Unfortunately I never had a chance to see the movie in theaters when it first came out. I saw it for the first time on video in 1990. Did it look wild seeing it on a huge screen like that? I can imagine the beans and chocolate scene taking on a different dimension like that.
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i saw it on the big screen in 1975 when i was 14 and it blew me away. the only other film i had seen that had impressed me so much before that was 2001 a space odyssey, which my dad took me to see when i was 7.
shareI too saw it on the big in Leicester Square, London in 1975 when I was 16 and was totally taken aback by the soundtrack pumping through the speakers.
shareI've seen this film twice on television but would love to see it at the cinema, the way it should be seen.
shareI saw it when it was first released in Sydney and they had a special sound system with humungous speakers installed especially for the screening sessions ... they made your ears melt and your teeth shatter ... it was great. Now I'm sixty and wear a hearing-aid.
But you ARE Blanche ... and I AM.
OMG it's like vincebruno11 is a UK replica of me LO - I saw tis @ 14 on the big screen too and...... my dad took me to see 2001 when I was 7 as well..... EKKKKKKK
sharei'm not from the u.k though, i'm from the u.s. lol.
shareLOL
I'm from the UK and vincebruno11's message could have been written by me!!!
Kill the spare
What a wild trip of a double feature it can be,
Tommy
2001: A Space Odyssey
Saw it at 14. 2nd showing at the D.T. cinema. I also went to see 2001 with my family at the Cooper theater. Dad spent most of the time in one of the smoking lounges on the sides.
My best ("trippy") double-feature: Tommy and The Wall. 1984 at the Uptown.
I saw Tommy on a Friday night at the Leicester Square Theatre, London in 1975. I was 22. The soundtrack was so loud that I went deaf for two days. My girlfriend at the time kept asking me why I was shouting at her. I am now 56 and hard of hearing. I blame Ken Russell.
shareI was 11. It was showing in one of the larger Cinerama Domes in SoCal, adjacent to another dome showing "Murder By Death." I used to go in and sneak between the two and was totally and completely obsessed with the movie, the music, and Elton John (back when he was really cool!) for YEARS.
It is hard to explain the significant impact a film like this can have on an adolescent when nothing like this had ever been seen on the big screen.
Saw it when it came out at the theater when I was 20.
shareI saw it several times in San Francisco when I was 28 and totally in love with the Who and, particularly, Roger Daltrey. I had seen it on stage in opera form at a kind of underground theatre at Ocean Beach in SF, so I was totally blown away by the visuals of the film. I have since re-evaluated my initial obsession to acknowledge flaws in Russell's version, not the least of which is that Tommy almost immediately looked dated. However, I loved it on first viewing.
"Adapt and Overcome"..VM
I was 13 when I saw it on the big screen. I was so excited to see it after having the soundtrack for so long. Loved the beans and chocolate.
shareThey show it in L.A. quite frequently considering it's such an old movie...but the best treatment it ever got was the summer of 1994 as part of a film fest of some kind, "big movies, big sound" or something. It was at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood: http://www.preservation.lacity.org/node/372?size=_original They had posters in the marquee and stuff from the film in the theater, they really went all out to make the screening special. The print was new and impeccable with a newly restored soundtrack overseen by Pete himself, I remember the sounds flying at you from all corners of the theater. It played a week and I went three times, forcing different friends to go with me and they were all blown absolutely out of their chairs. The highlight was always the rousing cheer when Ann-Margret started singing "Champagne" with the bottle, it made it clear why a lot of us were there and I hope she got to have a special screening and see how appreciated she was.
The obvious differences from watching the movie on TV: 1) It was so loud you were deaf by the end of it, which my friends say is exactly how it was in its original 1975 run 2) the images and colors being bigger and brighter made the overall impact more intense and emotional but mostly 3) without being able to pause/take a break, you realized how long the film gets, especially when you have a friend who doesn't know how long the movie is going to be and has to go to the bathroom!
The downside was that a lot of people were talking and singing along, clearly a lot of people had gotten stoned before the screening, but it was so damn loud that was hardly a problem. It looked great, sounded incredible and seemed like an absolutely timeless experience.
And speaking of "2001:A Space Odyssey", that showed there too and proved that that's really the only way to really appreciate that amazing movie. The original "Fantasia" in the restored "Fantasound," and "This Is Cinerama" too. I'm glad the Cinerama dome is still around even if they sometimes resort to showing less than stellar movies...
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds
I saw it in 1975 on the big screen. I was totally blown away by Ann-Margret's performance (it took me a little while to figure out she was the same girl from "Bye, Bye Birdie." I've been her fan ever since!
shareHa ha, funny you should say that, I didn't realize at first it was the same person either, I'd always loved her in "Bye Bye Birdie." Well, she does look (and act!) pretty different...I thought at first she must be some British actress, since you never actually hear her talk in Tommy.
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds
I was 5 when the movie came out and never had a chance to see it during it's original release. I'm a huge Who fan and just popped in my 19 year old VHS tape of Tommy. Despite constant viewing and it's age it still plays perfectly.
