This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

Superb (m/r)ockumentary of the semi-fictitious band "Spinal Tap", made up of Michael McKean ("Lenny", soul mate of Squigy, on the TV series "Laverne & Shirley"), Christopher Guest (actor/director of "Waiting for Guffman"), Harry Shearer (performs voices of 22 different characters on "The Simpsons"), and a random selection of ever-changing drummers. The movie is a tongue-in-cheek parody of washed-up hard rock bands that still think they are God's gift to the universe. The inspired idiocy borders on genius at times, lending weight to Michael's observation that there is a "fine line between stupid and clever".

The DVD is simply amazing. For starters, everything is in character. From the style of the main menu title screen, to the menu voice-overs by the band, and extending through all of the extra material included on the DVD, the personas of the band (and the fictitious director as well) are maintained with perfect consistency.

What makes this all the more amazing is the shear quantity of extras on the disk. For starters, there is about an hour of "deleted" scenes provided. In addition, there are numerous music videos, TV commercials (fake I presume???), and trailers. And as if that weren't enough, there is also a commentary track throughout the entire film with the band members, completely in character, being as hilariously idiotic as they are in the film. The Spinal Tap commentary track is easily the most entertaining commentary in my extensive DVD library.

The DVD medium is put to splendid use as well. Menu transitions are computer animations inspired by some of the film's funniest moments. Each menu plays a different "Tap" song, giving you access to a decent percentage of the sound track. And, just as importantly, the animations are not overdone; the menus are still easy to use, and the transitions only take a few seconds.

Overall, this DVD is a great value, and provides a vast amount of material not available in the VHS version. If you are a Tap fan, or would like to be, you NEED this DVD!

Movie

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Originality: A

Creativity: A

Complexity/Depth: B-

Relevance/Message: B

Artistic Merit: A

Overall Entertainment Value: A



DVD

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Transfer Quality: A

Extras: A+

Use of Medium: A

It amazes me that to this day, nearly 20 years later, there are still some people who thought this was real. That Spinal Tap actually existed. It's hilarious. This film is truly one of a kind. It perfectly lampoons the life, success, and downfall of a rock group. The film is shot as a documentary, or as this kind of film is, a 'mockumentary'. It's being done by director Marty DiBergi(Rob Reiner, who also directed and co-wrote the film), who is best known for commercials. He chronicles the life of legendary british band, Spinal Tap. The members of this band include David St. Hubbins(the always great Michael McKean), who is the vocalist of the group. Nigel Tufnel(the brilliant Christopher Guest), is the lead guitarist. Big mustached Derek Smalls(the great Harry Shearer), is the bass player. They started out in the mid 1960's as a mellower hippy/pop type band with songs like "Listen(To What The Flower People Say)". The documentary chronicles that to where they are today. They turned into a long haired, heavy metal group with songs like "Big Bottom", "Sex Farm", and others. The entire film shows their struggles to maintain their career as it appears to be falling down the tubes. Producers won't release their album, concerts are cancelled, no one comes to autograph signings. The inner turmoil within the band is showcased as well. They suffered from we could call, 'the Yoko syndrome', where St. Hubbins' girlfriend, Janine Pettibone(June Chadwick), comes into the picture and causes friction within the group. Throughout the film and interviews, there are concert clips showing the band in glorious action. The film was written by our three stars, and they must have spent time in this world because many musicians have stated the authenticity of it all. Not only did they write it and get it down pat, but these three guys also wrote every song and really performed them. They might not of been a real group, but they could of been. Keep your eyes peeled open for appearances by Billy Crystal, Dana Carvey, and Fran Drescher at a party. Fred Willard and Ed Begley Jr., who have become Chris Guest regulars in his future films, appear here as well. Willard, as he will in the future films, steals every single frame he is in. Ed Begley, Jr. plays the band's original guitarist who died in an awful gardening accident. This continues as a running gag(that always works)thru the rest of the film concerning their drummers. The movie is funny. It's not the kind of comedy that a lot of people will get. Read the one star reviews below for that. It's a type of comedy that is very dry, but also very funny. If you are not in on it, you will not get it or respect it for what it is and is trying to do. Same goes for Guest's future films(Waiting For Guffman and Best In Show). The DVD comes with a great load of cool extras. The three guys, in character, give audio commentary. It's priceless. There is a new interview with Rob Reiner. There is a slew of other special features here. Over an hour of never before seen footage; Theatrical trailers; 6 TV commercials; an appearance on "The Joe Franklin Show"; 4 music videos for "Listen(To What The Flower People Say)", "Hell Hole", "Big Bottom", and one I can't remember the name of. It's a hysterical film that hits on every mark. Definitley the funniest movie about music ever made, and the all time best 'mockumentary'. And once again, just to make sure, this was not a real band. Go ahead and see this. It's one of a kind.

