colinr0380 wrote: Wed Oct 21, 2026 7:54 am
All of that would reach its best expression in Russell's astonishing rock opera with The Who, Tommy, a few years later, which is perhaps the ultimate satire of the cult of celebrity and how the "deaf, dumb and blind kind who can sure play a mean pinball" is the perfect empty vessel to elevate into Messiah status (Ann-Margaret in Tommy is kind of in the equivalent role of Vanessa Redgrave in The Devils, made even more Oedipally perverse by also being the main character's mother!)
I can see where you’re coming from by describing Ann-Margaret as Tommy’s equivalent to Vanessa Redgrave’s Sister Jeanne because they both serve as the central hysterical woman in both films but I think that’s also ignoring a key difference between them which is that Ann-Margaret serves as the exploiter of Tommy’s condition, basking in the riches brought about by his pinball wizardry while Sister Jeanne is less the exploiter and more the exploited, her own lust for Grandeur being used to justify the destruction of Loudon while she herself is mercilessly violated without a second thought. I would actually argue then that Sister Jeanne’s counterpart in Tommy is Sally Simpson, both women who have a yearning to be with rock star like figures and who are exploited for their adoration until it devolves into apathetic cruelty (which also makes it a bit cheeky to have Grandeur’s actor Oliver Reed, the man lusted after Sister Jeanne, be the one to kick Sally away from Tommy).
Finch wrote: Tue Oct 20, 2026 11:39 pm
Clockwork teased a special announcement this last Sunday for this week. Hoping for a physical media announcement but dreading some idiotic merchandise.
I got a good feeling that Clockwork are going to expand US screenings for one more week. I just saw Instagram posts of LA theaters doing the same and I saw additional showtimes in my nearby theater.
