A newly restored version of the groundbreaking 1972 film about Pink Floyd has been dubbed “moving and entertaining” by the band’s drummer Nick Mason.
Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII has been re-mastered from the original 35mm footage, with enhanced audio and heads to cinemas and IMAX® worldwide from April 24. But in a special VIP screening on Thursday night Mason spoke about the film and its impact.
He said: “Over the years, looking back at something like this, I found it quite moving, I have to say, as well as entertaining.
“One of the charms of the film is the fact that there aren’t lots of cuts and roll backs and drop ins. Someone who should be mentioned is Adrian Maben, who actually came up with this whole idea. Back then, we were unspeakably not interested! Adrian worked really hard to persuade us to come out to Italy and make this movie.
“Unlike most of the things we did, this film was very much put together by outsiders, by Adrian. The thing that worked about it, that we didn’t see and he did, was this thing of it being a live show, but with no audience. This arena, this amphitheater, created such a moment that even without the audience, it had the feel of a full on gig.”
Additionally, the film includes rare behind-the-scenes footage of the band beginning work on The Dark Side of the Moon at Abbey Road Studios.
It was the project that followed this one and went on to be a fans favourite and one of the biggest albums of all time. Reflecting on why fans love this era of Pink Floyd so much, Nick Mason added:
“I don’t know. I suppose it’s that thing where people hook into something that is different to what went before. One of the things I remembered watching when watching this film is the scene in Abbey Road, in studio two. Well, three years before that, we were in the little glass box at the top of the studio, being allowed to come in and watch the Beatles in that same room. There’s a moment there where you just think, yeah, things do move along, don’t they?”
Pink Floyd At Pompeii pre-dates the release of The Dark Side of the Moon . The film documents what Pink Floyd did before they became giants of the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic – where their music remains celebrated to this day.
Set in the hauntingly beautiful ruins of the ancient Roman Amphitheatre in Pompeii, Italy, this unique and immersive film captures Pink Floyd performing an intimate concert without an audience. Filmed in October 1971, the performance marked the very first live concert to take place at Pompeii, and features the vital ‘Echoes,’ ‘A Saucerful of Secrets,’ and ‘One of These Days.’ The visuals of the amphitheatre, captured both day and night, amplify the magic of the performance.
The film has been meticulously hand restored, frame-by-frame, from the original 35mm cut negative – discovered in five dubiously labelled cans within Pink Floyd’s own archives.
This momentous breakthrough unearthed the very film that rolled through the cameras during those sweltering days amidst the ruins of Pompeii over 50 years ago.
Digitally re-mastered in 4K from the original 35mm footage, with enhanced audio newly mixed by Steven Wilson, the upcoming theatrical release presents the definitive version of this pioneering film.
Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII is screening in cinemas and IMAX® worldwide from April 24, with tickets on sale now.
* Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
