Tommy (1975)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Ken Russell

Writers:

Pete Townshend (album)
Pete Townshend (story)

Release Date:

26 March 1975 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Musical

Tagline:

Your senses will never be the same

Plot:

A psychosomatically deaf, dumb and blind boy becomes a master pinball player and the object of a religious cult because of that.

Plot Keywords:

Pinball | Murder | Holiday Camp | Post War | Bizarre

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Oliver Reed	...	Frank Hobbs
Ann-Margret	...	Nora Walker
Roger Daltrey	...	Tommy Walker
Elton John	...	Local Lad
Eric Clapton	...	The Preacher
John Entwistle	...	Himself
Keith Moon	...	Uncle Ernie
Paul Nicholas	...	Cousin Kevin
Jack Nicholson	...	The Specialist
Robert Powell	...	Captain Walker
Pete Townshend	...	Himself
Tina Turner	...	The Acid Queen
Arthur Brown	...	The Priest
Victoria Russell	...	Sally Simpson
Ben Aris	...	Reverend Simpson

Also Known As:

The Who's Tommy
Tommy by 'The Who' (USA) (complete title)
Tommy: The Movie (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Quintaphonic (5 channel Dolby Stereo) | Dolby

Certification:

Italy:T | Japan:PG-12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Canada:G (Quebec) | Finland:K-15 (uncut) (2001) | Denmark:15 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1977) | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | UK:15 | Singapore:PG | Ireland:15 | UK:AA (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK

Company:

Hemdale Film

Trivia:

The original choice to play the Acid Queen was David Bowie.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Elton John (when playing on the keyboard) is seen either: not playing, slapping his hands onto the keyboard or playing the same notes all the time. (see ‘trivia’).

Quotes:

The Specialist: He seems to be completely unreceptive. The tests I gave him showed no sense at all. His eyes react to light; the dials detect it. He hears but cannot answer to your call.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 48th Annual Academy Awards (1976) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Listening to You/See Me, Feel Me

It helps to have an appreciation for Ken Russell, not Pete Townsend

This is a Ken Russell movie, make no mistake. It is relentlessly twisted, ugly, savage (for a sometimes humorous effect) and trippy. Russell may be the oldest flower child of all time. Surreal plot concerns a deaf-dumb-and-blind boy becoming the new Messiah to a pinball-crazed population, and the film has been accused of being too literal to The Who's rock opera source material. In this age of lavish music videos, it has also been tagged as archaic. Though nobody seems to care anymore how a film was perceived in its time, I would say the picture still succeeds in doing what was originally intended: shake an audience up with freaky visuals and propulsive music (nicely arranged). It also does something else: creates actual characters from the music, a plus due in part to the fine acting of Ann-Margret as Tommy's glamorous mother, Roger Daltrey as Tommy, Oliver Reed as Tommy's stepfather (Reed is hammy but quite game, while the role is designed as both a villain and a hero), and Tina Turner, an extremely scary presence as the Acid Queen. "Tommy" has some bummer scenes, and Russell's love for degradation occasionally made me wince, but it is a real cinematic experience. Whether it involves or alienates the viewer depends on their appreciation for the English director's constant penchant for the bizarre. **1/2 from ****