LIVE AT POMPEII (THE DIRECTOR'S CUT)

Well, let's begin with the PF movie. This PF concert is a summit within PF's discography: PF was technically at the top in 1972, and plays its full first era/psychedelic repertoire for the last time, before recording DSOTM, hence the recording sessions extracts and interviews.

The beauty and solemnity of the Pompeii amphitheatre adds an almost mystical feel to the performance, which is filmed with much talent, even by night, like for the "Careful." cover.

The way it's filmed also enables to enjoy in great detail the playing of each of our heroes, like close-ups and screen incrustations on Gilmour's solos, or the impressive Nick Mason at work, proving that he was a highly skilled drummer. Lava in fusion, smoke images within Pompeii site adds an acid/organic dimension to the movie.

So, this movie is not only an excellent PF filmed performance but also an essential element within the whole PF discography. In other words, a masterpiece.

Which is not the case of the 2003 Universal Pictures Video DVD release. Two big problems on this DVD:

First, on a visual level, the original movie has been ruined by some scandalous modifications: some images have been removed to be replaced by others, why?! Some of the new images are nice (lava in fusion, natural elements) while others are simply ridiculous. But the worst is that fantastic moments showing the band playing have been replaced by these new images. A terrible frustration when you know the original movie: you loose virtually half of the performance.

Last, but not least, sound is poor on this DVD: poor imaging, weak dynamic, compared to the VHS release. In a way, nothing surprising as its numeric versus analog. Fortunately some musical DVD manage to sound nice, but not this one.

So, my rating of this five stars movie will be lowered to four stars because of this shameful DVD release. Let's hope that a new satisfying DVD release will come soon. Rather get the VHS release if you still own a VHS deck.

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