BLU-RAY REVIEW: TOOMORROW (1970)
In the early 2000s my wife Gina and I, along with Matt Weinhold, were lucky enough to attend an American Cinematheque screening in Hollywood for a psychedelic, rarely-seen 70s musical oddity called TOOMORROW. In attendance was the director, as well as the film’s lovely star, Olivia Newton-John! Since that screening, I’ve been yearning to experience the movie again in digital, remastered glory. And now, my cinephile prayers have been answered!
“Any of you cats mind a groove?”
Written and directed by Val Guest
Starring Olivia Newton-John, Benny Thomas, Vic Cooper, Karl Chambers, Roy Dotrice, Tracey Crisp
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Aspiring British pop band "Toomorrow" is a groovy, fun-loving group of young musicians who just want to make it big in the music world. But their far-out “vibrations” - courtesy of their Moog-inspired “Tonalizer” keyboard - soon draw the attention of music-deprived ALIENS known as Alphoids (!) The extraterrestrials kidnap the bandmates and transport them to their shimmering, pop art spaceship…so they can use their “youthful sound” to re-invigorate the astral music scene! With an upcoming music festival looming, the Toomorrow kids have to find a way to split the crazy outer space scene, so they can groove with their friends and fans!
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Featuring a young and breathtakingly cute Olivia Newton-John as the lead singer, TOOMORROW is a lively combination of THE MONKEES, THE ARCHIES, and SPACE:1999 (!) The oddball film was JAMES BOND producer Harry Saltzman’s and MONKEES music producer Don Kirshner’s attempt to bring a hip, pre-fab rock group to the big screen, combined with a trippy sci-fi slant. It was to be “The first Space Musical!” they claimed…
Despite being extremely dated, TOOMORROW is colorful, kitchy fun, boasting very catchy songs and groovalicious incidental music by composer Hugo Montenegro. The film obviously had a decent budget and has a slick, vibrant look. The perky, attractive cast give it their all, and you get British character actor Roy Dotrice adding a touch of droll humor as the lead Alphoid. TOOMORROW also works fairly well as a daffy sci-fi romp, featuring nifty OUTER LIMITS inspired aliens, and a uniquely designed spacecraft.
Writing and directing chores went to versatile filmmaker Val Guest (who helmed THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT, WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH, and THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE). But, messy business deals resulted in Guest never being paid for his work, and after a single cast & crew screening, the movie’s general theatrical release was all but cancelled. A soundtrack album (now quite rare) had already been put out, but gone were plans for sequels, more records, and live concerts. It looked as if Toomorrow had no tomorrow…
But there IS a tomorrow! The specialty blu-ray company DEAF CROCODILE, brainchild of writer/director and film programmer Dennis Bartok, has now released a beautiful, lovingly restored edition of TOOMORROW! The pristine print is dazzling, and the limited release includes an informative audio commentary by music historian Andrew Sandoval, visual essays, an archival interview with director Guest, and a hefty booklet with behind-the-scenes stories and photos. All packaged in a stylin’ hard slipcase. Truly, the ultimate TOOMORROW release!!
At the time TOOMORROW was made (1970), older producers Saltzman and Kirshner were criticized for not exactly having their fingers on the pulse of “what the kids like” with their groovy out-of-this-world musical/comedy/sci-fi extravaganza. The Summer Of Love vibe of the 60s was on its way out, making way for the more cynical attitudes and aesthetics of the 70s. But viewing the film today as an obscure, one-shot time capsule just makes it that much more fascinating, and irresistible. I for one LOVE this flick!
The first-run “deluxe” edition of the blu-ray featuring the hard slipcase and illustrated booklet is already sold out, but a standard version is still available at deafcrocodile.com. So if you’re a fan of retro pop culture, obscure cinema, feel-good tunes, and Olivia in her gorgeous prime, I highly recommend this disc! Check out some pics below…
They’re TOO much – they’re TOOmorrow!!
Shawn
Tonalizer Enthusiast
