Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii
Encyclopedia
Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii is a 1972 film featuring Pink Floyd
performing six songs in the ancient Roman amphitheatre
in Pompeii
, Italy
. It was directed by Adrian Maben and recorded in the month of October using studio-quality 24-track recorders without a live audience.
The performances of "Echoes
", "A Saucerful of Secrets
", and "One of These Days" were filmed from October 4, 1971 to October 7, 1971. The remaining songs were filmed in a Paris studio, along with additional front projection
footage for insertion into the Pompeii performances. The sequences in Paris were filmed in late 1971/early 1972, and can be distinguished by the absence of Richard Wright
's beard. This version was released in cinemas in September 1972 and is also included on the DVD edition as an extra feature.
In August 1974, another version was released combining the original film with supposed recording sessions of The Dark Side of the Moon
at Abbey Road Studios
. These sessions were actually staged for the film, as the recording of the album had been completed when these sessions were filmed in January 1973 and the band was mixing the album at the time.
, as well as interviews conducted off-camera by Maben, and footage of the band eating and talking at the Abbey Road Studios
cafeteria. This version ran for 80 minutes. The Director's Cut
is a 2003 DVD
re-release running 92 minutes. In addition to the concert and interview footage, it includes more overlaid imagery including footage from the Apollo space program and computer-generated images of space and Pompeii, and overall has a busier, "updated" feel. The original 4:3 aspect footage is presented in "fake widescreen"
in this version. The DVD contains the original one-hour release in the "features" section.
Also Known as:
made a music video for their song "Gratitude
" that appears to be an homage to the film. In addition to copying its directorial style of slow horizontal tracking shot
s, the video shows the band's speaker cabinets labeled "Pink Floyd London", just as Pink Floyd's speaker cabinets are labeled in the film. The video ends with a message that reads, "THIS VIDEO IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DIED AT POMPEII."
The video for the 2003 song "Minerva
" by American rock band Deftones
is similarly an homage to the Pompeii performances in the film, featuring the same slow horizontal tracking shots and ancient setting.
Wolfmother's video for their song "Mind's Eye
" is an homage to the film.
The American rock band
Korn
filmed a similar show, Korn Live: The Encounter
, in June 2010 to promote their ninth studio album, Korn III: Remember Who You Are. The show took place in a crop circle in Bakersfield, California, and had no audience beyond the crew workers.
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
performing six songs in the ancient Roman amphitheatre
Amphitheatre of Pompeii
The Amphitheatre of Pompeii is the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatre. It is located in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, and was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE, that also buried Pompeii itself, and neighbouring Herculaneum....
in Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It was directed by Adrian Maben and recorded in the month of October using studio-quality 24-track recorders without a live audience.
The performances of "Echoes
Echoes (Pink Floyd song)
"Echoes" is a song by Pink Floyd including lengthy instrumental passages, sound effects, and musical improvisation. Written in 1970 by all four members of the group , "Echoes" provides the extended finale to Pink Floyd's album Meddle...
", "A Saucerful of Secrets
A Saucerful of Secrets (song)
"A Saucerful of Secrets" is a multi-part instrumental composition by the rock band Pink Floyd from the album A Saucerful of Secrets, released in 1968. The track lasts 11:52 and was composed by band members Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason, and David Gilmour...
", and "One of These Days" were filmed from October 4, 1971 to October 7, 1971. The remaining songs were filmed in a Paris studio, along with additional front projection
Front projection effect
A front projection effect is an in-camera visual effects process in film production for combining foreground performance with pre-filmed background footage...
footage for insertion into the Pompeii performances. The sequences in Paris were filmed in late 1971/early 1972, and can be distinguished by the absence of Richard Wright
Richard Wright (musician)
Richard William Wright was an English pianist, keyboardist and songwriter, best known for his career with Pink Floyd. Wright's richly textured keyboard layers were a vital ingredient and a distinctive characteristic of Pink Floyd's sound...
's beard. This version was released in cinemas in September 1972 and is also included on the DVD edition as an extra feature.
In August 1974, another version was released combining the original film with supposed recording sessions of The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
. These sessions were actually staged for the film, as the recording of the album had been completed when these sessions were filmed in January 1973 and the band was mixing the album at the time.
