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Movies / On DVD / This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap

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This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

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Reviews Counted:51

Fresh:49

Rotten:2

Average Rating:8.6/10

Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: A brilliant and hilarious documentary-style satire of a has-been British heavy metal band who never really was on an absurd American comeback tour that never quite gets off the ground, THIS IS... A brilliant and hilarious documentary-style satire of a has-been British heavy metal band who never really was on an absurd American comeback tour that never quite gets off the ground, THIS IS SPINAL TAP practically birthed the mockumentary style. Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer are David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel, and Derek Smalls, respectively--three clueless, self-absorbed men who form the nucleus of Spinal Tap, aging purveyors of overwrought songs with titles such as "Big Bottom," "Smell the Glove," and "Sex Farm." Shot in faux cinema verité-style with director Rob Reiner as fictional filmmaker Marty DiBergi, the film lampoons just about every rock & roll cliché (not to mention every rockumentary cliché) in the book as it follows these fallen rock idols from one disastrous gig to the next. Scenes of the tour's descent from desperation into total collapse are interspersed with interviews in which the band members delightfully prattle on inanely about the none-too-illustrious history and dubious vision of Spinal Tap. THIS IS SPINAL TAP is a striking and acutely hysterical directorial debut for Reiner and a deserved cult classic. Watch for an endless array of cameos by wonderful comic character actors along the way. [More]

Starring: Spinal Tap, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer

Starring: Spinal Tap, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner, Tony Hendra, Bruno Kirby, June Chadwick, Fran Drescher, Anjelica Huston, Ed Begley, Howard Hesseman, Billy Crystal, Paul Schaffer, Dana Carvey, Patrick Macnee

Director: Rob Reiner

Director: Rob Reiner
Screenwriter: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Rob Reiner, Harry Shearer
Producer: Karen Murphy

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jun 30, 1998

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Reviews for This Is Spinal Tap

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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The story of an embarrasingly inept heavy-metal band called Spinal Tap, Rob Reiner's film set the mockumentary standard that has come to define much of modern screen comedy. [Blu-ray]

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
07/28/09
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

For music biz insiders, This Is Spinal Tap is a vastly amusing satire of heavy metal bands.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Scores an 11 (out of 10) for sheer inspired lunacy but it's the writers' unexpected fondness for their subject matter that puts the film in a class all its own.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
10/18/08
David N. Butterworth
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews

For all its japes and jokes, the movie is really about exhaustion of the spirit: sitting in a bleak hotel suite at 4 a.m. with the bad taste of last night in the mouth and the feeling that tomorrow will not be a better day.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
08/19/08
Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Hilarious, bitingly perceptive and cinematically assured.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
08/19/08
Channel 4 Film

Mildly funny, not a whole lot better than the best Christopher Guest mockumentary I'd seen before this, 'Best in Show.'

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
04/16/08
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

There had been countless documentary spoofs before This Is Spinal Tap, but this inspired put-on was the first to actually capture the texture and style of real documentary.

Full Review Source: Seanax.com | comment Comment
03/20/08
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seanax.com

Hilarious pseudo-documentary spoof of a British rock group that was so on-target in its satire, many viewers took it for the real thing.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
12/17/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The material is consistently clever and funny, though ultimately the attitudes are too narrow to nourish a feature-length film.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 3 Comments
12/17/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This superb satire became the standard against which all mockumentaries are evaluated. The film was so successful that the fictitious group reunited for a series of live concerts and a TV special, further blurring the line between real and reel.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
10/22/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

The satire is ever so refreshingly played straight, is seemingly benign and dead-on funny.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
06/03/06
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Reiner's brilliantly inventive script and smart visuals avoid all the obvious pitfalls, making this one of the funniest ever films about the music business.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

A towering achievement in cinema, music, and life art. Funnier and more prescient every time I see it. Any time they tour I will be there.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Brad Laidman
Brad Laidman
Film Threat

A mediocre satire of heavy rock bands.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment 7 Comments
08/21/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Duas décadas depois de seu lançamento, o filme continua a funcionar maravilhosamente bem em seu humor inteligente e sua crítica ácida sobre os bastidores do rock’n’roll.

comment Comment
06/16/04
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

No review available.

comment Comment
06/10/04
Sarah Chauncey
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com

No review available.

comment Comment
02/13/04
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
02/06/04
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
11/25/03
Michael Szymanski
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com

Simultaneously created the genre and broke the mold

comment Comment
09/02/03
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for This Is Spinal Tap

June 22, 2009: Spinal Tap Is Back from the Dead Opens in new window
A quarter century after walking the fine line between clever and stupid, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer are back together again as Spinal Tap, playing... More...

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April 27, 2007: When Is A DVD Worth $400? A Look At Criterion Collectibles
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August 16, 2006: Character Actor Bruno Kirby, Dead at 57
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