From: katefans@chinet.chi.il.us (Chris'n'Vickie of Chicago)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Tommy (& Continuity Errors)  (was Re: Lethal Cows
Date: 23 Aug 92 12:11:07 GMT
Organization: Chinet - Public Access UNIX

In article <1992Aug23.014810.14976@doug.cae.wisc.edu> kolstad@cae.wisc.edu (Joel Kolstad) writes:
>In article <na-nc8-@lynx.unm.edu> blowfish@carina.unm.edu (rON.) writes:
>>
>>Tommy, having witnessed an affair between his mother and uncle, is 'convinced'


Not "real" Uncle, Tommy just called him that.

>>by them that he didn't see anything, hear anything and can't tell anybody
>>anything. The grown-ups discover what they've done to Tommy one Christmas
>>day, and proceed to try and 'cure' Tommy through varied means. (including,
>>in the movie version, a psyched-out Tina Turner playing an Acid Queen, a
>>Marilyn Monroe church and a pinball playing Elton John in 6" platform
>>shoes.). Tommy has a talent for pinball, it seems, and becomes an icon-
>>soon exploited, when he regains his seeing, hearing, and speech. Its a funky
>>rock-opera, a really weird movie and a great set of music.

>Hmm.  You know I read the rock opera back in high school and I sure as heck
>didn't get anything as wild as that out of it!  (I was kind of going on
>the assumption that Tommy was just autistic or something...)

>Was I supposed to get that out of the rock opera script and music?  Or should
>I go see the movie sometime?

>I'm pretty sure everyone else in that class was just as confused as I. :-)

Well, maybe, if they all went to the bathroom, was asleep, or just not 
paying attention to this part:

Mother: What about the boy?
        What about the boy?
        What about the boy?
        He saw it all!

Mother & Father:
       You didn't hear it
       You didn't see it
       You won't say nothing to no one
       Ever in your life

       You never heard it
       Oh how absurd it all seems without any proof
       You didn't hear it
       You didn't see it

       You never heard it 
       Not a word of it
       You won't say nothing to no one
       Never tell a soul
       What you know is the truth

Note that "Father" doesn't refer to Tommy's biological father, but his
stepfather.

This pressure, plus the trauma he's just witnessed, caused Tommy to
shut down (whatever) his sight & hearing.

The movie does give a lot more details than the opera, but since The Who
were actively invovled with the film, I'll take most of the details and
additions at face value.

Yes you should see the movie. The album is more emotional, because it's
all played out in your imagination, while the movie is *so* camp that
it's hard to take seriously, but I like it and I saw it about 20 times
when it first came out. I was crazy about the Acid Queen, and Ann-Margaret
is wonderful in every scene she's in.

After a few times seeing it, I began to notice the movie is packed with
more continuity errors than any other film I'd ever seen before (or since,
for that matter) and I began playing a game-Spot the Continuity Error.
I found another one every single time I saw the film. I just wonder what
kind of drugs the continuity person was on. She/he got *paid*! One or two,
even a few, during the course of a film, is fairly normal, but Tommy had
*dozens* and some were pretty blatent too. It's been years since I've
seen the film, so I can't make a list, but the one I remember most (and
which is also the one the filmmakers really couldn't help, so I realize
it's not fair to mention, but I'm going to anyway) is where Tommy the boy
segues into Tommy the man. The boy has dark brown eyes. Roger Daltry has
light baby blues.

Vickie
katefans@chinet.chi.il.us

"The people of Eastern europe got rid of their left wingers, it is
 time we in America got rid of our left wingers!"

            Pat Robertson, in a speech to the delegates of the
            1992 Republican National Convention

"There is a religious war going on in our country for the soul of America!"

            Pat Buchanan, in a speech to the delegates of the
            1992 Republican National Convention
 
Was the Republican convention directed by Wes Craven?