A Quest for Footage

Lana Topham, the band’s restoration director, has spent nearly three decades seeking the original, unedited footage from Pink Floyd’s historic 1971 concert at Pompeii. Her interest was piqued in 1994 when guitarist David Gilmour expressed a desire for the original film rushes that could create a more nuanced edit of the band’s sole major concert film. Despite her intense search through various laboratories and storage sites in Britain and France, Topham faced repeated setbacks.

A Breakthrough Discovery

After years of searching, a significant breakthrough occurred in 2020. Together with film technician Marie-Louise Fieldman, Topham found a collection of film cans marked “Pompeii” in a London storage facility. These canisters, relocated from Gilmour’s warehouse, contained the original 35-millimeter first-cut negatives. While these were not the rushes she initially sought, they represented a superior quality source that allows for better color grading and restoration efforts.

“Restoring from a negative is a whole different ballgame from a print,” Topham explained, emphasizing that prints show wear and limit creative restoration potential.

The New Release

The newly discovered negatives have been utilized for the film Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII, which premiered globally in IMAX theatres on April 24. Coinciding with this release, a remixed album is set to launch on May 2, marking the first time a live album will document this iconic concert.

About the Original Concert Film

Filmed in the ancient Roman Amphitheatre of Pompeii, the original release in 1972 showcased Pink Floyd performing for a primarily non-traditional audience composed mainly of crew and a few curious onlookers. Music from their 1971 album Meddle, including tracks like “Echoes” and “One of These Days,” is prominently featured. Initial releases of the film later integrated performance footage from London and Paris.

Significance and Impact of the Film

According to Mark Blake, author of Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd, this film serves as a definitive document of Pink Floyd’s early concert experience. Blake notes, “It is a crucial film because it’s the closest you’ve got to a Pink Floyd concert film during the ’70s,” highlighting its status among the limited available representation of the band’s live performances.

A Visual Transformation

The restoration process has yielded a stunningly vibrant visual experience due to the quality of the original negatives, supported by colorist Andy Lee’s expertise. “You can literally see the fingerprints on David Gilmour’s Strat,” Blake remarked, emphasizing the clarity and immersive quality of the new version.

Topham remarked that this restoration gives the film “a three-dimensional feeling,” allowing viewers to appreciate intricate details, even down to the logos on the speakers and the red tape on Nick Mason’s drum kit.

Legacy and Future of Pink Floyd at Pompeii

The continued interest in Pink Floyd at Pompeii has led to multiple reissues, including a director’s cut DVD in 2003. While fans may recognize much of the content shown in the IMAX presentation, the enhanced visual experience is set to revitalize interest in Pink Floyd’s legacy. This new release is expected to not only enhance viewers’ streaming experiences but also to fortify Sony Music’s recently acquired assets surrounding the band.