Tommy (film)
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| Tommy | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Ken Russell |
| Produced by | Ken Russell Robert Stigwood |
| Written by | Ken Russell Pete Townshend |
| Starring | Oliver Reed Ann-Margret Roger Daltrey Elton John Eric Clapton John Entwistle Keith Moon Paul Nicholas Jack Nicholson |
| Music by | The Who |
| Cinematography | Dick Bush |
| Editing by | Stuart Baird |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  March 19, 1975  March 26, 1975[1] |
| Running time | 111 min. |
| Country | |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5 million[2] |
| Gross revenue | $20 million |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Tommy is a 1975 musical film, based on The Who's 1969 "rock opera" concept album Tommy. It was directed by Ken Russell and featured a star-studded cast, including the band members themselves. Ann-Margret received a Golden Globe Award for her performance, and was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Pete Townshend was also nominated for an Oscar for his work in scoring and adapting the music for the film. The film was the first and only film to be recorded with a Quintaphonic soundtrack. Some out-door scenes were shot in the Borrowdale valley of the English Lake District, near to the home of Ken Russell.
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[edit] Plot
Tommy's father, RAF Group Captain Walker, is away fighting the Germans in World War II. His plane is shot from the air before Tommy is born. His mother, Nora Walker, receives the news while at work in a munitions factory filling bombs with ball bearings. Mrs. Walker faints and brings boxes of the ball bearings down with her. Mrs. Walker then gives birth to a baby boy, Tommy. Tommy's mother believes her husband is dead for nearly six years. She meets Frank Hobbs at a holiday camp and starts a relationship with him.
However, Group Captain Walker had survived the crash and returns home one night. Tommy follows him to the bedroom where Walker sees Mrs. Walker and Hobbs in each other's arms. Hobbs kills Group Captain Walker by smashing a lamp on his head. The act is witnessed by young Tommy. Tommy is then told in a violent manner that he "didn't hear it, didn't see it" and "won't say nothing to no-one,". As a result, Tommy mentally becomes deaf, dumb, and blind to avoid it.
The film jumps ahead ten years, and Tommy, now a young man, is being taken by his mother and stepfather on various attempts to cure him, including a religious cult (centered around Marilyn Monroe from The Seven Year Itch) and the Acid Queen (Tina Turner), a prostitute dealing in acid (LSD) who sends Tommy on a wild trip that ultimately fails to awaken him. Meanwhile, his parents are somewhat negligent of Tommy, and leave him at the hands of his cruel cousin Kevin, who beats him, and his perverted uncle Ernie, who molests him.
Tommy's only stimulus seems to come from a long mirror that he stands and stares into. Led alone into a junkyard at night by a vision of himself, Tommy comes into contact with a device that will change his life forever. A pinball machine scattered among the scrap metal allows Tommy to rise to national prominence and fame. Tommy's pinball prowess and defeat of the Pinball Wizard (Elton John) transforms him into a cult hero.
Nora and Frank take Tommy to a medical specialist (Jack Nicholson), who confirms that Tommy's problems are psychosomatic. Filled with guilt and anger, Tommy's mother throws him into the mirror he stares into, shattering it. The violent act wakes Tommy into normality once more. He uses his new awareness to try and bring enlightenment to people. He starts giving talks and enlightening people by canvassing. Tommy's stepfather exploits him to make more money and eventually Tommy becomes a worldwide religious icon.
Tommy sets up a holiday camp of his own, one that caters to his cult; but the mob soon rebels against his strict rules and fervor. They burn down the camp, killing Tommy's mother and step-father in the process. Tommy is left alone, but with a greater sense of self-awareness as he faces a new dawn.
[edit] Cast
- Oliver Reed as Frank Hobbs
- Ann-Margret as Nora Walker-Hobbs
- Roger Daltrey as Tommy Walker
- Tina Turner as The Acid Queen
- Eric Clapton as The Preacher
- John Entwistle as Himself
- Keith Moon as Uncle Ernie/Himself
- Paul Nicholas as Cousin Kevin
- Jack Nicholson as The Specialist
- Robert Powell as Group Captain Walker
- Pete Townshend as Himself
- Arthur Brown as The Priest
- Elton John as The Pinball Wizard
- Victoria Russell as Sally Simpson
- Ben Aris as Reverend Arthur Simpson
- Ken Russell (uncredited) as Cripple
- Mary Holland as Mrs. Simpson
- Gary Rich as Rock Musician
- Dick Allan as President Black Angels
- Barry Winch as Young Tommy
- Eddie Stacey as Bovver Boy
[edit] Changes from album
The film version of Tommy showed a few changes from the original 1969 album. One such change is the date in which the story happened. The movie takes place in the post World War II era as the album takes place in post World War I. For example, in the song "1921" where on the album the line is, "got a feelin' 21 is gonna be a good year." The movie changes it to "got a feelin' 51 is gonna be a good year"' This allowed Russell to use more contemporary images for later scenes.
In the album, Group Captain Walker returns to find his wife with a new lover and proceeds to murder the lover. In the film it is flipped around; the lover kills Group Captain Walker. This is perhaps (though not necessarily) the cause for a different treatment of the title character. In the film, Tommy's fame as pinball champion is exploited by his mother and Hobbs, who use it to give themselves a much more lavish lifestyle.
Unlike other films of rock operas (such as that of Pink Floyd's The Wall) the album is never dubbed over the film; the different actors - including Nicholson and Reed, neither of whom were known for their vocal prowess - sing the songs instead of The Who (with the exception of where the song is a narration instead of a monologue). Because of this, all the songs are rerecorded and some shuffled around. A large number of songs have new lyrics and instrumentation. Notably:
- "The Amazing Journey" has almost completely different lyrics, and the "guide" from the album is shown as being Tommy's murdered father.
- "1921" was changed to "1951".
- "Pinball Wizard" has a few extra lyrics.
- References to pinball are removed from "Christmas".
- In Sally Simpson, the album version mentions her fathers Rolls-Royce as blue, whereas the movie changes the lyrics to black. The Rolls-Royce in the film is also black.
- Several new songs were written, including "Prologue 1945", "Bernie's Holiday Camp", "Champagne", "Mother and Son", and "T.V. Studio." "Underture" is not present; Only a few brief segments of "Overture" can be heard.
[edit] Soundtrack album
Townshend also oversaw the production of a new double-LP recording that returned the music to its rock roots, and on which the unrecorded orchestral arrangements he had envisaged for the original Tommy LP were realised by the extensive use of synthesiser. The soundtrack LP also employed many leading sessions musicians including Caleb Quaye and longtime Who associate John "Rabbit" Bundrick. The song "Pinball Wizard" was a major hit when released as a single. Curiously, although the music for this song is performed entirely by Elton John and his band, the film depicts Elton being backed by The Who (dressed in pound-note suits).
[edit] Side one
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[edit] Side two
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[edit] Side three
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[edit] Side four
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[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Tommy at the Internet Movie Database
- Tommy at Allmovie
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