The story concerns a child who witnesses his father being murdered by his mother and lover. His mother (who works in a ball-bearing factory) tells him not to tell what he saw or heard, so he becomes deaf, dumb and blind. He does have one gift, he can play pinball. The pinballs are identical to the ball-bearings from his mother's factory, and to the device later put in his eyes at the instigation of the doctor, Jack Nicholson. Tommy becomes a messiah figure to his followers until they realise they also have to become deaf, dumb and blind.

The film is based around an LP. It was becoming fashionable to produce theme LPs and Pete Townsend surpassed most by coming up with a story line (even if it at times does not fit). The story is inspired by the blues song Eyesight for the Blind by Sonny Boy Williamson, with the most famous song Pinball Wizard added to ensure there was a hit single.

The film is a series of visual images.

	In the church Marilyn Monroe replaces the Virgin Mary.  Under her statue blondes in Monroe masks give the sacrament of whisky and pills.
	But she turns out to be a fallen idol.
	Tommy rejects this religion, and Tina Turner's attempt to awaken his senses with sex and drugs also fails. "If your child ain't all he should be now, this girl will put him right. I'll show him what he could be now, just give me one more night".

Tommy emerges and becomes the new messiah with a mass following.
His parents exploit this.

The scene is based on the Who's LP "The Who Sell Out" where Daltry appears eating Heinz Beans etc to attack commercialism. Russell himself did advertisements for baked beans and soap suds (in his advert, to show how the soap suds simply disappeared down the sink he filmed the suds being pumped into the sink then reversed the film).

Daltry underwater almost drowned before the crew realised he was in trouble and dived in to help him.  Daltry burnt himself when running through the fire and the later takes show him holding his injured arm.

Most spectacularly when filming on Southsea pier a fire broke out seriously damaging the pier.  Ken used film of the real fire in part of Daltry´s running through fire sequence.

Other rock stars such as Elton John (Pinball Wizard) and Tina Turner (the Acid Queen) are spectacular in their video segments. Elton John was a possibility for a role in Ken Russell's Rainbow before he chickened out.

Eric Clapton (left) was too drugged out so Arthur Brown was brought in to make the scene more interesting.  Oliver Reed appears as the Father, Ann-Margret as the mother (she was nominated for an Oscar for the role). Jack Nicholson is the doctor.  Ken Russell's daughter (right) plays Sally.

Editing is by Stuart Baird. Cinematography is by Dick Bush and Ronnie Taylor. Costumes are by Shirley Russell.  Ken used in total a crew of 88. Tommy cost $2 million and took 22 weeks to shoot.

Russell can be seen in a wheelchair in one scene.

The church worshipping Marilyn Monroe with the row of Marilyns walking down the church aisle.

Dancers in gas masks in the London blitz sequences.  The war sequences were originally going to be black and white.

Running through the fields.

There are snakes crawling on a skeleton.

Daltry appears in a number of Christ images including crucifixion, walking on water, and walking on the beach with the fishermen (I will make you fishers of men).

He descends on Hells Angels from the air (a heavens angel), here reflected in the glasses.

The "cure" imagery is similar to that in Kubrick´s A Clockwork Orange.