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This Is Spinal Tap - Criterion Collection

This Is Spinal Tap - Criterion Collection

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The review that goes up to 11.
Review: Not only is THIS IS SPINAL TAP one of my favorite comedies, but you almost get three movies in one package. There is over an hour of deleted material (albeit, most of them were deleted for a good reason), but what makes this version of the DVD shine is its commentary track. Keeping with the mockumentary feel of the film, the three main cast members provide insight on the movie IN CHARACTER, taking stabs at Rob Reiner's character, all the while trying to improve their tarnished image portrayed in the film. Even the animated menu is funnier than some films' actual content. This DVD definitely goes to 11.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the Funniest Movies of All Time
Review: It is not hard to make the argument that This is Spinal Tap is one of the funniest movies ever. It is brilliant from start to finish and is so rich with hilaious dialogue and physical acting that it will stand the test of infinite viewings. Rob Reiner is at his best in this movie, and keeps up admirably with the constant improvisation of the films stars. The camera never misses a beat, and if it does we don't know because it always finds something funy to focus on. Consider the scene in which the band's manager Ian is having a conversation with studio rep Bobbi Fleckman on the obscene nature of the album's cover (a woman is being forced to smell an outstretched male hand wearing a black glove). He more or less threatens to put out the album despite store boycotts. Fleckman dismisses the idea by saying "money talks and [b.s.] walks." The camera is not on her as she says this, it is instead on Ian's face as he displays a hilarious look of bewilderment at the uttering of such a statement which he seems to have taken a little too literally. It is moments like these that will continue to pop up and amuse viewers forever, should they tire of the bigger jokes in the movie. Indeed that is the mark of a great comedy.

The advantage that This is Spinal Tap has over other comedies is that it's subject of rock and roll and in particular rock stars, has perpetually been the provider of unintentional comedy. The behavior of the band in this movie, as hilarious and over the top as it may be, can never be too far from the truth. For an example of this, think of how an all black cover is a comedy piece in this movie, and yet a few years later Metallica released one of the most successful albums of the past 20 years with an almost identical cover. Thats not to say that Metallica is on Spinal Tap's level of absurdity, but it is just proof that no matter what lengths the movie goes to in order to poke fun at rock stars, it can never stray too far from the truth. That provides even more depth and humor to a movie and helps to further cement its reputation as a true classic.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bigger than Derek's Cucumber
Review: Perhaps the funniest non-slapstick movie ever made, "This is Spinal Tap" is a welcome addition to any DVD collection. Though the format has been best utilized for action and sci-fi films, this comedy DVD truly does the film justice.

The transfer is exceptionally clear and crisp, with bright, vivid colors and a great sound mix. The extras are quite funny and entertaining -- very much worth your time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Brilliant movie and a very good DVD
Review: This early Rob Reiner effort really showcases the brilliance of the actors involved, as Reiner gave them characters and some direction and allowed them to ad lib much of the dialogue, which gives the movie a true sense of being an unscripted, behind-the-scenes "rockumentary" rather than a work of fiction. It was an experiment which could easily have failed, but the entire acting troupe -- led by the underrated Christopher Guest as intellectually challenged lead guitarist Nigel -- take on the lives of their characters so well that each scene is a comedy vignette that can stand on its own as well as working perfectly to advance the story.

The DVD itself is well worth owning. The animated title sequences, complete with new Spinal Tap narration, are hilarious in their own right (though they get a bit tired after you've watched the DVD a few times). The deleted scenes are OK to watch once, but they're really just more of the same stuff that was in the movie, and like most deleted scenes really demostrate the wisdom of the director in choosing to leave them out. The real added value in the DVD comes from the interview with Rob Reiner, done completely in character as Director Marty DiBergi (the character who made the original rockumentary) and the alternate audio track featuring Tap's three core members, all in character, watching the film with you and commenting on it from a current-day perspective. It almost makes it a whole new movie, as you listen to them complain about what a back-stabbing hack DiBergi was, and as they ad lib new anecdotes about things that happened off camera. All-in-all, far more interesting than the usual "director's commentary track", though it does color the way you'll watch the movie from now on, even with the track turned off, because you'll remember their "current" remarks about "what was REALLY going on."

