. Here's what you do. Re-release the concert WITHOUT all your fancy irrelivant, out of context 'wizardry' and let us have, on DVD, the masterpiece that you once made, the time piece of a band overflowing with creative and exciting power. Disappointing Mr Maben, very disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: The Director's Cut - Or How to Botch a Great Film
Review: Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii Pros: On DVD - Finally! Sharp picture and outstanding stereo audio! The original concert footage from the 1971 Film is included as a Extra Feature. Fantastic pre-Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd space music. The additional black & white interview footage from Paris in 1972. Cons: The so called "Director's Cut". What a travesty! Directior Adrian Maben seems like an intelligent man in his interview included on the DVD. However, this so-called extended "Director's Cut" is a good lesson in how to botch a really great concert film with bad editing and just plain stupidity. It is difficult to believe that the members of Pink Floyd approved of these unbelievably inept changes. The director's extras really detract from a pleasurable viewing of this film. For example: Cheesy, worthless animation, inserted in the most inappropriate places. Even the animation of the reconstruction of Pompeii during Echoes part II adds nothing to the film. Shots of a Subway (and a shot of an empty Subway station) during Echoes part I. A truly bizarre decision. St. John's Wood? What could possibly be relevant about this random insertion? Other random shots of modern day Pompeii - pointless and distracting. Very Poor conception - Adrian Maben's idea of a rocket taking off from an outer space world and coming to earth to listen the the Pink Floyd concert at Pompeii is completely laughable. As a result we get cheap space animation of planets and space travel which simply do not work on any type of conceptual level with this film. Unfortunately, no additional film footage remains - it cannot be found. The lost footage would have been a great addition to the extended version of the film and could have made for a decent Director's Cut. Lack of the inclusion of the full 1974 release of the film which includes band interviews and DSotM studio sessions. These are included in the Director's Cut - but is it really worth watching again? The ONLY reason I would recommend this film is for the Extra Feature that contains the concert footage only from the original 1971 film. Five Stars for the Original Concert Footage on DVD!
Rating:
Summary: A MUST SEE! For Pink Floyd Fans
Review: Very few musical documented live performances do justice to the performance artists. However, Pink Floyd's Live At Pompeii (Director's Cut) DVD defies that law of tradition. It's quite possibly the BEST live concert film I have ever seen. This DVD contains everything for the die hard Pink Floyd fan It contains the Original Pompeii Film and a newly remastered version of the Pompeii concert. In my personal opinion, the remastered film isn't as genuine or sincere as the original. But never the less, the remastered version contains Studio interviews during the production recordings of the Dark Side of the Moon sessions. Chapter Selections:
1.ECHOES PART I
2.CAREFUL WITH THAT AXE EUGENE
3.A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS
4.Us and Them (studio sessions/interviews segment)
5.ONE OF THESE DAYS
6.MADEMOISELLE NOBS
7.Brain Damage studio sessions/interviews segment)
8.SET THE CONTROLS FOR THE HEART OF THE SUN
9.ECHOES PART II If you truly admire Pink Floyd, this Director's Cut DVD will not be a disappointment. Unfortunately , if you're seeking bootleg concerts and rare interviews - - this is film contains none of thee above. It does, however, contain bootleg artwork and minimal interviews with the band and the director of the Live At Pompeii concert. Needless to say, if you're into the depthy art exploration and mysterious psychedelic stylings of Pink Floyd, this film captures that essence in a haunting manner. This film captures Pink Floyd at the prime of their artistic careers. My advice to YOU is purchase this DVD through Amazon and spend an evening of beautiful intoxication with Pink Floyd's Live At Pompeii (Director's Cut) DVD.
Rating:
Summary: P.F. Live At Pompeii...Finally!!!
Review: Possibly the greatest concert movie ever recorded, this one has been long overdue on DVD. The "Main Film" features extra footage, some of which is interesting (b&w interviews with the band not seen in the original) and some of which is completely uncalled for (space shots during "Echoes"?). The best thing to do though is go to the "Features" menu and watch the original conert film. The picture is much brighter and the sound has been cleaned up beautifully! A must have for any real Pink Floyd fan!
Rating:
Summary: Old Floyd On Video Will Always Get 5 Stars
Review: Before there was the The Wall (Over embellished/pretentious Floyd), before there was [] Momentary Lapse of Reason, The Division Bell (What I Consider Paint by numbers Floyd i.e. see P.U.L.S.E.!), There was good ole Pink Floyd, ie DSotM, Wish You Were Here and their Masterpiece the Angry and political Animals.
Before this time Pink Floyd was hungry, had something to say and was looking for a direction, a vision if you like. Their early work was summed up perfectly with the release of this DVD.
It was not cropped like some may have you believe, the original was released 16:9 in theaters not 4:3 in VHS that was done later for the vhs release. The theatrical release came first. Also. not all of the songs are shot in Italy, Eugene,Nobs and STCFTHOTS were filmed in London because they ran out of time while in Italy and you can see them in a dark sound stage. It still makes this bloody DVD brilliant, and even though it is only stereo, wait until you hear echoes and careful with that axe eugene thru your DVD players surround sound. OMG, it is unreal!!!!Again, for just the sound alone it would have been worth it for the asking price. You can pretty much learn the entire song of echoes on guitars just from camera positions.
Now to address some additions added into the film that were not there before. there are some space/planet features that are kinda confusing, as well as the CGI art of how Pompeii would have looked, which is not a bad idea given the whole concept of the "Pompeii" thing. Even the planet thing didn't bother me after the second viewing, and I am a die hard Floyd fan. I have a european version of the See Emily Play 45 Single that Syd drew of the "Choo Choo Train", though I must admit I am glad that they developed there own style and let the Beatles be the Beatles.
It was somwhere in between a Saucerful of Secrets and the release of Meddle, particularly the line in Echoes starts everything special in Floyd to come, by its obsurdness and obscurness thatr makess it so wonderfull...
"...strangers passing in the street by chance two separate glances meet, for I am you and what I see is me"...
(That happens every fricken day !!!) Next Note:
Now I know they have have complete Live AUDIO/VIDEO Recordings of Dark Side of the Moon 1972-1974 tours, Wish You Were Here 1975 tours and Animals 1977 In the Flesh tours. If Jimmy Page can work his magic with his masters for both the DVD and How the West Was Won and that footage is older than yours(PF's). What is stopping you, third party Pink Floyd footage is nice. But we would rather se see something directly from Roger/Dave/Nick/Rick/Strom/EMI and best of, making of classic album DVD isn't cutting it any more, you have released, DSotM like 80 times allready, how about a live animals tour or a live DSotM 1972 Hollywood Bowl Tour. A nice DVD 5 1/2 hour Package is what we want. Not a 1/2 hour BBC VH1 presentastion is what we want. The Pompeii Video is worth every penny, just a shame they will rip us off with a Pulse DVD or a Delicate Sound of Thunder DVD.
Its a shame, cause you are my favorite muscian Mr. Gilmour
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