Tommy (1975 film): Difference between revisions

| based_on = {{based on|''[[Tommy (The Who album)|Tommy]]''|[[theThe Who]]}}

| music = [[The Who]]

'''''Tommy''''' is a 1975 British [[psychedelic film|psychedelic]] [[Musical film|musical]] [[Fantasy film|fantasy]] [[drama film]] written and directed by [[Ken Russell]] and based on [[the Who]]'s 1969 [[rock opera]] album ''[[Tommy (The Who album)|Tommyof the same name]]'' about a "[[Psychological trauma|psychosomatically deaf, mute, and blind]]" boy who becomes a [[pinball]] champion and religious leader.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thewho.com/index.php?module=movies&movies_item_id=92 |title=The Who Official Band Website – Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon &#124; Movies |publisher=Thewho.com |access-date=29 November 2011}}</ref> The film featured a [[Ensemble cast|star-studded ensemble cast]], including the band members themselves (most notably, lead singer [[Roger Daltrey]], who plays the title role), [[Ann-Margret]], [[Oliver Reed]], [[Eric Clapton]], [[Tina Turner]], [[Elton John]], [[Robert Powell]] and [[Jack Nicholson]].

In the prologue, set in 1945, a montage displays the honeymoon of Group Captain Walker and his wife, Nora ("Prologue - 1945"). After his leave ends, Walker goes off to fight in [[World War II]] as a [[bomber pilot]], but is shot down during a mission. "Captain Walker" is listed as missing in action and is presumed dead, although—unknown to his family—the badly burntburned Walker is still alive. Back in England, Nora goes into labour and gives birth to a son, Tommy, on [[V-E Day]] ("Captain Walker/It's a Boy"). Five years later, in 1950, Nora begins a new relationship with Frank, a holiday worker she and Tommy meet at a holiday camp. Tommy looks up to his "Uncle" Frank and expresses his desire to run his own [[holiday camp]] some day ("Bernie's Holiday Camp"). On New Year's Eve, Nora and Frank dream of their future ("1951 / What About the Boy?"), but, late that evening, the returning Captain Walker surprises the couple in bed, leading to a struggle where Frank kills the Captain (in the original album synopsis, the Captain kills Frank).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Atkins|first=John|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/43060511|title=The Who on record : a critical history, 1963-1998|date=2000|publisher=McFarland|isbn=0-7864-0609-7|location=Jefferson, N.C.|oclc=43060511}}</ref> Realising that Tommy has witnessed the murder through the reflection of a mirror, the couple coerce Tommy into believing he did not see or hear anything and will tell no one. The heat of the moment panics Tommy into a dissociative state where he outwardly appears "deaf, dumb, and blind", though internally he finds himself experiencing the world through a [[psychedelia]]-like state ("Amazing Journey"). Later, at a Christmas party, Nora is distressed that Tommy "doesn't know what day it is" ("Christmas").

The converts, confused about Tommy's odd practices and his family's commercial exploitation of the compound, wrathfully demand Tommy teach them something useful. Tommy does so, deliberatelyartificially deafening, muting, and blinding everyone, only to inadvertently provoke a riot. The followers kill Nora and Frank and destroy the camp in a fire ("[[We're Not Gonna Take It (The Who song)|We're Not Gonna Take It]]"). Tommy finds his parents in the debris and mourns before escaping into the mountains from the beginning of the film. He ascends the same peak where his parents celebrated their honeymoon, celebrating the rising sun ("[[We're Not Gonna Take It (The Who song)|Listening to You]]").<ref name="SM FM/LTY" />

* [[Roger Daltrey]] as Tommy Walker, a catatonic ladman who develops messianic delusions.

* [[Victoria Russell (designer)|Victoria Russell]] as Sally Simpson, a Tommy fan-girl who sneaks to a concert and gets maimed.

* [[Ken Russell]] (uncredited) as one of Marilynthe Preacher's followers and eventually one of Tommy's. He is seen in a wheelchair.

Russell did up his own treatment of the story as he saw it. He said: "This in no way deviated from his [Townshend's] original but plugged in the gaps where I found the story obscure or just non existent."<ref name="Russell p 118"/> Russell said Townshend liked most of his suggestions and wrote new material.

* The story's setting is shifted forward, so that the finale takes place in the mid-1970s (present-day when the film was released). The song "1921" is changed to "1951" to accommodate this.

In December, it was announced Ann-Margret would play Tommy's mother.<ref>Standing Ovation for Ann-Margret Haber, Joyce. Los Angeles Times 20 Dec 1973: e19.</ref> Ann-Margret was cast because, according to Russell, "I needed a superb singer."<ref name="blazes"/>

Jagger was reportedly offered the role of The Acid Queen but insisted on singing three of his own songs, so the role was given to [[Tina Turner]].<ref>Tower Ticker

Russell says Pete Townshend wanted [[Tiny Tim (musician)|Tiny Tim]] to play Pinball Wizard but Stigwood overruled him.<ref name="Russell p 122">Russell p 122</ref> [[Elton John]] initially turned down the role of the Pinball Wizard and among those considered to replace him was [[David Essex]], who recorded a test audio version of the "Pinball Wizard" song. However, producer [[Robert Stigwood]] held out until John agreed to take the part, reportedly on condition that he could keep the gigantic [[Dr. Martens]] boots he wore in the scene.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> John later wore the boots in a brief scene in the music video for his song [[Nikita (song)|''Nikita'']], which was directed by Russell.