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not superb cinima but entertaining all the same
Review: Yes it was funny and yes the songs made me laugh. If you rent this you will be happy. Workin' on a ... farm!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Classic
Review: What more can you say. This movie is a classic comedy on the world of Rock and Heavy Metal. If you have followed bands like Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Dio, Rainbow etc for years you will see what life was probably like on the road for these bands.
Even after all these years I'm just amazed how well written this movie is.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Cool... Film!!
Review: this is without a Doubt one of the Coolest Looks into theMusic Business that I have ever seen.Funny,Original&one of those Films that ages easily.the cool thing about this Film is that it relates to all styles of Music because I was Like I could see many different Acts pulling the EGO Driven Swagger that is so Known within the Biz.ROb Reiner Nails it all here.I Laughed so Hard Non-Stop!!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: THIS MOVIE ISN'T FUNNY!!!!!! DON'T BUY IT!!
Review: THIS MOVIE ISN'T FUNNY!! DON'T BUY IT! I watched it the whole time waiting for it to be funny, the only funny part was something about crackers being shaped wrong it's NOT funny!!!!
Don't waste your money!!!

i warned you!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The yardstick by which rock'n'roll silliness is measured...
Review: I've nothing to add about the quality of this picture - without a doubt it's the funniest rock spoof of all time (well, it's not exactly hard, is it? Can you think of another one that's actually funny?), but for my money I can't think what beats it for the title of funniest movie of all time, bar none.

I'm curious, though, that a couple of people mark it down as seeming 'tame' compared to what rock bands do now. Come again? Surely this misses the point? Spinal Tap was, and is, a dead-eye satire; it was not intended to be overblown at all. This is why so many people (including me, first time) didn't realise it was a spoof and consequently rated it a dull documentary about a bad band - it's completely on the money.

The bands of the seventies really did all this stuff - a lot of it is based on recorded fact. What is more amazing - and more telling, is that bands since haven't stopped! Bands STILL have umlauts over the wrong letters (Queensrÿche!), they STILL record experimental jazz concept albums (Radiohead!), they STILL release albums with black on black covers (Metallica!).

This film functions as a handy reference point for when rock bands can still be taken seriously and when they have gone over the edge into parody. All you have to do is ask: could Spinal Tap have done that?

So: Eric Johnston claims to be able to be able identify the brand of battery in his distortion pedal by the sound it produces. Sensible, or Tapular? TAPULAR!

Steve Vai plays a seven string guitar. On an album called Passion and Warfare. Sensible or Tapular? TAPULAR!

Radiohead insist on playing in their own tent so no corporate sponsors can advertise. sensible or Tapular? TAPULAR!

And you know what? the cucumber scene isn't even nearly the funniest. The little vignettes are what make tap so rewarding to rewatch. Every time you'll pick up a new point. Nigel (from Squatney!) takes a cue off Jimmy Page, but plays hisguitar solo not with a violin bow, but a violin! And then stops and tunes it half way through! Genius!

Truly, truly inspired.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: DVDeBergi and Tap give us a lot more
Review: This review will only talk about the features included on this DVD. My review of the movie proper was posted December 1, 2000.

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My favourite part of this collection has got to be the animated graphics between the different sections, a shining example of which is the title card for the "Special Features" section, which emerges from the insides of Derek's trousers wrapped in tin foil.

Running a close second is the audio commentary. Chris Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer don't do a typical cast commentary. Instead, they, as their Tap alter egos (Tufnel, St. Hubbins, and Smalls respectively) perform a 'Mystery Science Theatre 3000'-style vivisection on the film, and the people involved in its making. Director Marty DiBergi is a manipulative backstabber. Manager Ian Faith is a thief and a liar. Keyboardist Viv Savage is a drooling buffoon and an unconvincing lip syncher. Even the boys themselves can't stay out of the way of the pointed barbs (Smalls: "Hello! Yellow Trousers. What was that idea?" St. Hubbins: "Well he [Nigel] had taken up golf."). The track's best running joke: Every bit player or background extra is thought to have passed on ("See the Philipino guy in the background? He's dead..."). Then, typically, when they get to the scene by Elvis' graveside, they quite obviously remark, "He's dead", before launching into the off-key harmonies of 'Heartbreak Hotel'. This level of necrophilia shows that after 20 years, as David says, the boys have too much perspective.

The commentary is like another mini-film, pasted on top of the original. Obviously all improvised, it shows that the Tap are still very much in touch with their vivid characters.

The rare outtakes section, when watched in one sitting, forms a nice little alternate movie to the original. There's over an hour's worth of material here, and it's all golden. But, surprisingly, it's rarely funny. Rather, we get a different glimpse into the character's lives: Derek (who gets a lot more airtime here) was dealing with the fallout from a messy divorce; we meet David's long lost son; and we see what Nigel was up to during his hiatus from the band. I found it fascinating, and it furthered my own notion (touched upon in my original review) that the Tap are more than just cartoonish caricatures. They are meant to be living breathing people with real lives. The outtakes show this side of them nicely.

Additional features include a press conference during the "Flower People" days that offers Tap's most direct spoofing of the Beatles (Q: "How do you find the girls on tour?" A: "Turn left at the men"), a brief and grainy clip of Tap on the Joe Franklin Show, and three cheesy (pun intended) commercials for some kind of pizza pastry product called "Rock and Rolls". All, while not enhancing the movie watching experience in the slightest, are the kind of detailed miscellanea that make Tap so intriguing.


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