Tommy Reviews

This is the original version, not the recently re-released two disk edition.

This rock-opera was directed by the wierd and wonderful Ken Russel in 1975. This marvellous rock orientated musical was well known due to the band 'The Who' whom write all the songs for the 'tommy' sound-track, 'The Who' band members (Roger Daltrey, Pete Townsend, Keith Moon & John Entlwistle)also had star roles in the movie. This brilliant musical's story line is about a boy who witnessed his mother and her lover murder his father who was lost and persumed dead at war. when his mother and her lover tells him 'you didnt see it', 'you didnt hear it' & 'you will say nothing to know one' mixes with the young boy's traumer at that moment and causes him to become deaf, dumb & blind. As the boy (Roger Daltrey) grows into his adult-hood his mother and her lover attempts on numerous occassions to cure his illness. Some of the people the mother and lover go to in seek of a cure for there boy are the preacher (Eric Clapton), the acid queen (Tina Turner) & the local doctor (Jack Nicolson), all of these attempts to cure fail up until the moment the boy discovers pinball and defeats the pinball wizard (Elton John). Now he is cured he becoms a god, a teenage heart throb, and a holiday camp owner.

This musical is one of the best ever made & its also one of those films that is even liked by those who do not like 'The Who'. 'Tommy' hosts somthing for everyone!

never has a deaf dumb blind kid sounded or looked so good

for a film about a deaf, dumb and blind kid this film is amazing both visually and sonically.

i didn't know anything about the technicalities of the original sound recording so i was expecting a boring stereo audio track.

but my goodness ! Listen to it loud with 5:1 and you'll be blown away.

if the sound doesn't make your head spin then the visuals and of course the crazy storyline will really get you confused.

totally amazing

(i'm going to go and lie down in a dark room for a while and calm down).

Great Music, Didn't like some of the visual effects

As Musicals go I find they work much better on the stage rather than the screen. This is no exception.

I first saw Tommy on a 2005 Musical tour, and the show was great. Good music, great visual effects, real atmosphere. Unfortunately I don' think it works as well on the screen. The Music is still there, and this time sung by the original stars 'The Who' and Elton John, but some of the visual effects were just bizarre, and the scene changes too quick. It was as if the film was going too fast to follow.

The one scene that really got me was when the beans etc. came pouring out of the TV. I guess it was supposed to represent sanity's breaking point, but it seamed to me as though rolling around in all the gunk was meant to be sexual to the viewer, sexual in the way that mud wrestling is, not really my cup of tea. The pervert was a bit too over the top as well.

I guess it's artistic license and in some places it works well, but some are just not my taste. Maybe it will work better watching a second time as there is so much to take in at one time, not that I'm in a rush to watch it again, although I can't get the songs out of my head.

The film itself is OK, but the music really makes it. There are some really good songs in this. If you're a fan of The Who or Elton John's music then you should see this. If you get the opportunity to see it on the stage then it's even better.

Mystical Rock Opera

The Who's concept album re-invented by Pete Townshend and Ken Russell. It's a rock opera where the deaf dumb and blind Tommy finds fame and fortune, but ultimately it's an indictment of 'cult' religion. Daltrey is dynamite in the title role. Tina Turner's Acid Queen and Elton John's enourmous-booted Pinball Wizard are unforgettable. It's also a fascinating snapshot of Portsmouth and Southsea in the early 70s - filmed on location with thousands of local extras.

Tommy Can You Hear Me?

First off, let me explain that I am not familiar with the album and as such do not have any of the romantic attachment to the music that some other viewers may have. My wife, however, loved the album from the age of 14 and knows most of it by heart, but she has similar views about the movie to me. So this review is from one person who is a Tommy virgin and one who is a long standing fan.

One of the things that can both delight and frustrate the viewer of a rock movie/rock opera like this is the familiarity with the music and concept, which can both enhance and riun the experience simultaneously. Being unfamiliar with anything other than the most basic premise of the story, I found a lot of the movie hard to follow. My wife, being very familiar with it and having had her own mental images associated with the music for years followed the story much better, but was dissapointed when it seemed the director had such wildly different ideas about how to visualise the story and songs.

Leaving these personal niggles aside, there are some great moments. Oliver Reed is pure class throughout, as is Ann-Margaret. There are some iffy cameos from Tina Turner and Jack Nicholson though which seemed over the top and pointless respectively. Eric Clapton does a great rock-vicar though, and Elton John is of course fantastic as the Pinball Wizard. Also, the parts played by the band (Tommy by Roger Daltry and Uncle Ernie by Kieth Moon) are also good in their own right.

What seemed to let it down for us is that the story just didn't flow. It made watching it and getting enjoyment from it hard work and left a feeling of dissapointment at the end, having expected something great. I guess we just don't get on with the Ken Russell's vision of the story.

So fans of the album could find enjoyment here, if you can live with someone else's interpretation, but newcomers are unlikely to be swept away.

A final note on the sound. The 5.1 mix sounded great BUT it was much harder to hear the vocals. So we ended up watching it in good old 2 channel stereo and could hear the words much clearer.

tommy

one of my favourites, music is brilliant, and a very strong storyline

don't know really

im not sure if it's just me never seen it before but my girlfriend told me it was a superb film so i hired it don't really get it it seems to me the entire cast of the film are on some sort of drug induced fantasy through what i'm not sure although the music was actually very good a bit to wacky for me though

Great

Great film, i really enjoyed it. Could be a little dated for todays audience.

Far out Man!

Like wow man! Tommy is such a super flick I highly recommend it to all punters.

Keith Moon

How fantastic to see the 'boys' in action ! Mooney was so good as creepy uncle....shame there aren't more like this.