Tommy
Tags: cult, humor, psychedelic, murder, boring

Plot synopsis:
Satyam Master (Rajendra Prasad) is a very famous professor in Bheemavaram. One fine day, he comes across a dog in the railway station and decides to adopt it. Initially, his wife (Seeta) does not approve of it but later agrees to her husband’s wish. The couple names the dog Tommy and very soon, the pet becomes a key member of the family. Satyam Master starts taking Tommy daily to the station and Tommy on his own goes to station to receive him in the evening. Their bond of love becomes stronger every day. The twist in the tale arises when an untoward incident changes the entire family’s life upside down. Suddenly one day, Tommy does not want Satyam Master to go to his duty and tries to stop him home and at the station too. What problems does it cause to the family ? and what happens to the dog finally ?

Review: When you listen to the original Who album a lot is left open to the imagination as regards plot, and I think its important to realise that Ken Russell's film version is merely one interpretation of the story told by the music.
However, what I will say is that the imagery he uses in the film really does spark a lot of interest, for example the hypocrisy of organised religion and icon worship (particularly when Tommy causes Marlyin Monroe to crash to the floor after the rest of the church have been "brainwashed" by the priests).A lot of people criticise the film for its cast, particularly Oliver Reed and Jack Nicholsons' debatable singing abilities.
Elton John as the pinball wizard, (who does so well in this that I think he decided afterwards to retire from making movies while he was still ahead) while Ann Margret chews up the scenery much better than I had certainly expected, and Tina Turner as the Acid Queen gives a performance in a cameo that you have to see to believe.
However my Uncle has great taste in music and has introduced me to many great bands and albums over the years, especially 60's rock music.I think my initial reaction to the film was it had some great scenes, mixing fantastic music with iconic imagery, some very interesting cast members, and a very strange dark humour throughout most of it.The scenes which I were first really drawn to were 1951/what about the boy?
(whether Oliver Reed can sing or not without severe editing, he fits his part perfectly and both he and Ann-Margaret shine during this scene), Acid Queen (an amazing performance by Tina Turner) and Amazing Journey.Due to enjoying these songs/scenes so much I revisited the film a few times and then really found the true depth of the movie.
Every scene is almost mesmerising in it's own way (apart from Eyesight to the blind, although I love Eric Clapton, I just do not enjoy this part at all).I had been looking for this on DVD for sometime, and in the meantime had purchased the original CD (interesting how some songs are better on the CD whilst others translate better in the movie) as a substitute.
I was of course extremely pleased at the recent 2 Disc Collectors Edition release and did not hesitate to make my purchase.OK, the story is not your run of the mill, easy to understand type and I think it is open to all kinds of interpretations, the main thing is the movie is a visual and musical feast almost like an extended ultra good pop video..
The movie has an all-star cast of eccentric and top stars (Oliver Reed, Ann-Margaret, Jack Nicholson) and pop stars (Tina Turner, Roger Daltry, Keith Moon, Eric Clapton, Elton John and The Who themselves, as a group on stage).The music was changed and performed for the movie.
Although the medium of the album and the film is rock music, Tommy strings together many of the most powerful elements of classical opera.
Most of the time, this works - Ann Margaret, Roger Daltrey, and cameos by Jack Nicholson, Elton John, Tina Turner and Keith Moon are all outstanding.
But the problems with the sound track are at least partly made-up for by fabulously campy musical cameos by Tina Turner and Elton John, and - FINALLY - by Daltrey's excellent performance once Tommy himself gains a voice.
It is never funny in a comedy sense but it is fun in the same way as going to a big show like Rock Horror can be, it's hard not to get caught up in the music, performances and sights of the film as everyone is really overdoing it and it's fun!
The real gold in the film though is a collection of cameos that may not all work but all add to the film: Tina Turner IS The Acid Queen, Elton John gets the best song of the film, Clapton doesn't make as much of an impression as I would have liked and the presence of Jack Nicholson is as good as it is surprising!Overall this is a silly, shambolic film that makes very little sense and is not clever enough to make the points about religion that it tries to.
It also does something else: creates actual characters from the music, a plus due in part to the fine acting of Ann-Margret as Tommy's glamorous mother, Roger Daltrey as Tommy, Oliver Reed as Tommy's stepfather (Reed is hammy but quite game, while the role is designed as both a villain and a hero), and Tina Turner, an extremely scary presence as the Acid Queen.
Up until then I mainly watched it for the music, but after that it became a whole different ballgame, and I watched it to extract more of what Ken Russell was really trying to get at.Anyone younger than about 30 probably will not understand this film at all, but if you are of the right generation, see it a couple of times because you may not get the meaning the first viewing.Several memorable performances - Elton John as the Pinball Wizard, Keith Moon as Uncle Ernie, Ann Margaret as Tommy's mother and - of course - Ollie Reed who has never done a bad film..
Watching it, you try to figure out how to digest all that you're seeing and make sense of it (although I would reject calling it sensory overload).The plot of course has deaf, dumb, blind Tommy Walker (Roger Daltrey) becoming a pinball champion and developing a cult following.
