Tommy (1975 film)

Tommy

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ken Russell
Produced by
Screenplay by Ken Russell
Based on Tommy by
The Who
Starring
Narrated by Pete Townshend
Music by The Who
Cinematography
Edited by Stuart Baird
Production
company
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • 19 March 1975 (1975-03-19) (US)[1]
  • 26 March 1975 (1975-03-26) (UK)
Running time
 108 minutes[2]
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget $5 million[3]
Box office $34.3 million[4]
Pinball Wizard
Elton John's "Pinball Wizard" from Tommy
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Tommy is a 1975 British musical fantasy film based upon The Who's 1969 rock opera album Tommy.[5] It was directed by Ken Russell and featured a star-studded cast, including the band members themselves (most notably, lead singer Roger Daltrey, who plays the title role). The other cast members include Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Elton John, Arthur Brown, and Jack Nicholson.

Ann-Margret received a Golden Globe Award for her performance, and was also nominated for the 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 shown at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival, but was not entered into the main competition.[6] In 1975 the film won the award for Rock Movie of the Year in the First Annual Rock Music Awards.[7]

Plot

"Prologue 1945". The film opens with a montage of the honeymoon of Royal Air Force Group Captain Walker (Robert Powell) and his wife, Nora (Ann-Margret). When his leave ends, Walker reluctantly farewells his now-pregnant wife, and returns to fight in World War II as a bomber pilot, but his aircraft is shot down somewhere over Europe . "Captain Walker" is listed as missing in action and is presumed dead, although - unknown to his family - the badly burned Walker is in fact a prisoner of war. Meanwhile, back in England, Nora is overwhelmed by the news of her husband's disappearance - she goes into labor and gives birth to a son, Tommy, on V-E Day ("It's a Boy"). Five years later, with Captain Walker still missing, presumed dead, Nora has begun a new relationship with Frank (Oliver Reed), a greencoat she and Tommy meet at "Bernie's Holiday Camp". Tommy looks up to his "Uncle" Frank and expresses his desires to run his own camp some day. In "1951" Nora and Frank dream of their future, but, late that evening, Captain Walker returns unexpectedly, surprising Frank and Nora in bed. Frank struggles with Captain Walker then strikes him with a lamp, killing him. At this point they discover to their horror that that Tommy - who had followed his father into the room - has witnessed everything. Panicking, they frantically plead with Tommy, insisting that he saw and heard nothing, and must tell nobody about it ("What About the Boy?"). This, combined with the trauma of his father's sudden and violent death, sends Tommy into a trance-like "Amazing Journey", in which he cannot to see, hear or speak. Unable to reach him, Nora and Frank lament Tommy's predicament, and fear for his soul at a family "Christmas" party.

As time passes, Nora and Frank make several fruitless attempts to bring Tommy out of his isolation. Nora first takes him to a religious cult that worships Marilyn Monroe, with the promise from a Preacher (Eric Clapton) that a giant Monroe statue will give "Eyesight to the Blind", but he ends up knocking over the statue. Frank seeks help from "The Acid Queen", (Tina Turner), a prostitute and drug addict who injects psychedelic drugs into Tommy's bloodstream. He undergoes a florid drug trip. Neither attempt works. Although Nora worries about Tommy's well-being ("Do You Think It's Alright"), Frank convinces her to leave Tommy with family members when they go out, and as a result, he suffers several odd incidents. First, Tommy is left with his bullying "Cousin Kevin" (Paul Nicholas), who tortures Tommy. Next, Tommy is molested by his "Uncle" Ernie (Keith Moon) ("Fiddle About"). Nora and Frank begin to become more and more lethargic and leave Tommy standing at the mirror. One night, Tommy leaves the house, following a vision of himself and wanders to a junkyard, where he is found the next morning, playing an abandoned pinball machine ("Sparks"). Tommy is recognized by Nora, Frank, and the media as an expert pinball player, even more impressive given his catatonic state. As Tommy grows to fame, Nora and Frank become wealthier, owning yachts and cars ("Extra, Extra, Extra"). During one game, Tommy faces the pinball world champion (Elton John), who, despite his determination, calls Tommy a "Pinball Wizard" himself. Nora watches her son's victory on television, and celebrates his (and her) success with "Champagne", but soon has a nervous breakdown upon thinking about the real extremes of Tommy's deficiency.

