Rating:  -
The dvd movie "Tommy" was great. The process to purchase the movie was
easy. The movie was in excellent condition (new) and received in a timely
fashion. Price to purchase the movie was within my means. Will continue
to purchase items from this site.
Rating:  -
In 1975 when I was 11, I wanted to see this but my Dad forbade it. I finally saw this last night after all these years-The old man was wise!
Folks, if you are familiar with the backstory, you'll find it a warped interpetation of the Who's classic rock opera about the exploitation and deification of a blind deaf-mute who regains his senses and becomes a pinball playing messiah.
Granted, in the original album the story was weird (or imaginative, to be generous), but the songs carried the story well. This movie makes a mess of things with downright senselessness and horrible acting (Why are they worshipping Marilyn Monroe as a goddess? Why are Oliver Reed and Ann margaret overacting so badly? Why the bizarre bit with Daltrey running stupidly over a matted screen? Why do they belabor the point about false idol worship? What does Tommy do that is so terrible to cause the revolt? Does anyone understand the ending-or this movie for that matter)?
The Who's original songs were good (and Elton John is not bad in his version of Pinball Wizard), so this gives it 2 stars instead of one for me.
It is said that The Who themselves disavowed this cinematic cesspool. Listen to them! Stick to the album.
Rating:  -
The Bottom Line:
Tommy has some great sequences (e.g. Elton John as the Pinball Wizard) but its a less-than-cohesive movie which runs far too long and whose attempts at allegory fall pretty flat; even if you like The Who, you may not like this subpar film.
Rating: -
It would be difficult to overestimate the impact TOMMY had when hit movie screens in 1975, and if you were alive at the time you knew of the movie, knew of the stars, and very likely heard some of the music--whether you wanted to or not. It was ubiquitious; it was inevitable; it was also very exciting. But time, as one rock and roller once noted, was waiting in the wings. Seen today, TOMMY is less of a success than we thought it was at the time, a mixed bag of music, singers, and imagery, some of it very successful and some of it not.
The story is extremely, extremely loose, so much so that it pretty much fails to come to any meaningful conclusion. Generally, it concerns an English woman, Nora (Ann-Margaret) whose husband is killed in World War II. She thereafter has a son by her dead husband and marries a sleazy alcoholic (Oliver Reed.) In childhood, Tommy experiences an emotional trauma that leaves him deaf, dumb, and blind, and throughout much of the film Nora seeks a cure as she herself drifts into alcoholism.
The role of Tommy as an adult is played by Roger Daltry of The Who, which under Pete Townsend created the music. The cures he faces include a visit to the Church of Marilyn Monroe, where Eric Clapton is the priest; a visit to "The Acid Queen," who is noneother than Tina Turner; and a specialist, who proves to be Jack Nicholson. In the meantime he also experiences additional traumas at the hands of sadistic cousin Kevin (Paul Nicholas) and molestor Uncle Ernie (Kieth Moon.) But he ultimately emerges as a deaf, dumb, and blind pinball championship, defeating the champ (Elton John) and gaining fame and riches.
It's really at this point that the film begins to fall apart in terms of story: once Tommy recovers from his handicaps he declares himself a messiah of sorts, preaching that people must don earplugs, eye covers, and mouth restraints and learn to play pinball in order to... Well, in order to what, exactly, is never really explained, and therein lies the rub.
The musical performances are at worst merely okay--Reed and Nicholson have not been hired for their vocal talents, but they play their scenes well--to excellent, with Daltry, Ann-Margaret, Tina Turner, and Elton John the highlights. The imagery ranges from interesting to ho-hum, and the pace is surprisingly slow. Perhaps most damning, however, is the fact that the thing is too inconsistent in all aspects to be considered a unified whole. Sometimes it pops, sometimes it drags, some of it is very exciting, some of it is uninspired.
When all is said and done, TOMMY is best regarded as a cultural artifact of its era rather than as a motion picture. The various DVD releases--there have been a few--range from okay to outstanding, but unless you happen to be a hardcore enthusiast the single DVD edition will do the trick.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Rating: -
Jack Nicholson singing ? What could possibly go wrong ? I felt like I took a tab of acid in post-war London. Ken Russell is one of those insane visionaries that goes waaaaaayyyyyy beyond conventional film making. There are some artsy-fartsy themes to it, but, then again, Ann Margret is covered in baked beans. DON'T UNDERESTIMATE KEITH MOON'S PERFORMANCE !
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