Tommy
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: March 19, 1975 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
2
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
Ken Russell's filmization of Tommy is spectacular in nearly every way. The enormous appeal of the original 1969 record album by The Who has been complemented in a superbly added visual dimension. Read full review
90
NewsweekCharles Michener
Russell has created what is surely the loudest, most assaultive movie musical ever made and stretched the genre into a new realm - the phantasmagorical nightmare. [24 Mar 1975, p.24]
83
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
For all that Tommy bungles or overdoes, it’s still a powerful experience, musically and visually. Read full review
80
TimeJay Cocks
There has never been a movie musical quite like Tommy, a weird, crazy, wonderfully excessive version of The Who's rock opera. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Russell doesn't give a damn about the material he started with, greatest art work of the century or not, and he just goes ahead and gives us one glorious excess after another. He is aided by his performers, especially Ann-Margret, who is simply great as Tommy's mother. Read full review
70
The New York TimesVincent Canby
Mr. Russell's Tommy virtually explodes with excitement on the screen. A lot of it is not quite the profound social commentary it pretends to be, but that's beside the point of the fun. Read full review
70
Village VoiceAndrew Sarris
Tommy is turning out to be the kind of movie most people probably like more than they care to admit. Modest charm and unpretentiousness are hardly the qualities that I ever thought I would associate with Ken Russell, but there you are, and there Tommy is. [31 Mar 1975, p.68]
50
Chicago ReaderDave Kehr
This 1975 film's inventiveness begins to flag about halfway through, but by then it's a relief. Read full review
50
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
The Who's ludicrous rock opera was in fact tailor-made for the baroque, overblown images and simplistic symbolism of Russell's style, which only means that this is both the movie in which he is most faithful to the ideas and tone of his material, and one of his very worst films. Read full review
25
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Ken Russell applies his rococo outpourings to Pete Townshend's rock opera and botches not only the visuals but the fine score. Read full review
More From This Movie

66 Critic Reviews

8.1 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL