Who directed the 1975 film version of 'Tommy'?

Ken Russell directed the 1975 film version of Tommy. The British musical fantasy drama adapted The Who’s 1969 rock opera album, which tells the story of a boy who becomes psychosomatically deaf, mute, and blind before finding fame as a pinball champion and religious leader.

Russell also co-wrote the screenplay and co-produced the film with Robert Stigwood. Roger Daltrey played Tommy, while other major roles went to Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Elton John, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, Jack Nicholson, and members of The Who. The film turned the album’s songs into an extravagant visual spectacle rather than presenting the story as a conventional realistic drama.

The movie is sometimes confused with other films connected to The Who or 1970s British rock cinema. Pete Townshend created the original album and supplied the music, but he did not direct the film. Richard Lester and Michael Winner were separate filmmakers whose work is associated with other projects, not this adaptation. Tommy was released in 1975, with Columbia Pictures distributing it in the United States.