The influential concert film, Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii, which featured the band performing in the empty, excavated remains of the titular Roman amphitheater, will get a new look this spring. Restored from the original 35mm prints and remastered in 4K with remixed audio by musician and recording engineer Steven Wilson, the film — newly retitled Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII — will return to movie theaters, including some IMAX screens, on April 24. Tickets for the picture will go on sale via PinkFloyd.film on March 5.
The band is releasing a six-minute clip of “Echoes,” the monumental 25-minute epic that bookends the film in two parts. It shows guitarist David Gilmour and keyboardist Rick Wright sharing vocal duties as the band, which included bassist Roger Waters and drummer Nick Mason, summons a vibe that reflects the hot Italian sun beating down on them in the empty amphitheater. “Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii is a rare and unique document of the band performing live in the period prior to The Dark Side Of The Moon,” Mason said in a statement.
A soundtrack album, featuring Wilson’s remix, will also be available on May 2. It will be available on vinyl for the first time, as well as CD, digital audio, and Dolby Atmos. The release will mark the first official stand-alone release of the music as an album; previously, it was available on CD only in the band’s The Early Years box set.
The movie, which filmmaker Adrian Maben directed, features the band performing songs from their Meddle album, along with various singles like “Careful With That Axe, Eugene,” live, as well as studio footage from the making of The Dark Side of the Moon. It also features interviews with all four members of the band and a performance with a dog named Mademoiselle Nobs.
“Since 1994, I have searched for the elusive film rushes of Pink Floyd at Pompeii, so the recent discovery of the 1972 original 35mm cut negative was a very special moment,” Lana Topham, Director of Restoration for Pink Floyd, said in a statement. “The newly restored version presents the first full 90-minute cut, combining the 60-minute source edit of the performance with the additional Abbey Road Studios documentary segments filmed shortly after.”
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“Ever since my dad brainwashed me as a kid by playing The Dark Side of the Moon on repeat, Pink Floyd has been my favorite band,” Wilson said in a statement. “They are my ‘Beatles,’ deeply ingrained in my musical DNA. I first saw Pompeii from a grainy print at a local cinema. It made an incredible impression on me with its untethered and exploratory rock music made by four musicians that seemed to epitomize the notion of intellectual cool. It was an honor to remix the soundtrack to accompany Lana Topham’s incredible restoration of the film, which looks like it could’ve been filmed yesterday.”
The re-release comes via Trafalgar Releasing and Sony Music Vision.
In 2016, Gilmour returned to Pompeii solo. At the time, he reflected on the experience of making the film with Pink Floyd in a Rolling Stone interview. “I remember Adrian [Maben] had lots of problems with red tape and dealing with stuff,” he said. “I think we lost two or three days. Maybe those were the days we had to walk around the summit of Vesuvius, and we went around to the sulfur pits where the ground is bubbling. It’s near here. It’s fantastic.”
Since its original release, the Pompeii film has inspired musicians to attempt to recreate it. The Beastie Boys paid tribute with their video for “Gratitude,” and Korn made a concert film inside a California crop circle called Korn Live: The Encounter.
Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII track list:
Side A
1. “Pompeii Intro”
2. “Echoes – Part 1”
3. “Careful With That Axe, Eugene”
Side B
1. “A Saucerful of Secrets”
2. “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”
Side C
1. “One of These Days”
2. “Mademoiselle Nobs”
2. “Echoes – Part 2”
Side D
1. “Careful With that Axe, Eugene – Alternate take”
2. “A Saucerful of Secrets – Unedited”
