Tommy

"Your senses will never be the same."

1975 1h 51m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

🍅

71%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.6

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 389🍅71%Rotten Tomatoes●66Metacritic★6.6IMDB · 24,132

DramaMusic

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After a series of traumatic childhood events, a psychosomatically deaf, dumb and blind boy becomes a master pinball player and the object of a religious cult.

“Your senses will never be the same.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Oliver Reed
Frank
Ann-Margret
Nora
Roger Daltrey
Tommy
Elton John
The Pinball Wizard
Eric Clapton
The Preacher
Arthur Brown
The Priest
Pete Townshend
Himself
John Entwistle
Himself

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ken Russell
Writers: Ken Russell, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 6.9× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

51 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ken Russell, shot by Dick Bush. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Pete Townshend. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Stuart Baird shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Oliver Reed and Ann-Margret and Roger Daltrey carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Your senses will never be the same.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0073812 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ken Russell directs. Dick Bush behind the camera. Pete Townshend scores. Stuart Baird cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 6.9× over at the box office.
251 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Ken Russell, shot by Dick Bush. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Pete Townshend. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Stuart Baird shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Oliver Reed and Ann-Margret and Roger Daltrey carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Your senses will never be the same.".
8IMDB entry: tt0073812 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 37 themes, including "adultery", "child abuse", "rock 'n' roll", "1970s".

The technical file

Cinematography: Dick Bush
Original score: Pete Townshend
Editing: Stuart Baird
Costume design: Shirley Russell
Makeup / hair: George Blackler
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5,000,000
Box office: $34,300,000
Return: 686% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Tommy (1975)
Rotten Tomatoes: 71% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 66/100
IMDB rating: 6.6/10 · 24,132 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars. 2 wins & 5 nominations total

Also by

Ken Russell

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-02-18
★ 7/10
"Tommy" (Barry Winch) is a young lad who lives an almost zombified existence with his mother "Nora" (Ann-Margret) and her second husband "Frank" (Oliver Reed). Flashback tells us that her first husband (Robert Powell) was a gallant flier during the second world war who didn't make it through, and so born on VE Day, the young baby might have been forgiven for thinking that all the flags and fanfare was for him! The kid wasn't born like this, but a trauma somewhere along the line appears to have short-circuited his brain, and so now he doesn't see, speak or hear. Despite their best efforts - and those of a few rather curious family "friends" he remains steadfastly in his own world until a pinball game. He's an ace at the thing and soon the fortunes of his family see his mother rolling around in diamonds on a white carpet or attending gala night at the opera. "Nora" gets a bit frustrated one evening with her now grown up son (Roger Daltrey) and an altercation ensues that brings him, once more, to life - and a life in which he recalls the drama that sent him silent in the first place. Mirrors are quite central to the plot here, and it's one of them that convinces "Tommy" he has an almost Messianic role in life - and so the family start to enjoy an evangelical life that would put "Elmer Gantry" to shame. Wealth, fame, acclaim - but "Tommy" still needs one more thing - fulfilment! Fat chance, here, but what Ken Russell does do is offer us a roller-coaster of a ride as the characters that touch his life range from benign to perverse. Tina Turner is great as the slightly deranged "Acid Queen" and Elton John's "Pinball Wizard" is probably the highlight of this whole rock opera that leaves no aspects of this man's life untouched. Along the way, we also takes great swipes at the sentimentality and venality of life - and Reed takes up that cudgel with a natural aplomb. The star? Well that's got to be Ann-Margret who quite literally throws herself in to part, holding a note and a dance with the best of them. I didn't love the last twenty minutes, but I suppose however this ended was never going to be entirely satisfactory and I never really appreciated Daltrey as a sex-symbol before, but as this gathers pace and he loses his shirt, it's not hard to see why he shone here - physically and metaphorically. It's eclectic, a little hedonistic and meandering at times, but none the worse for that. Turn it up and let it loose.

Production companies