Pink Floyd

Originally released as an hour-long concert film, Live at Pompeii was soon expanded to about an hour and a half with the insertion of footage of interviews and shots of Pink Floyd working in the studio (as Dark Side of the Moon was taking shape). In its elongated hour-and-a-half version -- the one that forms the main feature of this DVD -- Live at Pompeii is art rock in general, and Pink Floyd in particular, at both its grandest and most pretentious. The group's performance of some of its most renowned material from the late '60s and early '70s -- live, effects and all, with first-rate cinematography -- in an empty amphitheater in Pompeii in 1971 was undeniably impressive. Its embellishment with footage from Pompeii and exploding volcanoes might strike some as ostentatious, though others might see at as appropriately far-out imagery to accompany the band's eerie space rock. This DVD, issued in 2003, presents the director's cut, and while no exact specifics are offered in the packaging, it seems quite similar to the expanded version of the film that had circulated in cinemas and home video for years, with the addition of some more contemporary non-Floyd space'n'effects shots. Even if you've seen the prior version and don't particularly care about the new material too much, however, the DVD package is extremely impressive. In addition to the director's cut, it also presents the original hour-long concert film, which focuses mostly on the band's performance (though the loss of the studio/interview sequences does make it inferior to the longer version). There's also an interesting 20-minute interview with director Adrian Maben about the film, in which he talks knowledgeably about the film's conception and realization, noting that Pompeii was an especially effective setting in part because the huge open spaces and large stone structures gave the music a powerful depth. A bunch of other marginal but nifty extra features gild the lily too, including a couple dozen photos from the film, a basic history of Pompeii, movie posters, period Pink Floyd press articles, and even cover reproductions of bootlegs of the music. And should you have a Pink Floyd friend whose first language isn't English -- not that much of a long shot, considering the group's immense global popularity -- it's also formatted for use and subtitles in Brazilian Portuguese, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Latin American Spanish, Mandarin, and French. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide