As someone once said, there's no such thing as a subtle opera. And if you bear in mind that Tommy is a self-styled rock opera by a less-than-subtle director (Ken Russell) and the guitarist (Pete Townshend) of the least subtle band in Brit rock (The Who), it's not surprising that it knows no subtlety.

Made in 1975, it's an extravagant tale of a child turned deaf, dumb and blind by early trauma, who later discovers a talent for pinball (?!) and becomes a pop deity. Russell had recently made The Devils and wanted to continue probing themes of organised religion; he even had a script, The Angels, ready to be made, but couldn't get backing for it. Which is where Tommy comes in, the bonkers Brit helmer spying the opportunity to accommodate his interests in lofty themes and base imagery (if it's naughty nuns or barely clad Blitz-era showgirls in gas masks you're after, call Kinky Ken) and throwing himself into it hook, line and flipper.

And yes, you can make a case for the film's flawed radicalism. Russell and Townshend hit plenty of buzz buttons, touching on themes of child abuse, social history, cult worship and consumerism with a formal palette that sucks up pop art, surrealism, science-fiction and the florid grandiosity of musicals. Phew. What's more, many of the cast rise to it, too: Roger Daltrey and Ann-Margret are excellent as Tommy and his mother, while Tina Turner and The Who's Keith Moon prove grotesque and watchable as The Acid Queen and pervy Uncle Ernie.

But from the dawn-of-man intro, through Ann-Margret writhing in baked beans, to a bare-chested Daltrey on a hang-glider, the silly symbolism, grotesque imagery and histrionics soon become tiring. As an index of how grating it gets, Jack Nicholson is about the subtlest thing here, though you can't say that for his singing voice.

Our advice? You should see it (and hear it, feel it...) the once. Just be sure to have a cold shower and some headache tablets at the ready...

DVD Extras:

There's plenty here - though perhaps not as much as you'd expect. An interview with Townshend maps out the film's history, although those with Russell, Ann-Margret and Daltrey aren't quite so detailed. The commentary, though, with critic Mark Kermode interviewing Russell, is tight and focused, and more of a pleasure to watch than the film itself. A feature on the film's ambitious sound mix fills out a solid package.