Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii MCMLXXII – Restoration Review
Digitally restored and remixed in full 4K, the legendary *Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii* returns to cinemas and streaming in 2025. But does this version offer anything new — or is it simply the clearest lens yet on a band in transition?
The Film Returns — Sharper Than Ever
When I first saw Live at Pompeii, it was on a tiny black-and-white portable television — grainy, tinny, and utterly mesmerising. I’ve since owned it on VHS and DVD, and watched it countless times on every version. Yet it always felt more like a sonic artifact than a polished concert film. Sony Music Vision and Trafalgar Releasing have now given it the treatment it deserves — 4K restoration from the original 35mm negatives, a Dolby Atmos mix by Steven Wilson, and screenings from April 2025 in cinemas and IMAX, with digital downloads, streaming, and vinyl available for the first time. The local cinema screening got cancelled so I reached for a peach and settled down to watch it at home.
Pompeii in Context: A Band on the Brink
Filmed in October 1971, *Live at Pompeii* slots neatly between the releases of Meddle and Obscured by Clouds — recorded at Château d’Hérouville (Elton’s ‘Honky Chateau’) months later — and just before The Dark Side of the Moon (March 1973).
By the following spring, Pink Floyd would release *The Dark Side of the Moon* (March 1973) — an album that transformed them from psychedelic explorers to global superstars. And just a few years on, Animals (January 1977) would take the band’s sound into darker, more politically charged territory.
Director Adrian Maben envisioned an “anti‑Woodstock” — no audience, just the band echoing through ancient stones. The tracklist highlights what Floyd were comfortable performing live: “Echoes,” “Careful with That Axe, Eugene,” “Set the Controls…,” “A Saucerful…,” “One of These Days,” and “Mademoiselle Nobs” (a playful callback to *Meddle*). *Atom Heart Mother* was omitted — not only because of orchestration demands, but because, as Nick Mason later revealed, the band regarded it as something of a **musical cul-de-sac**. And *Obscured by Clouds* wasn’t yet in the picture.
Does It Add Anything New?
Visually, it’s the same film — but now crisp, detailed, and vibrant. The restoration brings out textures in the ruins, the cables, the sweat — visuals that small-screen transfers never did justice. You get a clearer view of both the band, and the various shirtless engineers working hard in the beating sun. The trippy snippets of the band walking past the geysers (which I think was totally borrowed for the Stone Roses’ Fools Gold) looks even cooler in 4K.
Sonically, it’s transformative. Steven Wilson — acclaimed musician and producer known for Porcupine Tree and remixing work on King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Tears for Fears, and more — treats the material with reverence, delivering a mix that’s punchier, clearer, and more atmospheric. The bass hits harder. Gilmour’s guitar cuts sharper. Vocals and effects feel immediate, and *Echoes* now resonates like never before.
In short, the restoration doesn’t rewrite history — it shows it at its best. For fans who’ve lived through old releases, it’s the version we’ve always wanted. For newcomers — a powerful gateway to the Pink Floyd sound.
While the film offers no new footage or bonus content — no studio documentaries, no unseen takes — its legacy speaks volumes. Live at Pompeii is to Pink Floyd what Berlin is to Bowie, a place that has transcended geography to sit in the Pink Floyd story as much as Battersea Power Station.
That Pompeii legacy lives on. David Gilmour returned to the amphitheatre in July 2016 during his Rattle That Lock tour — the first public performances in the arena since AD 79 — and was made an honorary citizen of Pompeii, a symbolic gesture welcomed by local authorities .
In July 2023, Nick Mason and his “Saucerful of Secrets” ensemble performed at Pompeii’s Grand Theatre. He too was honoured as an honorary citizen of Pompeii during the event .
Floyd and Pompeii are forever linked — a landscape of sound that continues to inspire. Like fans of Bowie’s Berlin era, or U2’s Joshua Tree wilderness, Floyd fans carry Pompeii with us, wherever we are.
The Final Cut
No, there’s nothing new in the footage — but that’s precisely the point. This is Live at Pompeii distilled: the clearest, cleanest delivery of its atmosphere and artistry. This version doesn’t look or sound new — it finally looks and sounds right.