Review of Tommy: The Movie

Introduction

Periodically mega-successful bands turn their hand to film, with wildly varied results. The Who`s Tommy and Pink Floyd`s The Wall are perhaps two of the best known albums that have hit the big screen.

The Who`s 1969 rock opera album Tommy was critically acclaimed on release and tells the story of a deaf, dumb, and blind boy that launched the band to international superstardom. Written almost exclusively by Pete Townsend, Tommy was described as a breakthrough work by many commentators on release and in 1975, director Ken Russell brought the songs to the big screen via an all-star cast including Oliver Reed, Ann-Margret, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Paul Nicholas, Jack Nicholson, Tina Turner and of course the band.

Video

The video comes in 4:3 full-frame and is very disappointing, with a great deal of dirt evident throughout the movie, a grainy image and a flickering picture that is not particularly detailed.

Visually, the film features the life of Tommy and his family, and is set during different time-periods and in numerous different locations. Most of the scenes are well shot, if a little cheesy at times, and of course you get to see some of the biggest rock stars performing in their heyday.

Audio

The sound comes in a choice of Dolby Digital Stereo or PCM Stereo. I tried both variants and found the PCM Stereo track to sound much better – with more "life" to the music. The Dolby Digital Stereo track sounded a little flat in comparison. Neither soundtrack however sounds great, with the music sounding 26 years old, with non of the power and range we`ve come to expect from music DVDs nowadays.

The songs on Tommy are a mixed bag, with some classics like Elton John`s rendition of "Pinball Wizard" and others let down by the dubious singing ability of the stars (Oliver Reed and Jack Nicholson for example).

Features

The disc is totally devoid of any extra material and comes in a clear Amaray Case with no insert.

Conclusion

I`m from the school of thought that would like to see rock stars stay as rock stars and not branch out into other fields of media. In the case of Tommy, I`d much rather sit down and listen to The Who performing the songs on CD than a myriad of music stars and actors singing the songs in a film that is inherently uninteresting and tedious.

In comparison, Pink Floyd`s 1982 filmed version of The Wall retains the band performing the songs along with powerful visuals and is a far superior package in every respect.

The video and sound are not especially fantastic and there are no extras on the disc, so this one goes into the "for true fans only" pile, especially when it has a £17.99 price tag.