My question to anyone who saw this movie when it was released: Was this movie a big hit in 1975? I ask because besides The Who, you have Clapton, Tina Turner, and Elton John in a rock musical. I would think the buzz on this movie would have been insane. I remember geeting the soundtrack LP in 1985 and listening to it as I continuoulsy scanned the inner cover. It just had an epic feel to me. I know it didn't shatter box office records but was this received well by the music industry and the fans back then?
I just know when i wasn't enjoying the movie for it's music or Daltery's performance(just outstanding)I never got tired of staring at Ann's hour glass figure. Now that's what a real woman's body should look like.
My friend was a teenager when it came out and he said it was a BIG event, teens would line up around the block to see it at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood. He went to it several times because that's what you'd do then, and every time there was a line. I have a magazine parody too that makes a joke about it being hard to get in because of all the stoned out rocker teens waiting in line. Must have really been something!
I was 9 and the only thing I heard about it at all was that Elton John was going to be in his first movie and it was a "rock movie." I knew about "Jaws" and "Towering Inferno" and movies like that but "Tommy" slipped right by somehow.
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds
I saw this in 1989 on VHS for the first time. I was 11 then and my mom came in and mentioned that was Ann Margret and told me a little about her. I was mesmerized by her as soon as I saw her on screen and my mom said it looked nothing like her in the beans scene but I knew it was her all along and not a stand in.
shareSaw it in the big dome theaters in LA when I was 9. IIRC, this is when Dolby sound had just been released in a couple of select theaters and the sounds and effects were amazing. A bit much for a 9 year old but I also remember seeing Exorcist 2 years earlier at 7 and Clockwork Orange plus Harold and Maude around the same time period.
Errr, See parents... I'm only slighty f'ed up today. LOL!!
I started my life as a movie buff at a very young age and I wouldn't have it any other way. For the kids nowdays who are hating on this movie because they don't understand it... it's just that. Probably better off if they stuck with another "Ernest Goes to Compton" or "Harold and Kumar go to the Deep South and Vanish". Deep thinking is likely not your forte.
I think of all the people on this thread, I was the youngest when I saw Tommy on the big screen, at the age of six. This movie left a LONG lasting impression on me & I talked about it for years to come. My mom had a cassette tape of Tommy that I quickly claimed as my own after seeing the film as I was obsessed with Tommy, at the ripe old age of six. As an only child, my parents took me everywhere, including to see this movie! Still can't help but watch it when it comes on VH1, even though we own the DVD.
My son, who is now 13, discovered The Who about four years ago and they became one of his favorite bands and you're not a true Who fan until you have a Tommy viewing. When he found out his dear old mom had seen it in the theater (and his grandparents no less!), I garnered some cool points that I use to my advantage when needed: "hey, don't forget, I saw Tommy on the big screen!"
"I think of all the people on this thread, I was the youngest when I saw Tommy on the big screen, at the age of six"
Gotcha beat there, therogers. I was four. Cine Capri theater in Phoenix :) Would have had to have been March or April 1975.
Last month I had a conversation with my parents about how when I was four they wouldn't let me see Jaws that same year. I joked to them, "oh but seeing Tina Turner pumping Roger Daltrey with acid...that was okay." Looking back I think they were right about not letting me see Jaws at the age of 4.
I was 14. Very impressionable age. The visuals - the music - the cast. Wow.
Watched it again last night and gave it to my 18 year old daughter to watch. She liked it, too.
Watching it again as an adult was interesting, because I was able to 'get' some of the parts that went completely over my head as a naieve 14 year old.
From Canada, I was living & working on Maui over the winter in 1979. TOMMY came to the local Kahalui theatre in 1979 for a two - three week gig.
After a month or so things are very quiet and serene on Maui.
And then I saw TOMMY.
Overwhelmed, stunned, blown away, shocked.
THis was the hottest thing I had ever seen; I knew and loved the music from the double LP of TOMMY but Ken Russells amazing visuals completely shot my mind into overdrive.
I went back and saw it every night -I never got tired of it. Of course I was in love with Ann-Margaret (a fantastic performance, she was HOT). But Oliver Reed was almost powerful; and Roger Daltry brought a light-hearted version of the title role to life. And Tina Turner - that whole music and scene is still relevant and hot in 2008.
Honestly, in "What about the boy?" after Tommy first sees his bio father, and the music builds ominously, then Capt Walker is killed; & Ann-Margaret wails "What about the boy?" I yelled and jumped right out of my seat - the electricity was that strong
No kidding, the full bore high volume music was spell-binding to feel and hear.
I saw it on the big screen last night. It was playing at a midnight retro theatre run. I had never seen it before (I'd like to note that i'm 18) and I didn't love it like I thought I would but I didn't hate it either. IMO I really think it was a movie that was in it's prime in the 70's and has lost some of that to newer generations. I love the who but it just wasn't my favorite movie. I really think that Pink Floyd's the wall is a much better movie by comparison.
share"I really think it was a movie that was in it's prime in the 70's and has lost some of that to newer generations."
That's a shame because this film has so much to say and is very relevant in today's world: celbrity worship (worse now that it was in the 70s!), organized religion turning into cash-cows, alcoholism, sexual abuse..."Tommy" has something to say about all these things. And does it brilliantly.
It would be nice if the younger generations "discover" ths film.