Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

gilligan1965 Ken Russell's "Tommy," of the same name as the album it was made from, is nothing less than brilliant if you like this kind of music and enjoy musicals.I first saw this back in the later-days of VHS and recorded it onto a cassette, along with "Woodstock," during the Roger Daltry hosted "RockStock Weekend" special in 2000 on the AMC channel.I thought, and, still think, this is a great movie/musical! I watch it at least once year to remind me of just how good it really is.This, like any movie, is one of mood...you must be in the right mood to enjoy it. Also, you have to like this kind of rock opera musical storytelling to even consider watching it. Many "Who" fans, including myself, might even consider this movie a departure from the music that one would hear at their concerts or on the radio...but, I still love it.The acting, singing, and, dancing performances are impeccable! Ann-Margret is as lively and beautiful as ever! Oliver Reed is as great and devious as ever! Jack Nicholson is as creepy and persuasive as ever! Tina Turner is just fabulous! Elton John does his cover of "Pinball Wizard" in a very memorable way! And, the newcomer to acting, Roger Daltry (singer of "The Who"), does an incredible portrayal of the 'deaf, dumb, and, blind kid' Tommy!However, I've found that many people don't share my enthusiasm about this epic musical. Most of my friends considered "The Who's" more serious 'movie' "Quadophenia" (1979) much better than this - to each his own.If you like "The Who," I'm fairly sure that you'll like both! :)

jc-osms I came to this movie for the first time as a Who fan, never having seen a Ken Russell feature, although I was aware of his infant-terrible reputation and even while I consider the group's later "Quadrophenia" double-album to be superior, there's no denying the filmic possibilities that "Tommy" offers. The allegorical story of course is so fantastical that perhaps its original creator Townshend felt that only a director with the imaginative flair of Russell could translate it to the big screen. Told entirely in sing-speak, faithful to operatic tradition, it probably helps if the viewer is familiar with the source material as the plot takes some imaginative (and then some!) leaps as it progresses.Even if you can't follow the narrative flow, there's invariably something going on on-screen to keep the viewer interested, from the cameo appearances of contemporary rock stars, some memorable, Elton John, Tina Turner, some not, Eric Clapton. But these sightings are a mere bagatelle compared to some of the visual imagery dreamed up by director Russell, none more so than Ann Margret's freak-out scene which sees her awash with chocolate and champagne, but there are plenty more, the screen invariably filled with people, myriad objects of varying significance and unusual locations.As for the rest of the acting, it's hard to judge given the operatic context of proceedings, but, as indicated above, Ann Margret certainly throws herself into her part as Tommy's loving but feckless mother while Who lead singer Roger Daltrey gives a capable and very athletic performance in the lead role. Oliver Reed on the other hand, no singer for a start, as her second husband and who brings with him dubious other male relatives, seems out of his depth, but keeps going, I think is the best you can say. The music is fine, including a few new Townshend songs recorded with the film in mind, although I could have done without the synthesiser constantly filling up the background. I also somehow didn't get the release from the rich uplifting songs near the end like "Listening To You" and "See Me Feel Me" as I did on the original album.An unusual film, then, fulfilling both the rock and the opera criteria of its genre, the latter particularly in the eschewing of normal dialogue. It's never dull but occasionally opaque, you'd probably need to be a fan of either the Who's music or Russell's idiosyncratic direction to really appreciate it. Good luck to you if you can do both.