Later, Frank finds a Specialist (Jack Nicholson)("There's a Doctor") And they bring Tommy to him. The Specialist, upon testing the boy, concludes that his state is emotionally, rather than physically triggered and the only hope is for him to continue to "Go to the Mirror". During the tests, Nora and the Specialist flirt, much to Frank's chagrin. Nora pleads with Tommy to snap out of it ("Tommy Can You Hear Me?") and, has he continues to be unresponsive, becomes more and more frustrated, eventually being prompted to "Smash the Mirror" by throwing Tommy through it. This incidentally resurges Tommy from his state and he runs around, proclaiming "I'm Free". Eventually, "Mother and Son" reunite when Nora finds Tommy and explains what has happened during the time he has missed, while Tommy reveals that his experiences have transformed him, and that he sees a path to spiritual enlightenment through pinball. As news of Tommy's "Miracle Cure" spreads, Tommy spreads a message of enlightenment about the world, disrupting violence and making friends, and followers, everywhere he goes. He becomes a self-proclaimed "Sensation", deciding to go on a lecturing tour. A young Tommy fan, "Sally Simpson" sneaks out to one of Tommy's lectures against his Reverend Father's wishes. The lecture escalates from Tommy preaching to a wild concert, where Sally gets injured. She goes on to marry a Frankenstein-esque rock musician. Tommy "Welcomes" converts of his new religion to his house, but soon there are too many to accommodate. Tommy announces the construction of a new holiday camp, which Nora and Frank advertise at a "T.V. Studio". At "Tommy's Holiday Camp", Uncle Ernie exploits Tommy products to the visitors.

The converts express their disdain for this commercialism and demand Tommy teach them true enlightenment. When he does so by actually blinding, muting, and deafening everyone, Tommy is criticized further, leading to his followers to proclaim "We're Not Gonna Take It!". A riot ensues, destroying the camp in a fire and killing Nora and Frank. Tommy finds his parents in the debris and mourns ("See Me, Feel Me"). He escapes the burning camp, fleeing into the countryside, where he ascends the same hill from the beginning of the film, where his parents celebrated their honeymoon. As the sun rises, he sings "Listening to You", I get the music..."[8]

Cast

Production

In his commentary for the 2004 DVD release of the film, Ken Russell stated that the opening and closing outdoor scenes were shot in the Borrowdale valley of the English Lake District, near his own home, the same area that he had used to double for Bavaria in his earlier film Mahler, in which Robert Powell had starred. Much of the film was shot on locations around Portsmouth, including the scene near the end of the film featuring the giant 'pinballs', which were in fact obsolete buoys found in a British Navy yard, which were simply sprayed silver and filmed in situ. The Bernie's Holiday Camp ballroom sequence was shot inside the Gaiety Theatre on South Parade Pier. Exterior shots were filmed at Hilsea Lido.[9] The Sally Simpson interior sequence was filmed in the Wesley Hall in Fratton Road Portsmouth. The exterior intro sequence to the scene however shows Sally Simpson buying a badge and entering South Parade Pier.

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, and smoke from the fire can in fact 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.[10][11] The Pinball Wizard sequence was shot at the Kings Theatre in Southsea, and the two pinball machines used were a 1965 Kings & Queens by Gottlieb -used by Roger Daltrey- and a Gottlieb Buckaroo also from 1965, used by Elton John. The Kings & Queens' 1000 score window was modified from its original for the scene.[12] Others on Portsdown Hill, which overlooks Portsmouth and local churches were used. All Saints in Commercial Road was used for the Sally Simpson Wedding scene whilst the meeting in the same sequence was filmed at the Wesley Hall in Fratton Road. The Eyesight to the Blind sequence was filmed at St Andrews Church in Henderson Road in Southsea.The other church featured was Warblington Church near Havant in Hampshire.

The famous scene in which Ann-Margret's character hallucinates that she is cavorting in detergent foam, baked beans, and chocolate reportedly took three days to shoot. According to Russell, the detergent and baked bean sequences were 'revenge' parodies of real-life TV advertisements he had directed early in his career, although the baked bean sequence also references one of the cover photos and a parody radio ad from The Who's 1967 album The Who Sell Out. Russell also recalled that Ann-Margret's husband strongly objected to the scene in which she slithers around in melted chocolate. During the filming, Ann-Margret accidentally struck her hand on the broken glass of the TV screen, causing a severe laceration, and Russell had to take her to hospital to have the wound stitched, although she was back on set the next day.[10] The film also includes a scene in which Mrs Walker watches a parodic TV advertisement for the fictional product "Rex Baked Beans"; the costumes in this segment were originally made for the lavish masked ball sequence in Richard Lester's version of The Three Musketeers, and the dress worn by the Queen in the Rex ad is that worn by Geraldine Chaplin in the earlier film.[13]

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. Russell also recalled that Townshend initially balked at Russell's wish to have The Who performing behind Elton in the sequence (they did not perform the audio here), and also objected to wearing the pound-note suits (which were in fact stitched together from novelty pound-note teatowels).[10] On The Who's involvement with the film, members Daltrey played the title character, Moon played, in essence, a dual role as both Uncle Ernie and as himself along with Entwistle and Townshend lip-synching on their respective instruments in the "Eyesight to the Blind" and "Pinball Wizard" segments. About his role as the Specialist, Jack Nicholson stated that "In my whole career there was only one time when a director said to me, "OK, come right down the pike and just look beautiful, Jack". That was Ken Russell on Tommy."[14]

