A few weeks ago, I was watching a documentary on London’s legendary La Scala cinema. One of the bonus features was items that were in the main office. Among a pile of movie guides was a copy of Ken Russell by Joseph Gomez. Back in the early ’90s, Gomez was my film professor at NC State University. I recalled the book and him talking about meeting with the English director Ken Russell. I didn’t read the book back since it was only published in England and out of print. But this is a new age. I ordered a used copy online. What amazed me while flipping through the pages is noticing that Gomez had met Russell during the production of The Who’s Tommy. He even published photos from his visit in the pages. I don’t know how this fact didn’t register all those years ago. I was a massive fan of The Who’s Tommy. I owned the three copies of the original album, the all-star version recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and the movie soundtrack. The book’s focus was on how Ken Russell adapted his movies various sources. And I learned how he developed Tommy from a double record set to a major motion picture. In a moment of great coincidence, the 4K UHD of Tommy: 50th Anniversary Edition has arrived.
For those who never listen to a classic rock radio station, Tommy is a rock opera about a deaf, mute and blind boy who has a knack for playing pinball. Captain Walker (Mahler‘s Robert Powell) has to leave his pregnant wife (Viva Las Vegas‘ Ann-Margret) to fly a bomber near the end of World War II. His plane crashes and he’s presumed dead. She has her child Tommy as war is declared over in Europe. Six years later, she takes her son to Bernie’s Holiday Camp and encounters the very helpful counselor Frank (The Devils‘ Oliver Reed). The two get very close and she brings Frank home to form a new family. All seems great until Captain Walker shows up. Turns out he didn’t die. He surprises his wife and her new lover. Things go bad quick and Tommy is warned that he didn’t see anything, hear anything and won’t say anything. The trauma is so much that the child does go blind, mute and deaf. While this is good at first, his mom feels guilty and seeks out ways to bring her Tommy back (who has grown up to become The Who’s Roger Daltrey). This includes taking him to a healing priest (Eric Clapton) at a church that worships Marilyn Monroe, letting the Acid Queen (Tina Turner) haver her way with him, getting beat up by the sadistic Cousin Kevin (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band‘s Paul Nicholas) and molested by the perverted Uncle Ernie (The Who’s Keith Moon). Can anything get his senses back? In the midst of this, Tommy finds a pinball machine in a junk yard and proves to be a genius with the silver ball and bumpers. He beats the Pinball Wizard (Elton John) to claim the crown. A doctor (Batman‘s Jack Nicholson) might have a cure for Tommy to bring him back. Is this a good thing?
One of the things learned from Joseph Gomez’s book is how Ken Russell didn’t merely turn The Who’s record into the movie. He realized there were narrative gaps in the music. Instead of writing dialogue to connect the scenes, he had Pete Townshend write new songs and alter the lyrics in others. Pete ended up re-recording the entire album with the cast members singing their roles including Jack Nicholson. He incorporated the synthesizers of 1975 into the score that weren’t available in 1969 when the original record was released. He also brought in musicians other than the Who members to play on songs. This included Small Faces/Faces’ drummer Kenney Jones who would be The Who’s new drummer when Keith Moon died three years later.
Ken Russell’s visual excess is perfect for the rock opera. Just get an eyeful of Elton John’s costume as the Pinball Wizard. He constantly has recurring items throughout the film from silver pinballs to memorial poppies. Tina Turner gets to go completely out of control as the Acid Queen and Ken Russell’s camera cranks up her performance. The only thing that goes beyond Tina is when Ann-Margaret smashes the screen on TV set with a champagne bottle and out pours suds, chocolate and baked beans. This is the kind of film where Ann-Margaret rolling on the floor rubbing baked beans into her body makes complete sense. If you’ve never seen a Ken Russell films such as The Devils or Altered States, Tommy is the perfect place to start.
Tommy could have easily just been a giant rock video for the record. But there’s more here that miming to tracks. Ken Russell enhances the album with Pete’s new songs that fill in the plot holes. He gets deep into the idea of how quickly the once deaf, mute and blind boy can become a messiah to people looking for a trendy salvation. He brings out the best of his all-star cast. Tommy is not a musical with rock songs, but a fully formed Rock Opera. Fifty years after its original release, Tommy remains a powerful experience.
I do wish I’d realized Gomez was on the set at the time of the filming. I’d at least ask him if he was in any of the crowd scenes.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The new transfer was taken from the original 35mm picture negative and 35mm Color Interpositive in Dolby Vision. The enhanced image really lets you see the interplay between Keith Moon and Oliver Reed while working at their sleazy establishment. You can even spot Ken Russell hidden on stage and shooting the pinball battle. The Audio is 5.0 Quintaphonic mix in DTS-HD Master Audio that special theaters showed on the original release. There’s also a 5.1 Surround DTS-HD MA and a 2.0 Stereo DTS-MA Mix. The soundtrack is all music and pinball machines sounds so pick what works best for your speakers. The movie is subtitled.
Blu-ray disc has the new transfer at 1080p.
Shout! Factory presents Tommy: 50th Anniversary Edition. Directed by Ken Russell. Screenplay by Ken Russell. Starring Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Roger Daltrey, Barry Winch, Elton John, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, Keith Moon, Paul Nicholas, Jack Nicholson, Robert Powell, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Arthur Brown. Running Time: 112 minutes. Rating: Rated PG. Release Date: March 18, 2025.
Here’s the cover of Joseph Gomez’s book Ken Russell and photos he took on the set during his visit. I completely recommend his book.
