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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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21 - 40 (sorted by date)
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No review available.

comment Comment
08/29/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
07/02/03
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

It stays so wickedly close to the subject that it is very nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
04/04/03
Matt Bailey
Matt Bailey
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

A hilariously scathing indictment of the rock and roll lifestyle, and all the egoism and shallow philosophising that goes along with it.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
03/19/03
Brian Mckay
Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
01/27/03
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Mock "rockumentary" is wildly funny and deeply influential.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix

No review available.

comment Comment
09/03/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

The film is a composite of classic moments, all of which we sense could have happened to any of the classic heavy metal bands -- or at least to those whose members combined delusions of greatness with low I.Q.s.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
08/15/02
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Quite possibly the funniest spoof of all time.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/10/01
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

One of the funniest films of the 1980's.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
09/10/01
Scott Von Doviak
Scott Von Doviak
culturevulture.net

This Is Spinal Tap doesn't pull punches...

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
08/16/01
Jessica Winter
Jessica Winter
Village Voice

It was the first, and it remains one of the best, as Reiner’s shots at the big egos, small minds and incredible self-indulgence of overpaid rock stars consistently hit the mark.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
07/25/01
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

This Is Spinal Tapa comedy, but its consideration of the transience of fame and the band members' denial is ineffably and movingly sad.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
06/13/01
Jon Munn
Jon Munn
PopMatters

...a superbly executed, whimsical fit of improvisation and cinema verite pastiche that so convincingly created an awful '70s-'80s heavy metal band that the band itself lived on beyond the movie.

Full Review Source: Movieline | comment Comment
04/17/01
Michael Atkinson
Michael Atkinson
Movieline

This Is Spinal Tap about as funny and on-target as parody gets.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
03/27/01
Boxoffice Magazine

Although the movie is hilarious, I think it is the undeniable human nature of the loser characters that has kept the movie alive for so long.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
02/27/01
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

the bad-luck bad boys still don't disappoint in this ultimate roast of the music industry.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online

First of all, let's just clarify something: This Is Spinal Tap is the funniest film ever made.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ben Falk
Ben Falk
BBC

This Is Spinal Tap,"the funniest rock 'n' roll movie ever made...

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bruce Dancis
Bruce Dancis
Sacramento Bee
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date)
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all

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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On Friday, you'll finally be able to see John C. Reilly take center stage. He'll be playing Dewey Cox in Walk Hard, an absurdist spoof on troubled musicians and the Hollywood... More...

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
You'd immediately recognize the face (and the voice) from movies like "City Slickers," "Good Morning Vietnam," and "When Harry Met Sally," but you... More...

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