Release history
The original release, running for one hour, only featured the live footage. A second version had additional footage of the band as they recorded their album The Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
, as well as interviews conducted off-camera by Maben, and footage of the band eating and talking at the Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
cafeteria. This version ran for 80 minutes. The Director's Cut
Director's cut
A director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit...
is a 2003 DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
re-release running 92 minutes. In addition to the concert and interview footage, it includes more overlaid imagery including footage from the Apollo space program and computer-generated images of space and Pompeii, and overall has a busier, "updated" feel. The original 4:3 aspect footage is presented in "fake widescreen"
Open matte
Open matte is a filming technique that involves matting out the top and bottom of the film frame in the movie projector for the widescreen theatrical release and then scanning the film without a matte for a full screen home video release.Usually, non-anamorphic 4-perf films are filmed directly on...
in this version. The DVD contains the original one-hour release in the "features" section.
1972 original film
- "Intro Song"
- "Echoes, Part 1Echoes (Pink Floyd song)"Echoes" is a song by Pink Floyd including lengthy instrumental passages, sound effects, and musical improvisation. Written in 1970 by all four members of the group , "Echoes" provides the extended finale to Pink Floyd's album Meddle...
" (from MeddleMeddleMeddle is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in October 1971.The album was recorded at a series of locations around London, including Abbey Road Studios...
, 1971) - "Careful with That Axe, EugeneCareful with That Axe, Eugene"Careful with That Axe, Eugene" is an instrumental song by the British band Pink Floyd. The studio recording was originally released as the B-side of their single "Point Me at the Sky" and is also featured on the Relics compilation album; live versions can also be found on Ummagumma and in the film...
" (B-side of "Point Me at the SkyPoint Me at the Sky"Point Me at the Sky" is the fifth United Kingdom single by the British band Pink Floyd, released on 17 December 1968. The song was an early collaboration by bassist Roger Waters and guitarist David Gilmour. The single was not released in the United States However, it was released by Capitol...
" single, 1968) - "A Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of Secrets (song)"A Saucerful of Secrets" is a multi-part instrumental composition by the rock band Pink Floyd from the album A Saucerful of Secrets, released in 1968. The track lasts 11:52 and was composed by band members Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason, and David Gilmour...
" (from A Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of Secrets is the second studio album by the English rock group Pink Floyd. It was recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios on various dates from August 1967 to April 1968...
, 1968) - "One of These Days" (from MeddleMeddleMeddle is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in October 1971.The album was recorded at a series of locations around London, including Abbey Road Studios...
, 1971) - "Set the Controls for the Heart of the SunSet the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by British rock band Pink Floyd and is featured on their second album A Saucerful of Secrets . It was written by Roger Waters and features a drum part by Nick Mason played with timpani mallets...
" (from A Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of Secrets is the second studio album by the English rock group Pink Floyd. It was recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios on various dates from August 1967 to April 1968...
, 1968) - "Mademoiselle NobsSeamus (song)"Seamus" is the fifth song on Pink Floyd's 1971 album Meddle, and uses a blues chord progression. Years later, the song appeared in the film version of Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead...
" - "Echoes, Part 2" (from MeddleMeddleMeddle is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in October 1971.The album was recorded at a series of locations around London, including Abbey Road Studios...
, 1971)
1974 theatrical version, VHS and LaserDisc release
- "Intro Song"
- "Echoes, Part I" (from MeddleMeddleMeddle is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in October 1971.The album was recorded at a series of locations around London, including Abbey Road Studios...
, 1971) - "On the RunOn the Run (Pink Floyd song)"On the Run" is the third track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It is an instrumental piece that deals with the pressures of travel , and is an EMS synthesizer based piece...
" (Studio Footage) (from The Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
, 1973) - "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" (B-side of "Point Me at the SkyPoint Me at the Sky"Point Me at the Sky" is the fifth United Kingdom single by the British band Pink Floyd, released on 17 December 1968. The song was an early collaboration by bassist Roger Waters and guitarist David Gilmour. The single was not released in the United States However, it was released by Capitol...
" single, 1968) - "A Saucerful of Secrets" (from A Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of Secrets is the second studio album by the English rock group Pink Floyd. It was recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios on various dates from August 1967 to April 1968...
, 1968) - "Us and Them" (Studio Footage) (from The Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
, 1973) - "One of These Days" (from MeddleMeddleMeddle is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in October 1971.The album was recorded at a series of locations around London, including Abbey Road Studios...