James Hitchcock "Tommy" started life in 1969 as an album by The Who. It was described as a "rock opera", and was indeed the first album to be so described, because the songs told a story, which was explained on the album's sleeve notes. It was not originally intended to be performed on stage in the same way as a Classical opera, but someone clearly thought that the story had dramatic potential, because it was turned into this film and later into a Broadway play. The title character is a young man who becomes deaf, dumb, and blind following a traumatic childhood experience, then later becomes a champion pinball player and is hailed as the Messiah of a new religion. I must admit that I am not a great fan of The Who's music; my main reason for watching the film was that it was directed by Ken Russell, one of the leading British auteur directors of the sixties and seventies. Not every film made by Russell was a masterpiece- some of them were far from being so- but he was generally interesting (as well as controversial), and he brought to "Tommy" his the vivid visual imagination which was a hallmark of his films. Early in his career, as in his famous "Elgar" documentary and even in something like "Billion Dollar Brain", Russell was capable of restraint and good taste, but by the mid-seventies he had developed a visual style characterised by bright colours and a fast-moving kaleidoscope of striking, sometimes shocking, images. The film is perhaps most notable for Russell's visuals; scenes which stand out include the Prologue, which tells the story of Tommy's parents, Group Captain Walker and his wife Nora, the "Acid Queen" sequence with Tina Turner, the bizarre scene involving a religious cult that worships Marilyn Monroe and the Pinball Wizard sequence in which the film's best-known musical number is belted out by a manic Elton John; the cast list names John's character as the "pinball wizard", although the lyrics of the song make it clear that this description refers to Tommy himself. (Practising Catholics might have been offended by the Marilyn scene, which parodies the Mass, although it should be pointed out that Russell himself was a Catholic). Russell also had a good eye for the eccentricities and inanities of British popular culture in the sixties and seventies, something shown in the holiday camp scenes, the Christmas party and the various advertisement parodies. The Who's lead singer Roger Daltrey plays the title role, and the other band members all make appearances, along with other rock stars such as John, Turner and Eric Clapton. The film is a "sung through" musical, without spoken dialogue, so it is surprising that Oliver Reed and Jack Nicholson, neither of whom were noted for their singing voice, were cast, Reed in the major role of Tommy's stepfather. The best acting performance comes from Ann-Margret as the sluttish Nora, a performance which won her a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar nomination. (Ann-Margret is only three years older than Daltrey, who plays her son, but in a heavily stylised, non-naturalistic film this does not really matter). My main problem with the film is that this type of rock music is not really the ideal vehicle for putting across a story dramatically, particularly a tragic story like Tommy's. (Besides being struck dumb, deaf and blind, Tommy also loses his father at an early age, is tortured by a sadistic cousin, sexually abused by a perverted uncle, and suffers problems with drug addiction. Even his role as the new Messiah fails to bring him satisfaction or happiness). The music, generally loud with an insistent rhythmic beat, designed to be exciting or exhilarating, lacks the variety to cope with the vast range of different emotions which would be involved in a story like this one. The film does manage to tell a story- one can always work out what is going on from the visuals alone, even if the lyrics are unclear or inaudible- but it does so without any subtlety, insight, sympathy or understanding. (The scenes in which Tommy is abused, making light of a serious matter, struck me as particularly crass).The traditional Broadway-style musical, and for that matter the traditional Classical opera, are much more effective narrative vehicles in this respect. As I said, The Who are not really my cup of tea, musically speaking, and those who love their music may well enjoy the film more than I did, although I note that there are several negative comments on here from those who describe themselves as Who fans. The visuals are striking, if occasionally garish or in dubious taste, but it is difficult to make a successful film on the basis of visuals alone. "Tommy" betrays its origins as a rock album, resembling nothing so much as a series of loosely-connected pop videos. Nice videos, shame about the film. 5/10

rooprect "Tommy" is a surreal experience. While not quite as over-the-top as the psycho-erotic "Barbarella" (1968) and not as incomprehensible as the psycho-mindfreak "Head" (also 1968), this movie certainly delivers a wild ride.The plot is about a blind, deaf-mute boy who suffers abuse after abuse, eventually finding his salvation as a pinball prodigy. The spectacle instantly turns him into a cult figure, and from there things get really weird. According to writer/guitarist Pete Townshend, "Tommy is an attack on the hypocrisy of organized religion," and there is certainly no question about that. Religious themes and symbols constantly crop up throughout the film, including, but not limited to, the statue of the Madonna (an outrageously suggestive sculpture of Marilyn Monroe), various images of medieval Catholic torture devices, and of course the iconic "T" for "Tommy" symbol (take a guess). The satire is laid on pretty thick.As I just described it, you might think the movie is predictable, and to a certain degree it is. But the film's complexity and power come from the presentation which is just weird enough to keep you guessing while not so weird that you'll lose focus. With unique visuals and music, it takes a tongue-in-cheek comedic approach which gives the director license to get away with murder. An example would be the scene where Tommy is being molested by various family members to the tune "Fiddling Around Fiddling Around". Don't ask how such a disturbing concept can be presented in a silly way but it is.Another memorable moment is when Ann-Margaret's character has a sort of mental breakdown that begins with her drinking champagne in a luxurious, white room and ends with her squirming around in 500 gallons of baked beans. Yeah I told you this movie is weird.Director Ken Russell achieves a strange balance between "Willy Wonka", "The Life of Brian" and "Zardoz". While Roger Ebert criticized him for going too far, I actually feel like he was pretty conservative compared to other rock musicals of the time (like "The Wall", "Magical Mystery Tour" and the aforementioned king of wtf-musicals: "Head").Notable appearances by Elton John, Tina Turner and Jack Nicholson add more fun to the mix. And it should go without saying, if you're a fan of The Who, you can't miss this movie.