Probably the most surprising cast member is Jack Nicholson as The Specialist; I mean, who would have ever imagined Jack Nicholson of all people in a musical?* Peter Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon also appear.All in all, director Ken Russell instills this movie with the same sensibility that we find in the rest of his movies.
I knew the movie was a musical but was under the impression it`d be something like Jeff Wayne`s WAR OF THE WORLD album where there`s a clear narrative with dialogue along with musical tracks , I mean Robert Powell , Oliver Reed and Jack Nicolson aren`t singers right ?
That actually sums up the strengths and weaknesses of TOMMY , the imagery is strange , sometimes utterly compelling and breath taking like the sequence in Amazing Journey where a pin ball randomly smacks bombers turning them into crosses of rememberance but more often than not the film makes just as much sense as it did when I listened to it on the radio more than 20 years before .
There`s a vague point that musical heroes are somewhat Hitlerite in our modern pop culture but the very similar THE WALL by Pink Floyd makes this point far clearer and if truth be told THE WALL is by far a better movie and album Anyone else feel uneasy that much of TOMMY revolves around a young child from source material by Pete Townshend ?.
Then, explain to me the artistic value of Ann-Margret bathing in baked beans as they shoot out of her TV set at her, the Eric Clapton tribute to Marilyn Monroe (which probably resulted in her haunting him ever since) and Roger Daltry's ridiculous performance (as he manages to OVERPLAY the role of Tommy, a deaf and blind man).
The scenes with Keith Moon as Uncle Ernie are no less than inspired and absolutely hilarious; the Acid Queen segment with Tina Turner as the title character is one of the best segments ever filmed for a rock movie and Elton John as the Pinball Wizard is simply put, absolute balls of fun with a live performance by the Who themselves.
A grand example of the best and worst (mostly the worst) of 1970's cliché' music fantasy and overindulged ridiculousness, "Tommy" is a film that should be filed right alongside other rock and roll horrors like" Sgt. Pepper's" and "Xanadu" along with a note stating "Watch at Your Own Risk"!.
Then he realizes about the really important thing.The stars of this rock opera are sensational(well, Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Tina Turner, Elton John, Jack Nicholson and The Who).If you want to live a psychedelic experience, please try to find the DVD with the original sound of the 1975...and get ready, because the tag line of the movie tell us all the true.*Sorry me if i wrote something bad.
I didn't enjoy the songs or the music, I felt them, heard them, experience them, the movie took me to a world I shall not find again  a world I wasn't even born in, but that made me nostalgic of an era I didn't live in  Tommy, a tragic view  for a hard review  It's hard to review such a film without falling in the trap of the enthusiastic discoverer but this is the most sincere feeling I can describe after finishing "Tommy", the opera rock.
there's no way not to enjoy this film  the only mystery is how it's not even more praised and appreciated today  I don't know  I don't care  If there ever was a sect of fans of the film, I'm among them  I won't go emotional, or cerebral, the greatness is here, the gallery of characters that enrich this masterpiece so unforgettable, from the Acid Queen to Cousin Kevin, from Uncle Ernie to the doctor, from Elton, to Tina, from Clapton to Nicholson  it's a psychedelic experience that just makes me feel like:I feel like the ball in the pinball machine, trying to stay in the game as long as possible hitting every segment, going back and forth, every repetitive viewing, I don't want the journey to stop, but ultimately, there are no free games, and all I can do is to share the experience with the others and convince them to watch this film So let me speak on the name of "Tommy" : hear me, see me, touch me ...
I still think the bonus brought by Ronnie Wood (The Rolling Stones) for "Acid Queen", Elton John for "Pinball Wizard" and of course the genius work of Pete Townshend have made a real opera from what I call a "good rough".
A boy is deaf, dumb and blind, but despite his multi-handicaps has magical gifts including being a champion pinball player.Where do you start with this giant piece of self-indulgence that would be so easy to ignore if were not created by a popular rock-and-roll band (The Who) and actually includes some above average tunes; and even some above average talents "singing" them.(Anne Margaret - as Tommy's mother - not being one of them.
Not only have her hips expended - since those days - her breasts seem to have as well!) The last time I saw Tommy director Ken Russell he was in his own back garden filming a straight-to-video vampire movie on his camcorder.
I'd even suggest that you could snip all the scenes and reassemble in them in a totally random order and you wouldn't do much damage either!Despite not being very good, don't be put off seeing Tommy, it is no more a waste of time than two hours of MTV, but works best at illustrating how ramshackled and nonsensical the mind of Pete "my whole life is pop art" Townsend really is.People in the pop music world give kudos to this movie, but then again they give kudos to any artist who simply  gets out of bed before midday, no matter gets an expensive home movie made..
'Tommy' is a musical with no dialogue, unlike 'Oliver' in which Reed was excellent.This sort of sets the tone for a pretty bad film.Buy the original album by The Who instead.
OK, not really but this movie was very psychedelic, the colors are awesome, the singing is awesome (especially from Jack Nicholson, but if it's a voice over) I loved the direction, The acid queen bit was awesome.This film is only a 8/10 because, the plot was hard to follow sometimes, and the side story with Sally Simpson, I thought was totally unnecessary, and didn't like it..
