Stars: Andrew Divoff, Rob Reiner, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, June Chadwick, Ed Begley Jr., Michael McKean

Director: Rob Reiner

Summary: Hilarious story of a British rock band on their disastrous cross-country tour of America.

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 verite-style with director Rob Reiner as fictional filmmaker Marty DiBergi, the film lampoons just about every rock & roll cliche (not to mention every rockumentary cliche) 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.

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The comedic genius of This Is Spinal Tapis confirmed by the fact that a majority of studio executives were utterly clueless about its brilliance. As a first-time director and cowriter, Rob Reiner must have felt simultaneously frustrated and elated, knowing that the obtuseness of movie executives was a clue to his debut project's potential greatness. Now, of course, the clarity of hindsight and the rarity of superior satire have turned This Is Spinal Tapinto one of the funniest documentary spoofs of all time. Reiner and the members of "Tap" (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer) couldn't have picked a better target for their satire, because heavy metal music in the early 1980s was already a borderline case of self-parody. From the bizarre, premature deaths of the band's drummers to the backstage squabbles over sexist cover art and meddling groupies, this movie scores about a hundred comedic bull's-eyes for lampooning every possible aspect of rock pomposity in the age of Kiss. It's a virtual bible of rock &roll irreverence, so accurate in its observations that it's become a tour-bus classic for real bands around the world. On the one-to-ten scale of satirical inspiration, This Is Spinal Tapis like the modified amplifiers that Christopher Guest so hilariously demonstrates: this one goes to 11. --Jeff Shannon

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen, 16:9 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Audio Commentary By Spinal Tap, Catching Up With Marty Di Bergi, Never Before Seen Footage, Original Theatrical Trailer, Promotional Materials, 4 Music Videos, TV Commercials, Booklet
Subtitles:	English, German
Year:	1984
Release Date:	October 16, 2000
Runtime:	80 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	16146 D V D
Keywords:	Special, This, Comedy, Two, General, Edition, Wide, Screen, Spinal, Tap, Discs
Genre:	Comedy