, 1971) - "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" (from A Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of Secrets is the second studio album by the English rock group Pink Floyd. It was recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios on various dates from August 1967 to April 1968...
, 1968) - "Brain DamageBrain Damage (song)"Brain Damage" is the ninth track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It was sung by Roger Waters. David Gilmour took over as lead vocalist when the band performed it live on the band's 1994 tour...
" (Studio Footage) (from The Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
, 1973) - "Mademoiselle Nobs"
- "Echoes, Part II" (from MeddleMeddleMeddle is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in October 1971.The album was recorded at a series of locations around London, including Abbey Road Studios...
, 1971)
2003 Director's cut
- "Echoes, Part 1"/"On the Run" (Studio Footage) (Uncredited) (from MeddleMeddleMeddle is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in October 1971.The album was recorded at a series of locations around London, including Abbey Road Studios...
/The Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
, 1971/1973) - "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" (B-side of "Point Me at the SkyPoint Me at the Sky"Point Me at the Sky" is the fifth United Kingdom single by the British band Pink Floyd, released on 17 December 1968. The song was an early collaboration by bassist Roger Waters and guitarist David Gilmour. The single was not released in the United States However, it was released by Capitol...
" single, 1968) - "A Saucerful of Secrets" (from A Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of Secrets is the second studio album by the English rock group Pink Floyd. It was recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios on various dates from August 1967 to April 1968...
, 1968) - "Us and Them" (Studio Footage) (from The Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
, 1973) - "One of These Days I'm Going to Cut You into Little Pieces" (from MeddleMeddleMeddle is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in October 1971.The album was recorded at a series of locations around London, including Abbey Road Studios...
, 1971; also known as "One of These Days") - "Mademoiselle Nobs"
- "Brain Damage" (Studio Footage) (from The Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
, 1973) - "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" (from A Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of Secrets is the second studio album by the English rock group Pink Floyd. It was recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios on various dates from August 1967 to April 1968...
, 1968) - "Echoes, Part 2" (from MeddleMeddleMeddle is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in October 1971.The album was recorded at a series of locations around London, including Abbey Road Studios...
, 1971)
Also Known as:
- Echoes: Pink Floyd (USA)
- Pink Floyd in Pompeii (Belgium)
Legacy
The rap group the Beastie BoysBeastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
made a music video for their song "Gratitude
Gratitude (song)
"Gratitude" is a song by American hip hop group the Beastie Boys, from their third studio album Check Your Head. It was released in November 1992 as the fourth single for the album, primarily serviced to modern rock radio. The live version B-side was recorded in September 1992.The bass guitar in...
" that appears to be an homage to the film. In addition to copying its directorial style of slow horizontal tracking shot
Tracking shot
In motion picture terminology, a tracking shot is a segment in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly, a wheeled platform that is pushed on rails while the picture is being taken...
s, the video shows the band's speaker cabinets labeled "Pink Floyd London", just as Pink Floyd's speaker cabinets are labeled in the film. The video ends with a message that reads, "THIS VIDEO IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DIED AT POMPEII."
The video for the 2003 song "Minerva
Minerva (song)
"Minerva" is a song by American alternative metal band Deftones and the lead single from their fourth studio album, Deftones. Released in April 2003, it charted at #9 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, #16 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and #15 on the UK Singles Chart...
" by American rock band Deftones
Deftones
Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
is similarly an homage to the Pompeii performances in the film, featuring the same slow horizontal tracking shots and ancient setting.
Wolfmother's video for their song "Mind's Eye
Mind's Eye (song)
"Mind's Eye" is a song by Australian hard rock band Wolfmother, featured on their 2005 debut album Wolfmother. When released as the first single from the album, it was well received by critics and reached number twenty nine in the ARIA Charts....
" is an homage to the film.
The American rock band
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
Korn
Korn
Korn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
filmed a similar show, Korn Live: The Encounter
Korn Live: The Encounter
-DVD version:The DVD version will be officially released on December 6, 2011 as a bonus disc with the special edition of Korn's tenth studio release, The Path of Totality...
, in June 2010 to promote their ninth studio album, Korn III: Remember Who You Are. The show took place in a crop circle in Bakersfield, California, and had no audience beyond the crew workers.