Tommy

Rating:
Summary: How could you not love it?
Review: Tommy is, by far, one of my favorite 70's films - next to 'Rocky Horror' and 'Clockwork Orange'. Yes, it is big and loud and bizzarre but what did you expect from one of the first 'rock operas'?
Tommy is a nice satire about money and it's various corruptions - a mute and deaf boy who becomes a wizard at pinball and later has his image used to build a large palace/amusement park of sorts. We view the masses reaching for him and demanding he take them to the heights HE'S reached.
It's all about immediate gratification, you know.

Rating:
Summary: LOVE THIS MOVIE!
Review: I'm a huge fan of this movie!! I remember when it was in the theatres and my parents said i was too young to see it back then. My brother saw the movie and bought the soundtrack on vinyl LP record, and we wore it out so much that when i was old enough to finally rent it on video i knew all the words to the entire movie. I've loved this movie from day one. I'm a huge fan of Ken Russel because he's so over-the-top and does everything in a big way. Every scene is so overdone and grandiose. The movie is a visual treat for the eyes, full of intense colors and creative sets. It's like watching some kind of cinematic drug trip. Some people were so upset over the Marilyn Monroe scene, saying that it makes fun of the catholic church, but it's easy to see it's a parody on how cultural icons like Marilyn Monroe have been raised up today to almost religious proportions and that many people see her as a goddess of sorts who has healing powers. The movie is full of great musical numbers. Tina Turner is amazing, as is Elton John as the Pinball Wizard. Even seeing Jack Nicholson sing is interesting. Ann Margaret as Tommy's mother is absolutely gorgeous, and i even think she was either nominated for an academy award or else won it for her role. Every scene she is in is mesmerizing and great to watch. My only beef with the movie is that it tends to fall apart in the second half after the adult Tommy gets pushed through the mirror, and the subsequent scenes lack the punch and flash of the first half of the movie. One thing i'll say about Tommy: i guarantee you'll never forget the scene with Ann Margaret and the exploding television set, and her rolling around in soapsuds and beans and chocolate. This movie is one i could watch again and again, especially the first hour.

Rating:
Summary: THIS IS THE MOST BIZARRE FILM EVER PRODUCED!
Review: THIS IS THE MOST BIZARRE FILM EVER PRODUCED, EVEN MORE BIZZARE THAN THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW!!! I cannot recommend this movie as being a "classic": its bizarre plot (a deaf, mute and dumb blond man who is miraculously healed and then worshipped at a type of messiah) is the MOST BIZARRE thing I've ever seen on the screen! You won't believe the "Marilyn Monroe" worship temple scene: instead of a communion wafer and wine, they are given drugs (pills) and whisky by Marilyn Monroe look-alikes! The main character's parents are brutally murdered at the end of the movie, and the whole movie makes very little sense; even more bizzare than the other 2 rock operas of the 1970s: Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Jesus Christ Superstar. The scene with the woman swimming in beans is truly disgusting! A waste of film!

Rating:
Summary: Garbage
Review: Ok let me say that Daultry himself, Elton John, and Tina Turner did amazing jobs (that's why I gave this film 2 stars instead of one) but every other part of this movie was pure garbage. This movie bears little resemblance to the Who's amazing rock album or the equally amazing stage version. It's an ugly, psycodelic excuse for a movie. The sogs are rearranged and destroyed, the cast (except those mentoned above) are horrible and have little or no singing abiities. I'm all for artistic creativity, but so many of the visuals in this adapttion make no sense (expect maybe if you're smoking something you shouldn't be) Some adapttions are so bad they're funny and worth a view just for a laugh, but that's not the case here. If you're curious and have money to waste, go ahead and buy this video, but I would recommend you use your money for the original album by the Who or the Original Broadway Cast Recording.

Rating:
Summary: 15 Year Old Girl
Review: ROGER DALTRY IS HOT
WATCH THE MOVIE FOR ALL THE SHIRTLESS SCENES.
TEN BILLION STARS
beware uncle erinie.
AWESOME MUSIC!
BUT THE BEST PART IS ROGER DALTRY, who was the hottest man on earth at the time that this was filmed.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best films ever
Review: There is no defending this film - it is garish, over-the-top, bombastick, vulgar, 'orrible, awful... but what a cinematic xperience. I love this film... ranks up there with "Touch of Evil" and anything Godard did.. WATCH IT!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Tommy Is The Greatest!
Review: I have to say that the best parts of Tommy have to be the songs. I just saw this dvd recently and I was interested how the whole movie was all singing, and no talking. I had never seen anything like it before. It just goes from one good song to the next. And you can't miss Elton John as the Pinball Wizard. Also included in Tommy are Tina Turner as the Acid Queen, Eric Clapton as the Preacher, and Jack Nicholson as the Specialist. I think that Roger Daltrey does a great performance as Tommy as well. Overall, Tommy has to be five stars. Buy it today and you'll want to watch it over and over again.

Rating:
Summary: Garish, ugly, over the top, blasphemous
Review: First of all, let me say that I love the music "Tommy". It is this film that annoys the heck out of me. If you just see it as a series of visually garish music videos, it will do. But Ken Russell is just too, too much. His best film, "The Devils" came dangerously close to being gratuitously garish but the usual Russell "Let's throw so much at the audience that they puke" fit the subject of that one. Here, it looks like Russell wanted to outdo Fellini. The only problem is that Fellini had excellent taste. Russell has none. Top crimes against good taste: Ann-Margaret swimming in a flood of franks-n-beans, a church that mocks christianity where Marilyn Monroe look alikes serve booze and pills instead of the Eucharist, Oliver Reed, obese beyond all imagination, in a swim suit, Keith Moon as a child molester. A pretty ugly film once you get over the inital visual novelties (Elton John in 15 foot heels). A must for Who fans and "Tommy" fans but everyone else may just yawn.

Rating:
Summary: Absolute Must for Serious Who Fans
Review: Ken Russell's masterpiece - plain and simple. This movie helps viewers understand the storyline of the original album by adding to it somewhat. The cinematography is great and Ann Margaret's portrayal of Mrs. Walker is brilliant. Roger Daltrey is also great as the adult Tommy, which is captivating for heavy-duty Who followers. Fans of 70's rock in general will also benefit from seeing such stars as Elton John and Eric Clapton in their short but enjoyable roles. The DVD version is magnificent visually and the soundtrack (rerecorded songs) offers interesting arrangements and lyric alternatives. I couldn't stop watching it for a long time.

Rating:
Summary: I was Disappointed
Review: I was really looking forward to this because I love the album
it is based on. There are some very good songs, like "Pinball
Wizard" being performed by Elton John and Tina Turner doing
"Gypsy Acid Queen". There are also some very interesting
scenes, like Ann Margret humping a giant hot dog shaped pillow
while she wallows in tons of backed beans! But overall, the
score is quite anemic, being mostly synthesizers. The overall
sound is pretty weak also. The original album is much more
engaging than this dvd.