logo Sign In

Pink Floyd - Live At Pompeii (unfinished project; with info for another finished project)

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Backround:
Shot on the beautiful yet mysterious settings of the Pompeii ampitheater ruins (along with a studio in Paris) this film directed by Adrian Maben combines extremely beautiful cinematography with the haunting music of Pink Floyd. In between the performances is interviews of the band as they were recording the now legendary “The Dark Side Of The Moon” at Abbey Road Studio.

However in 2003 on the official DVD release he decided to do a new directors cut incorporating a number of new shots along with some new interview footage that was not used in the original cut. Along with that he also took the film from its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio to a matted 1.78:1 Widescreen presentation which losses 33% of the image at the top and bottom. This becomes very apparent at times with some of the closeups. The biggest and most noticeable one is during the first half of “Echoes” when we see the closeup of David Gilmour’s guitar solo. On the 1.33:1 you can the picture within the picture of Nick Mason drumming clearly. The 1.78:1 matted presentation has Nick almost completely missing.

Now while the DVD also contains the original concert footage itself in its OAR of 1.33:1 there has been a number of releases both on VHS, CED, Laserdisc, and even VCD that has had the original concert footage with most of the interview material contained between the performances.

The Goal Of This Edit:

The goal is quite simple. To bring back the true original version of Pompeii in its OAR of 1.33:1 with the interviews reinserted to it. I will be using the original concert footage version from the 2003 DVD alongside a Laserdisc edition (note: I’m awaiting for it to arrive in the mail as I just bought one via Half.com) for the source material for the interviews. I am also going to fix another jarring glitch with Pompeii - the audio issue of the pitch being a semitone too high. So finally yes you will be able to watch Pompeii for the first time with Pink Floyd actually sounding like Pink Floyd… and not the Pink Floyd Chipmunks Hybrid Band.

A Few Things I Am Considering For This Edit:

  • Potentially adding in the few new interview segments from the 2003 Directors Cut. However these segments will be letterboxed as cropping the sides would lead to a simular effect to what we have seen with the “Let It Be” film for many years (in other words matted for theaters then it was pan and scanned from that matted Widescreen edition). I could also just have the few bits stretched out but that would look aweful and even more out of place than leaving it letterboxed. The only thing I remember being added was a few Richard Wright bits but I’ll have to do an A-B comparison from the Laserdisc to the Directors Cut to confirm what else got added to the interview segments.

  • Adding a second audio track with the PCM Stereo track from the Laserdisc ripped along with it being pitch adjusted.

I’ll update as more comes along. Thanks so far to Moth3r for helping out with the pitch adjustment issue.

Brian The Demolition Man Little
Author
Time
Cool!! I'm rubbing my little hands together with excitement. "Excellent"
Author
Time
a cool project
i can't wait
;-)
Author
Time
This is a very awesome project.
I appreciate your efforts on making this happen.
I have always loved this convert footage.
Author
Time
Thought I would give an update.....

Okay I finally got the Laserdisc and did a comparison between the versions... here is what exactly will be done:

- Title card at the beginning stating to the effect of: "The following has been re-edited to preserve the original home
video release of Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii. This is only for free trade and is NOT for sale. Therefore if you are selling this
on eBay then f**k you."
- The original opening credits will be reinserted. The "original concert footage" on the DVD has newly created title cards.
- The "On The Run" segment reinserted between "Echoes (Part 1)" and "Careful With That Axe, Eugene."
- One shot during "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" that looks like a painting. The "original concert footage" instead has footage of them walking around in this spot.
- The "Us And Them"/Band interviews segment reinserted between "Saucerful Of Secrets" and "One Of These Days."
- The orignial closing credits will be reinserted. The "original concert footage" on the DVD has newly created ending credits.
- A credit added to the end saying something to the effect of "Re-Edited By Demolition Man."

One thing I did notice that is missing on the Laserdisc is the first two minutes or so at the start. The "original concert footage" on the DVD has the screen blank as a heartbeat builds up in the audio ala "Speak To Me." This addition from the DVD will be left intact on my edit as I find it rather jarring having the concert start up right in the middle of the intro instrumental.
Brian The Demolition Man Little
Author
Time
Here's the first sample clip for everyone's enjoyment. This is highlighting what Pompeii looks and sounds like with the audio at the correct pitch. Obviously its compressed down to make it easier to download. 4.7 megs WMV.

Download here.
Brian The Demolition Man Little
Author
Time

Glad that you picked up where he left off. I love this film. :-)

Author
Time

So does anyone know if there is a laserdisc release out there that has the audio at the correct pitch and can someone explain how this audio error occurred in the first place? Thanks

for read-along movies visit - www.mdp156.com/cavern/