Reception

The film currently holds a 76% approval rating in on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 25 reviews, out of which 19 are positive. On his review of the film, Roger Ebert gave the film a three out of four stars rating, and praised Ann-Margret's performance, calling her "simply great as Tommy's mother". He also praised the pinball tournament scene, calling it "the movie's best single scene: a pulsating, orgiastic turn-on edited with the precision of a machine gun burst."[15]

Awards and nominations

Award Category Recipient(s) Result
Academy Awards Best Actress Ann-Margret Nominated
Best Original Song Score or Adaptation Score Pete Townshend Nominated
Golden Globe Awards Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Nominated
Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical Ann-Margret Won
Most Promising Newcomer Roger Daltrey Nominated

Quintaphonic Sound

The original release of Tommy used a sound system devised by sound engineer John Mosely called "Quintaphonic Sound".[16] At the time that the film was in production various "Quadraphonic" (four speaker) sound systems were being marketed to the domestic HiFi market. Some of these were so-called "matrix" systems which combined the four original channels into two which could be recorded on, or transmitted by, existing two-channel stereo systems such as LP records or FM radio. John Mosely used one of these systems (QS from Sansui) to record front left, front right, back left and back right channels on the left and right tracks of a four-track magnetic striped print of the Cinemascope type. A discrete center channel was also recorded on the center track of the print. The fourth (surround) track on the striped print was left unused. In addition John Mosely used DBX noise reduction on the magnetic tracks.

Unlike the usual multiple small surround speakers used in cinemas, the Quintaphonic system specified just two rear speakers, but of the same type as those used at the front.

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, 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.

Tommy was later released with mono, conventional four-track magnetic and Dolby Stereo soundtracks.

Changes from album

The film version of Tommy differs in numerous ways from the original 1969 album. The primary change is the period, which is moved forward to the post-World War II era, while the original album takes place just after World War I. As a result, the song "1921" (alternatively named "You Didn't Hear It") is renamed "1951" and the opening line "got a feelin' '21 is gonna be a good year" changes to "got a feelin' '51 is gonna be a good year". The historical change allowed Russell to use more contemporary images and settings.

In the album, Captain Walker is killed in action, never knowing his unborn son. In the film, Tommy's father, now Group Captain Walker RAF, is shot down but then returns and is killed by the wife's lover (Reed) in front of Tommy, heightening the psychological trauma and allowing the father to be in Tommy's secret fantasies.

Unlike other filmed 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 was known for his singing ability (Reed's character's songs were cut from Oliver!, and Nicholson's in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever appeared only in the now-lost roadshow version) – perform the songs in character instead of The Who, with the exception of Daltrey as Tommy and where Townshend sings narration in place of recitative.

Because of this, all the songs are rerecorded and the song order is shuffled around considerably; this and the addition of several new songs and links creates a more balanced structure of alternating short and long sequences. A large number of songs have new lyrics and instrumentation, and another notable feature is that many of the songs and pieces used on the film soundtrack are alternate versions or mixes from the versions on the soundtrack album.

Major differences between the 1969 and 1975 versions:

Soundtrack

Main article: Tommy (soundtrack)
Sales chart performance
Album
Year Chart Position
1975 Billboard Pop Albums 2
1975 UK Chart Albums 21

References

  1. ↑ Tommy (1975) – Release dates
  2. ↑ "TOMMY (AA)". British Board of Film Classification. 6 November 1974. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  3. ↑ Tommy (1975) – Box office / business
  4. ↑ "Tommy, Box Office Information". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  5. ↑ "The Who Official Band Website – Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon | Movies". Thewho.com. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  6. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: Tommy". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  7. ↑ "1975 – First Annual Rock Music Awards". Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  8. 1 2 Note: "See Me, Feel Me/Listening To You" is the name given in the song book for the soundtrack album; the soundtrack album itself, counter-intuitively, calls it "Listening To You/See Me, Feel Me".
  9. ↑ "Sparkling blue water of Hilsea Lido at its best". The News. 20 December 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  10. 1 2 3 Ken Russell commentary from Tommy DVD. Umbrella Entertainment. 2004.
  11. ↑ "Southsea South Parade Pier". Theheritagetrail.co.uk. 11 June 1974. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  12. ↑ Owen, Chris (15 September 2010). "Steve brings life to Who rocker's pinball". The News (Portsmouth). Retrieved 25 September 2010.
  13. ↑ "IMDb – Tommy (1975) – Trivia". Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  14. ↑ "'I do this because I love it'", Theguardian.com, 3 February 2008, retrieved 5 July 2015
  15. ↑ "Tommy Movie Review & Film Summary". Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  16. ↑ Mosely, John (Jan 1977). "Quintaphonic Sound". Journal of the SMPTE l86.

External links

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