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The Return of Spinal Tap

The Return of Spinal Tap

List Price: $29.99
Your Price: $26.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Save your money unless you're a die-hard collector
Review: I was disappointed. Essentially, the video is a low-budget film of a Spinal Tap concert, with a few silly moments. The best parts are interviews with people like Rob Reiner and the Air Force base captain (played by Fred Willard). If the video contained more of those interviews, I would have rated it higher. Too bad that such interviews lasted only a few minutes. I liked the original movie, but I wouldn't necessarily want to sit through an entire Spinal Tap concert. Unfortunately, this video asked me to do so, and I respectfully fast-forwarded my way through 90% of it. Save your money, unless you're a die-hard collector of Spinal Tap memorabilia.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "Return of" Rules
Review: I would never have expected a sequel so spectacular to what is one of the funniest films ever, but Guest, Shearer, and McKean really outdid themselves. Nigel's inventions which include an amp capo and a folding wine glass are hilarious

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: For hardcore Spinal Tap fans only
Review: If you are looking for more of "This is Spinal Tap", this DVD is not for you; however, if you are looking to see a classic Spinal Tap concert, this DVD is for you!

As others have said, this is a very long concert with very brief "Where are they now?" comedic skits (not enough to satisfy the average fan of "This is Spinal Tap") in between each block of songs.

In fact, there are times you will even forget you are watching Spinal Tap (and not a boring VH-1 concert with a mediocre 80's hard rock band) because much of the concert footage is just that, concert footage (with some stage gags occasionally thrown in during their trademark songs to remind you that you are watching a Spinal Tap concert).

Make no mistake, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean are good musicians for being actors; however, their songs are designed to sound musically cheesy with humorous lyrics, and so the listening replay value kind of goes out the window if you aren't paying attention to the funny lyrics (unless you enjoy mediocre sounding hard rock/metal).

Also, being an import, this DVD is on the pricey side; although, this may be the last chance to own an entire Spinal Tap concert on DVD. Having said that, I love Spinal Tap; they are comedic geniuses! Just keep in mind with this DVD, you are getting a concert, and you won't make the wrong purchasing decision.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: For hardcore Spinal Tap fans only
Review: If you are looking for more of "This is Spinal Tap", this DVD is not for you; however, if you are looking to see a classic Spinal Tap concert, this DVD is for you!

As others have said, this is a very long concert with very brief "Where are they now?" comedic skits (not enough to satisfy the average fan of "This is Spinal Tap") in between each block of songs.

In fact, there are times you will even forget you are watching Spinal Tap (and not a boring VH-1 concert with a mediocre 80's hard rock band) because much of the concert footage is just that, concert footage (with some stage gags occasionally thrown in during their trademark songs to remind you that you are watching a Spinal Tap concert).

Make no mistake, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean are good musicians for being actors; however, their songs are designed to sound musically cheesy with humorous lyrics, and so the listening replay value kind of goes out the window if you aren't paying attention to the funny lyrics (unless you enjoy mediocre sounding hard rock/metal).

Also, being an import, this DVD is on the pricey side; although, this may be the last chance to own an entire Spinal Tap concert on DVD. Having said that, I love Spinal Tap; they are comedic geniuses! Just keep in mind with this DVD, you are getting a concert, and you won't make the wrong purchasing decision.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Essential viewing for any Taphead
Review: Let me start off by saying that This is - Spinal Tap would rate among my favourite comedies, if not my favourite movies of all time. Having made it through my teenage years on a staple diet of mullet metal like Kiss, Led Zeppelin and Iron Maiden Spinal Tap was always the perfect parody of metal, particularly 70s and 80s metal at is most err eccentric.

Having said that people should not go out and hire this movie expecting a direct sequel to the original. From the looks of things, given the Bob Geldof cameo, this was a charity performance at Royal Albert Hall for BandAid or Comic Relief or something put on by Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean in their Spinal Tap gimmics.

This is predominatly a live concert video of songs from the original movie as well as the "followup album" Break Like the Wind. The musicianship is excellent, particularly the lead work from Nigel / Guest and they still haven't lost their satirical edge when it comes to sending up the metal genre. Of particular note is Nigel's big solo spot where he juggles whilst playing guitar with his foot.

Interspersed with this are skits where Nigel and David return to their child hood neighbourhood and we catch up with Marti Di Bergi and where his film making career has taken him. The most priceless segments of Return of Spinal Tape are the movies revelations of what David, Derek and Nigel have been doing in between the two movies, which time wise are set 10 years apart. David receives a stipend for his work coaching a women's soccer team, Derek inherits his father's business as a telephone sanitiser and Nigel delivers more timeless lines detailing his work as an inventer and animal rights activist.

