Tommy
by Ken Russell
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ann-Margret, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Oliver Reed, Roger DaltreyDirector: Ken Russell
Brand: WHO
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 111 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-09-28
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Tommy
Movie Review: Tommy I Can See You!
Summary: 5 Stars
My parents never went to movies together, but one day in 75 they took in Tommy. Throughout my childhood and into adulthood I would occasionally hear stories from my folks about how awful and bizarre the film was. My dad seemed to like to point out the scene with Ann Margaret rolling around in baked beans. Well, the combination of this bitter hatred for the film and the whole baked beans thing finally wore on me enough that I watched the film. I neither liked or disliked The Who, but decided to press on. Plus, I was familiar with Ken Russell by that point.
I was quite dumbfounded when the film ended. What in the hell did I just watch? Was this a comedy? Was it supposed to be disturbing? Deep? Was there a message I was supposed to pick up on? It was totally insane. The movie really messed with me for some time until it hit me that I absolutely friggin loved it!
For those who don't know, the movie deals with Tommy, who at a young age sees his father murdered by his mother's lover. This puts him into a kind of psychosomatic state of being deaf, blind and mute. Throughout his childhood and young adulthood he's mistreated and exploited by damn near everybody until he becomes a pinball champion. He gains a kind of cult following, and soon after he breaks the spell of his condition and sees himself as a kind of religious messiah, and pays the price for it.
As you know, the film is a musical, but certainly unlike any musical you've ever seen. All dialogue is done through song-the characters sing all of their lines. I believe there is only one spoken word in the film, "Tommy' at one point. Russell cast singers and nonsingers in the roles. Many cameos by musicians like Tina Turner, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and of course, The Who themselves. Supporting actors are Oliver Reed, Jack Nicholson, and Ann Margaret(looking yummy as can be. I really fell in love with her after seeing this). Russell makes them all sing, whether they can sing or not!
The movie is almost impossible to describe-it's disturbing as hell because it's surreal to begin with, but everyone acts like they're from an insane asylum on top of that. A scene where Tommy is molested by his uncle is played as comedy! Tina Turner is so over the top twitchy, wild, cartoony and crazy to the point that she's downright scary. In fact, the whole thing is zany, but I'm not sure if the movie is supposed to be funny, even to this day. I know parts of it are, but it's just such an overload of crazy stuff that you don't know what to make of it. How Ken Russell got all of these people to do this stuff is beyond me.
The reputation of this movie is NOT good. It's looked at as a rape of the album(an absolutely fantastic album by the way), even by Pete Townsend(didn't he watch the dailies?). Yes the story is altered and new elements are added in. New songs are introduced as well. The film is given a twisted funhouse vibe that the album didn't have, and it's understandable that many folks weren't gonna dig this movie. Only the 70s(and Russell)could have produced a movie like Tommy.
I've seen the movie a ton of times since, and even became a Who fan as a result. I don't have many hangups about the alterations to the story, the album's the album and the movie's the movie. In fact, I see the album as The Who's and the film as a Ken Russell film-two totally different entities. Kinda like how the Novel The Shining is Stephen King's, but the film is Stanley Kubrick's all the way. Both are quite different, but very cool in their own right. My friends all hated the film when I made them watch it, but I just love it for it's great music and it's total insanity. Of course my parents think I'm totally out of my tree for liking this one.
Summary of Tommy
Film version of the successful rock opera about a boy who witnesses the murder of his father by his mother and her lover. He becomes deaf, dumb and blind, and as he grows, he is taken to various experts for cures.Genre: Musicals
Rating: PG
Release Date: 25-MAY-2004
Media Type: DVD
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