This Is Spinal Tap | | Cast : | Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest | | Director : | Rob Reiner | | Studio : | Mgm/Ua Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | March 02, 1984 | | DVD Released Date : | September 07, 2004 | | Language : | French (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 03, 2005 | | Summary | These go to eleven! | Content
 | This Is Spinal Tap is a truly great rock and roll comedy. Christopher Guest had been playing with a dense rock guitar player character called "Nigel Tufnel" since 1974, during his National Lampoon days (and before The Rutles). In 1979, the first version of Spinal Tap appeared in a sketch on a Rob Reiner TV special (with Reiner as Wolfman Jack). Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer combined their improvisational talents with comedy writer/actor Reiner's "mock-documentary" format to create the ultimate sendup of rock docs, interview prattle and aging musical idols. Commercial director/longtime Tap fan Marty DiBergi attempts to document "one of England's loudest bands" on their ill-fated American tour behind their latest album "Smell the Glove." Following the band on stage, under the stage, in hotel rooms and on the tour bus, DiBergi got that. But he got more. A lot more. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 17, 2005 | | Summary | This Movie Fits Me Like A Flesh Tuxedo...... | Content
| One word..Classic. Not only will you laugh your a*# off, but the music isn't bad at all! If you can get past lyrics like "working on a sex farm...." and "Big Bottom, talk about mud flaps, my girl's got 'em". And the actors play their own instruments!This music has classic lines(anyone remember "Hello Cleveland"?, and you'll bust a gut counting how many drummers the tap has gone through, and how their music venues somehow get smaller and smaller! Seriously, these guys are genius! And for extra fun and uniqueness, the commentary is done in character, and apparently the band members aren't too happy with Marty! I promise you, buy this dvd, any serious collector must have "Tap" in their collection! |
| Rating | | | Date | July 12, 2005 | | Summary | worth it for the armadillos in their trousers! | Content
| it's really quite alright to love,be obsessed with, and endlessly quote a classic like Spinal Tap if you have one or two like minded individuals around who can tolerate it. so to all those out there who know all the lyrics to "Sex Farm" "Big Bottom" and "Gimme Some Money" i salute you. it's just a movie, but it could it be more funny? the answer is none,none more funny...... |
| Rating | | | Date | July 05, 2005 | | Summary | hilarious | Content
| this movie is hilarious not too bad for an R movie a couple sex jokes and one burst where a guy drops the f-bomb like 7 times other probably PG-13
highly recommended for people who like rock or metal verry funny
"rockumentery" |
| Rating | | | Date | June 17, 2005 | | Summary | A loving satire | Content
| I love "This is Spinal Tap". However, one has to try to be objective. While the portrayal of a hardrock band on it's way down (IF they don't make it in, say Japan, that is...) is hilarious, as a movie the film has a serious flaw. There is virtually no story. It's are not going anywhere (Japan is not counting), it's more a series of funny sketches and songs.
Having said that, there are many many good things in this film. Like when the band sits and listens to reviews that have been written about their albums. How did they come up with all those stupid album titles? They sound just like something a heavy metal band would come up wi... ah, right. "IntraVenus de Milo", for example. And of course, "The Gospel According to Spinal Tap", that is accompanied by an appropriate review: "These prentetious Rock Psalms make you wonder on which day the Lord created Spinal Tap, and if He couldn't have rested on that day too." The band actually appreciates that review.
Great lyrics to all the songs, too. You can tell that the movie makers love hard rock music as they make fun of the clichés. Clumsy lyrics about sex ("Big Bottom" and "Sex Farm"), a song about the 'mysterious' Stonehenge, and my personal favourite "Rock and Roll Creation" that mixes concepts from different religions with secular origin science and turns it all into a song about... well, Rock and Roll.
"Twas the rock and roll creation
Twas a terrible big bang
Twas the ultimate mutation
Ying was searching for his yang
And he looked and he saw that it was good."
That's just ingenious.
Still, the problem is that with no overall direction for the story (there is no murder to be solved, no love to be found, and even the album is already recorded) makes the film a little bit tiresome to watch. Possibly the gags would have worked better if presented separated in a TV-show, so you don't get too much of the same at once. In "The Office", we have the unhappy love situation (among other things) that ties the show together. Here we have a series of great sketches and songs, that are of course related to each other, but not going anywhere. Oops, I've already said that. See, that's what I mean. It's the same.
But it's fun. The music actually rocks. Great parts that are larger than the whole. And look out for Billy Crystal as a mimer. |
|