This is probably not the best movie to start watching after a busy day at 10:30 P.M. Even though I had already heard the Who's original album, I was still completely unprepared for the sensory assault mounted by the film's director, Ken Russell.
This is probably not the best movie to start watching after a busy day at 10:30 P.M. Even though I had already heard the Who's original album, I was still completely unprepared for the sensory assault mounted by the film's director, Ken Russell.
Every scene is a kaleidoscopic frenzy of garish and bizarre images, most filled with hilariously obvious symbolism (which the college kids watching the film with me seemed to enjoy pointing out), and reinforced by the Who's music, which runs throughout the movie at top volume and with barely any interruption.
Every scene is a kaleidoscopic frenzy of garish and bizarre images, most filled with hilariously obvious symbolism (which the college kids watching the film with me seemed to enjoy pointing out), and reinforced by the Who's music, which runs throughout the movie at top volume and with barely any interruption.
I suppose it means that those who truly love Tommy are destined to be scared or something like that.I also liked the following symbolic tidbits:At the "communion" in Clapton's temple of Marilyn worshipers they hand out pills and bourbon instead of bread and wine.Sally Simpson marries a Rock Star from California who is a Cowboy Frankenstein which neatly ties in with the huge scar on her face.On VJ day they decorate the tombstones of fallen soldiers with red flowers with black centers which are used in several scenes.Townsend, Entwhistle, and Moon are all wearing suits with a design for the Bank of England Notes on them in the Pinball wizard.In short, the movie is rife with these little cinematic treats.
The combination of The Who's concept rock/opera album Tommy and director Ken Russell in his pomp led to this visual, surreal, hallucinogenic and flawed musical film.
It also has an underlying sexual and child abuse elements as well.The bold film is a British classic of 1970s experimental cinema thanks largely to Ken Russell at times unrestrained direction but he is in his element in marrying the music, songs and visuals.Ann Margaret probably did not realise what she was letting herself into when she agreed to this film.
Ear Piercing Audio, without Dialog, and Visually Overwhelming, this Overblown Rock-Opera Written by Pete Townshend (Oscar nominated), and Directed by Ken Russell, Stars Ann Margret (Oscar nominated), Roger Daltrey (Golden Globe nominated), with a Gaggle of Cameos.The Elton John (Pinball Wizard), Tina Turner (Acid Queen), and Eric Clapton (Preacher) Segments are Highlights but the Movie is on a High of its Own. There was Absolutely Nothing Subtle about The Who, Ken Russell, or the 1970's.
Even John Entwistle said, "I didn't understand what it was about until I saw Ken Russell's version, and he was wrong."  Wrong as it was, Tommy the movie was still very good.
Russell planned ``Tommy'' as a full-fledged assault on the eyes and ears (the tagline on the movie was ``Your senses will never be the same''), and that's exactly what it is, tossing out one bizarre visual after another while guest artists such as Eric Clapton, Tina Turner and Elton John help out stars Roger Daltrey, Ann-Margret and Oliver Reed.
Likewise the story of the film and the musical is just absurd and knows it, seeing as Tommy is a satirical rock-opera that didn't mar things.
It's just as bizarre as Tina Turner's 'Acid Queen' without the freaky horror aspect and Tina's over the top performance.Anyway, Ken Russell stays very close to the Tommy story, which is good in theory, but as a film plot it's very difficult to pull off.
Director Ken Russell who also created other classic flicks, The Devils 1971 and Altered States 1980 has created another gem in Tommy.Starring Roger Daltry from the great band The Who.Also starring Oliver Reed who was also in Ken Russell's The Devils and other classic flicks, Gladiator 2000, Lion of the Desert 1981, Z.P.G 1972 and The Hunting Party 1971.Also starring is Ann-Margret.Also starring are musicians Tina Turner, Elton John, Eric Clapton and also from The Who, Keith Moon, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle.Also starring is Jack Nicholson who was also in the classic flicks, Easy Rider 1969 and Psych-Out 1968.I loved the music and the trippy scenes.If you enjoyed this as much as I did then check out other classic musical flicks, Cry Baby 1990, The Doors 1991, Fears of a Black Hat 1993, Jesus Christ Superstar 1973, Pink Floyd the Wall 1982, Bohemian Rhapsody 2018, Great Balls of Fire!
Imagine what Ken Russell could do if he re-did the film nowadays.Sure, I am a rock music fan, and seeing The Who or The Tina Turner of these days was a treat for me.
The cast in this film where huge names at the time of it's release, Robert Palmer, Roger Daltrey, Elton John, Jack Nicholson, Tina Turner, and the great Oliver Reed.
The film "Tommy" is a chance to SEE what you loved to hear in the Who's classic rock album, and I am grateful for the opportunity a fan like myself has been provided..
In fact, it's worth watching just to hear Jack Nicholson singing!Ann Margaret deserved her Golden Globe for her excellent performance and, all of the other cast members are very good in their roles.There's lots of Ken Russell symbolism, such as the use of colour and the recurring plane / cross / silverball motifs.The music is very good and there are some humorous as well as bleak moments in this film..