On 11 June 1974, the pier caught fire and was badly damaged while the production was filming there. According to Russell, the fire started during the filming of the scene of Ann-Margret and Oliver Reed dancing together during the "Bernie's Holiday Camp" sequence; smoke from the fire can be seen drifting in front of the camera in several shots. Russell also used a brief exterior shot of the building fully ablaze during the scenes of the destruction of Tommy's Holiday Camp by his disillusioned followers.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite video |title=Ken Russell commentary from ''Tommy'' DVD|publisher=Umbrella Entertainment|year=2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/piers/southsea%20south%20parade%20pier.htm |title=Southsea South Parade Pier |publisher=Theheritagetrail.co.uk |date=11 June 1974 |access-date=29 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021228020507/http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/piers/southsea%20south%20parade%20pier.htm |archive-date=28 December 2002 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Filming finished in September 1974. Russell then edited the film and supervised the recording of the soundtrack.<ref>Will 'Tommy' score the big breakthru?: Will 'Tommy' score the big breakthru? Siskel, Gene. Chicago Tribune 27 Oct 1974: f5.</ref> When it was done, Russell said: "I think it's probably the one thing I've ever done that satisfies me aesthetically. The fact that it's a rock opera as well is a tremendous bonus because people will come see it."<ref name="messiah"/>

The film holds a 7174% approval rating on [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 3534 reviews, with an average grade of 6.8090/10. The critical consensus reads: "''Tommy'' is as erratic and propulsive as a game of pinball, incorporating the Who's songs into an irreverent odyssey with the visual imagination that only director Ken Russell can conjure."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1021648_tommy |title=Tommy |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=2218 MayNovember 20232024 }}</ref>

[[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' declared,: "It may be the most overproduced movie ever made, but there is wit and reason for this. It is the last word in pop art ... Everything, including the sound level, is too much. But even this works in an odd way. The victim of the movie is as much the person sitting in the audience as it is Tommy."<ref>{{cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |author-link=Vincent Canby |date=March 30, 1975 |title=When Too Much Is Just About Right |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=91 }}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called the film "spectacular in every way ... The production is magnificent, the multitrack sound (tradenamed Quintaphonic) terrific, the casting and acting great, and the name cameos most showmanly."<ref>{{cite magazine |date=March 12, 1975 |title=Tommy |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |page=18 }}</ref>

[[Charles Champlin]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called the film "an overwhelming, thunderous, almost continuously astonishing achievement, coherent and consistent from first frames to last."<ref>[[Charles Champlin|Champlin, Charles]] (March 20, 1975). "'Tommy' on the Screen: Two Viewpoints". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Part IV, p. 14.</ref> Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' wrote that the music of the original album: "...had a certain obscure dignity and integrity, and these qualities don't withstand the Russell treatment. On record ''Tommy'' seemed a bit mysterious. On screen it's just banal."<ref>{{cite news |last=Arnold |first=Gary |date=March 27, 1975 |title='Tommy': Now a Film |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |page=C1, C13 }}</ref> [[Jonathan Rosenbaum]] of ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote that "even at its most lacklustre and tasteless junctures, ''Tommy'' is never boring, and always full of energy; and given the very loose framework and imprecise plot that Russell has to work with, this is no small achievement."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rosenbaum |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Rosenbaum |date=April 1975 |title=Tommy |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=42 |issue=495 |page=89 }}</ref>

In a retrospective review, Perry Seibert of ''[[AllMovie]]'' gave the film four stars out of five and described it as "continuously watchable, but the film version of ''Tommy'' sacrifices the fragile emotional core of Pete Townshend's work for grandiose spectacle."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/tommy-v50339/review |title=Tommy: Review by Perry Siebert |last=Siebert |first=Perry |website=[[AllMovie]] |access-date=2018-11-23 }}</ref>

One problem that arose was that by the 1970s the four-track magnetic sound system was largely moribund. Only a few theatres were equipped with the necessary magnetic playback heads and other equipment; of those that did in many cases, it was not in working order. Thus, in addition to installing the extra electronics and rear speakers, John Mosely and his team had to repair and align the basic magnetic playback equipment. Each theatre that showed ''Tommy'' using the Quintaphonic system accordingly had to be specially prepared to take the film. In this respect there is a similarity between ''Tommy'' and [[Walt Disney]]'s ''[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]'', for which a special sound system ([[Fantasound]]) had been devised and required each theatre that showed it in the original release to be specially prepared. Also, like Fantasound, Quintaphonic Sound was never used again (five-channel stereoaudio, in the form of [[5.1 surround sound]], eventually made a comeback).

The Quintaphonic Sound mix has beenwas restored for the [[DVD]] and [[Blu-ray]] release of the film.