Buy This Is Spinal Tap (1984) Now

The gods of comedy rock, Spinal Tap, will be re-releasing theirhilariously brilliant mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap by releasing itin theaters again and presenting anew video and DVD version of the infamous film. MGM Home Entertainment notes that the 1984 rock comedy, about a fictitious over the hill heavy metal band on their comeback tour, will re-released on VHS and DVD after being out of print for several years. The new special edition home video versions of the film will boast new audio commentary from the cast, an hour's worth of deleted scenes, beefed up sound and video, and more. Some of the goodies turned up on a This Is Spinal Tap CD-ROM that surfaced in the early '90s and later on the first DVD version, but this new release will be different in many ways. Most notably, the new version will feature entirely new audio commentary. The previous DVD featured the cast members commenting out of character, this time actors Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Christopher Guest will offer commentary in character (as David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls, and Nigel Tufnel, respectively).

Read Best Reviews of This Is Spinal Tap (1984) Here

Well, Spinal Tap just won't give up. They're approaching 60 and still rocking. This new edition of the comedy masterpiece This is Spinal Tap is loaded with goodies, especially for die hard fans. The intro alone is worth the price of the DVD, with all three members (in character) commenting on the title sequence of the DVD. Then some commentary as you navigate the menu (especially funny is the subtitles bit). Then there are the extras! Man...some of the extras aren't the funniest, so it's obvious as to why they were removed from the final cut, but some are hilarious! My favorite out-take was a bit featuring Nigel (Christopher Guest) explaining to Marty Dibergi (Rob Reiner) the similarities between tradtional Indonesian music and true American Western music. This scene is as funny as anything in the movie. A nice touch is the audio commentary featuring all three in character as they analyze the truthfulness of DiBergi's representation and recall old times. Funny as hell. All in all, if you're a Tap fan, this will make you forget about the "Hellhole" you live in! A great continuation of the Tap legacy.

Want This Is Spinal Tap (1984) Discount?

This is the movie that turned me on to Christopher Guest's unique style of subtle comedy (though This is Spinal Tap is hardly subtle). After watching Best of Show and Waiting for Guffman, it's clear that this is disproportionately Guest's movie, despite the (obvious and extremely beneficial) shared writing credits between him, McKean, Shearer, and Reiner.

I recommend this movie to pretty much everyone who has an interest in music (especially the music of the 60's, 70's, and 80's) and a healthy sense of humor. No one is immune to this satire, with pretty clear (and not so clear) jabs at the Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and countless other groups. Add to that a "fake" music group that has about as much musical talent as some of the "real" groups from the era that they're satirizing, and you've got a masterpiece of a movie.

This DVD takes it another step and adds in over an hour of cut footage that adds a lot to the story, and adds a lot more laughs. It would have been nice to have the option to plug the outtakes back into the movie in their original places (like in the X-Men DVD), but merely having them there is a big plus in itself. Other extras, like commentary from the characters, music videos for some of their songs, multiple trailers and TV advertisement spots, and other more minor extras make this a must have DVD for anyone who enjoys this type of movie.

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