Pompeii DVD

Must you taunt me with your tantalizings! I'm at the end of my rope for this thing, and I'd better hear some details about a US release!

At least they didn't totally wreck the film!

I can't believe it's out already. I'm so excited. But when's it comming out in Australia?

Taken from www.brain-damage.co.uk, I'm sure these release dates are somewhere on this page, but for all the people who're asking, once again:

LIVE AT POMPEII RELEASE DATES: Universal have kindly advised the international release dates for the Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii DVD:
July 3rd Germany
July 15th Korea
August 6th Brazil
September 11th Central Europe
September 17th Australia
September 18th Benelux
October 20th United Kingdom
October 22nd Spain
October 28th Italy
November 28th Nordic
November 28th Japan
TBC France
TBC USA

tbc means that there is no date set yet.

I read on some Ebay listings (for non US releases, including the Region 0 NTSC one) that the Pompeii DVD audio is only 2.0 Dolby. That's a bit of a letdown, as I was hoping for a 5.1 mix as well. Oh well, can't win 'em all........

How exactly would they do that? Considering the technology available then.

Well, I assumed they'd have the multitrack tapes somewhere, and after a bit of cleaning up, just remix them. Though I guess the most difficult task would be locating the tapes. It could be neatly labled in a cabnet, or whisked away to some collector....of multitrack tapes.......though I think that kind of thing is kept track of pretty well.

Not only that, what would a 5.1 mix really accomplish?

Well, I guess since in most concert videos, the audience is in the back, though If you want to be creative, you could have the bass in One of These Days maybe pan from front to back, or you could mix the drums in the back, or other things. I just think it would be nice to have the option there. though you need a good mixer, and a 5.1 mix would be useless if someone botched it all up. Though it could create a whole new experience for the move. I know when I heard the quadrophonic WYWH, it definitely gave me a way to listen to the album in a more creative sense.

I just want a clear sound and a clear picture (however possible it is for 1971 - but it was in cinemas, so the quality should be very good). The VHS quality is not enough for me.

Well, the laserdisc looks pretty good, though we'll have to see how well they restored it. Whoever restored Monty Python and the Holy Grail for the DVD did a great job, so I'm hoping the restorers took the same amount of care and determination in restoring this film.

Definitely. By the way they're about to release The Meaning Of Life - Special Edition, a 2 Disc set with tons of bonus material and brand new sketch material from the Pythons!!!

http://www.dailyllama.com/news/2003/llama198.html

i saw that the other day on amazon. i definitely need to get that. and i still need to get the of life of brian. though i'd like to get the criterion collection edition even though they cost too much.

The Superbit edition of Tommy - The Movie was defninitely a ripoff for me. 30 bucks and no special features! None at all!

that sucks.

Hi everyone.

Well, I received the long-delayed DVD yesterday (which just so happened to be the 1924th anniversary of the eruption that destroyed Pompeii), and I've been watching it pretty well constantly since then.

I thought I'd fill you all in on just why you absolutely need to purchase this DVD (you can get a region-free NTSC copy at dvdbrazil.com, that's where I got it).

The much-speculated-about "Director's Cut" is really not that exciting. No new footage of the performances could be found, so it's just a lot of somewhat cheesy CGI stuff inserted rather inappropriately into the film. The interviews have been mixed around too, and some new interview footage (in black-and-white, curiously enough) has been added into the main body of the film.

Because I'm so used to the 1973 version, I found these additions unnecessary and somewhat upsetting to the mood and flow of the film. However, there is some worthy stuff in there (it turns out that Roger is a very accomplished smoke ring-blower).

What's most distressing to me about the new version is that it has been matted in the 16:9 aspect ratio (widescreen), and while I'm pretty sure that the new CGI stuff was filmed that way, the original concert was not. It was filmed in the 4:3 aspect ratio (TV size). This means that the top and bottom of the concert footage have been unceremoniously chopped off!

Fortunately, there is a VERY welcome bonus feature: the original concert film, without any interviews, uncut, in its entirety, with all the benefits of a fully digital transfer. This alone is worth the DVD's price (48 Canadian dollars, after shipping, in my case).

In fact, all the bonus features are pretty entertaining. Adrian Maben's interview is enlightening, Storm's DVD menus are cool, the history of Pompeii is interesting, the Odds n' Sods gallery contains posters, press clippings, and photographs from the film's original release (although not many). The film is subtitled in no less than SEVEN languages, and the lyrics provided to Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun are so off that it's possible that they may be one of Roger's early drafts from before the song was even first recorded.

There is the self-indulgent touch of Storm putting in his artwork for A Saucerful of Secrets, Ummagumma, Meddle and Dark Side. But whatever. What the hell does he find so amusing about that Russian vinyl cover???

The sound mix is the same as the old version. Apparently the original multitrack tapes are lost, so they couldn't re-mix for 5.1, but they obviously had the stereo masters to work with. The sound is MUCH clearer and present than any previous transfer I've heard... and I've heard them all.

Go get this DVD. It beats anything you have ever bought. Ever.

I'm going to go watch it again now.