Being much more music orientated than the original people who are not fans of this genre of music will not get as much enjoyment as they did from the original and may even want to fast forward to next vignette / skit of the guys off stage. This would be a perfect companion to This is Spinal Tap if it was also made available on DVD, possibly in a boxset with the original. While not essential viewing like This Is Spinal Tap, anyone who is a fan of the first movie should not pass up the chance to watch this film.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Very poorly done!!!
Review: Man was I ever bummed when we watched this!!! It was NOTHING like the VHS copy we rented recently. The sound mix is terrible. You cannot hear ANY of McKean's guitar. Also, there are no subtitles, so unless you have memorized the songs you miss nearly all the humor because the vocals are buried in the mix! DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic
Review: One of the most hilarious films ever

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 3 weeks into soccer camp: give me ma damn ball!
Review: Single criticism: Martin Short should have been used onstage as well. And now:
The Ol' back-bone Tappers have done it again! Oh my...self, whoever cannot get a chuckle out of this one needs therapy (or a pulse check;i.e, you probably are dead...clinically). Once more Guest, Mckean, and Shearer (or their pontentially "musical powers" identities: Tufnel, St. Hubbins, and Smalls) have made an all time comedic classic. One could say I learned of Tap too late; that is unless you figure 2004 as being appropriate. I bought this DVD expecting, like all sequels, something less than stellar. What I got out of it was pure grandeur, another anthem to those who love to rock...while laughing their asses off simultaneously. A very pleasurable aspect of the film was how good Christopher Guest is on guitar, he can sure play a wicked solo or two. This is a film which in my mind surpasses Spinal Tap in terms of overall entertainment; it is nowhere near as fresh and groundbreaking in terms of the laugh-meter that This is Spinal Tap was, but it is amazing to watch 3 well known comics duke it out on stage and put together a fatastic performance. Mckean's interspersed, typical smart-ass lines make the movie a delight and, again, Guest plays a mean guitar!!! Favorite part of the film? Tough question...Perhaps St. Hubbins talking about his stipend, "You see a stipend is... money. But because it's such a small amount...they call it a stipend." ahaha. Another moment of hilarity by way of Smalls, after the opening descent from the rafters: "Does anybody else's balls hurt?!!" I didn't see Guest or Mckean break a smile, but that must have been so off-beat as to make them want to laugh. On-stage, Guest essentially becomes a rock'n'roll iconic herculean man-god, his antics (customary head banging w/ fist thumping) at the beginning of the Diva song broke me up. The, shall we say, vertically limited gentlman's (this guy was on Seinfeld?) onstage dancing in the arabic attire was great, Guest playing the clarinet only made it better. Before last, the "Potato Wear," a clothes shop for itchy Irish clothing was another quick one coming from Mckean. Ok, now lastly, the funniest part about this film was how well their peformance turned out and how very few mistakes were made in fretting the instruments (apart from Mckean's strings being dubbed out).
"The question is: How much more black could it be? And the answer is: Well none...none more black." - Nigel Tufnel

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Entertaining Tap live concert
Review: Spinal Tap had a revival of sorts back in the early 90s while grunge was rearing it's greasy head--which was a good thing, for as rock was getting "heavy" and serious and dark and depressing, the Tap showed up again with the glint in the eye to bring some irony back into rock. This DVD is 90% concert footage, held at the Royal Alber Hall in September, 1992, after their US tour, with occasional skits and pieces between the songs. If you are looking for a follow-up to the original masterpiece of a satirical film you are looking in the wrong place. But here you can see that the Tap are not only gifted comedians but decent musicians too, and they rock live...Kind of like the Monkees, though better. All the songs are presented well, my favorites being the majestic America and StonehengeÂ's mandolin break. Harry Shearer's double dollar sign bass is a hoot as is Nigel's Marshall stack guitar turned up to 11.
It's a good show, in Stereo on the DVD (not mono as stated in an earlier review) and well-shot. The mixed ages crowd really gets into the show, and it's fun to see the different hair styles. Remember, this was September 92. Grunge had been popular about a year. So you see long straight hair along with the remaining big permed hair with the bangs and the mullet dos. Fun stuff, kind of like the time Homo Sapiens and Neanderthal man were still sharing the same apartment. All in all a welcome addition to your Tap collection, and fun to see the band actually sticking it to your ear hole.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: See this movie a soon as you can! * * * * *
Review: Spinal Tap is the best thing to happen to the modern world since since really small sliced bread. If you do not know what I am talking about, then it is time you watch this movie. Once you see the hilarious antics of Derek Smalls, Niguel Tuffnell, and David Saint Hubbens, you will never be the same.


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