Critic Reviews
This Is Spinal Tap (1984) Rank 3 Reviews
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Divine Movie Reviews
Movie-Vault.com (Aaron Graham)
This "rockumentary" being released on DVD with a ton of features including the supplements on the video (music video, faux-pas greatest hits commercial) plus a slew of new features (commentary with the actors in character, interviews with director ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Movie-Vault.com (Aaron Graham)
Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
THIS IS SPINAL TAP is a
documentary...er, a rockumentary...er, a mockumentary... well...it's a parody of
a documentary based on a fictitious British heavy metal band called Spinal Tap.
Rob Reiner plays Marti DeBergi, a small-time director who wants ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
eFilmCritic
The film tells the story of fictional band "Spinal Tap" who are rapidly fading into has-been obscurity. After twenty years, numerous band member changes, and several musical mutations, they have "evolved" from a sixties Beatles-esque pop group, to an ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at eFilmCritic
Mutant Reviewers From Hell
This film goes a long way to supporting my theory that Britain is just basically a big insane asylum where the inmates think they're just being normal in a normal world. Those accents... tea time... thinking that Princess Di was actually hot... I guess ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Mutant Reviewers From Hell
Jigsaw Lounge (Neil Young)
It seems oddly pointless to go into detail about a comedy as funny, or as well known, asThis Is Spinal Tap- if you haven't seen it by now, do so. And if you haven't seen it for a while, go again. That's about all that needs to be said about a film which ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Jigsaw Lounge (Neil Young)
DVDTown.com (John J. Puccio)
...it probably helps not to like the music in order to appreciate the satire more. ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at DVDTown.com (John J. Puccio)
At-A-Glance Film Reviews (--)
Tiscali UK
Before I saw This is Spinal Tap my life was comedically a shambles. I was using bits and pieces of whatever early 80s sitcoms happened to drift through my transum, be they Three of a Kind or Kelly Monteith. Like most British Tap fans, I first saw this ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Tiscali UK
A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)
Easily the funniest mockumentary on rock music and certainly one of the funnier movies in recent years, "This Is Spinal Tap" is an example of when director Rob Reiner was making great films and not irritating relationship dramas.(Sorry, I can't get over ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)
DVDnett.no
Normalt pleier man å rive håret av seg for å oppsummere den omtalte filmen i en setning à la den ovenstående. I møte med denne filmen sitter dog parykken godt - vi snakker her om en av filmhistoriens mest siterte og refererte kultfilmer. Marty ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at DVDnett.no
The Digital Bits
As we pointed out in the review of the Criterion edition of this film, the only way to rate this film properly is by giving it an overall grade of "11". Why? Well, because this is the greatest of all rockumentaries. Forget Biography, Behind The Music and ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at The Digital Bits
The Digital Bits
As you can see, the only way to rate this film properly is by giving it an "11". This is the all-time mother of all rockumentaries. Forget Biography, Behind The Music or Lifetime's Intimate Portrait - this is what it's all about. This Is Spinal Tap made ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at The Digital Bits
IndependentCritics.com (Jacob Hall)
There is a reason why "This is Spinal Tap" works. The same reason why a well-done mockumentary always works: humor is not derived from set up situations, but from characters and their quirks. "This is Spinal Tap" doesn't ask for laughs, as so many ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at IndependentCritics.com (Jacob Hall)
DVD Review e-zine
In this era of "Reality TV", it can be easy to forget how entertaining fiction can be. And itâs easier to forget that fiction can be even more entertaining when itâs trying very hard to look like reality. "This is Spinal Tap" is a mockumentary -- ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at DVD Review e-zine
DVD Authority.com ("Fusion3600")
"We're Spinal Tap from the U.K., you must be the U.S.A.!" With these words, the world's loudest rock band kicks into gear and begins their latest touring effort, Tap Into America. Though the reaction hasn't been as overwhelming as they'd like, Spinal Tap ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at DVD Authority.com ("Fusion3600")
Movieline Magazine
The years (16 of them) have been nothing but kind to Rob Reiner's seminal mock-rockumentary, This is Spinal Tap, a superbly executed, whimsical fit of improvisation and cinema verite pastiche that so convincingly created an awful '70s-'80s heavy metal ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Movieline Magazine
Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
More than half of the new Voyager Company Criterion Collection presentation of the 1984 rock music documentary parody, This Is Spinal Tap (CC1390L, $100), is taken up with supplementary footage, something that becomes quite understandable when one ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
Riding on a wave of goodwill that engulfs the whole disc, the Voyager Company has gone back and remastered the Criterion Collection edition of Rob Reiner's The Princess Bride (CC1472L, $100), providing a slightly new picture transfer but also adding a ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
Andrew Hicks (Andrew Hicks)
The Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)
I can't tell you how excited I was when I learned that This Is Spinal Tap was not only coming to DVD but also getting a new theatrical release, too. I mean, here I am, the biggest Taphead -- or Tapgirl, as some of us femme fans like to be called -- in ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at The Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)
Orbital Reviews
A hack documentary filmmaker named Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner, also the director of the film) decides to follow a loud and horribly untalented British rock group called Spinal Tap on a United States tour of theirs. Their album sales are plummeting and the ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Orbital Reviews
PreViewed DVD
I'm a rock and roll kind of guy. In the 1980's, my ears rung from rock concerts, and I had plenty of black concert T-shirts to prove that I had really been there. Unfortunately, I was never able to see one of my favorite bands live. All was rectified, ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at PreViewed DVD
Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
If you can find someone who has never heard of This Is Spinal Tap, play the disc and see how long it takes for them to realize that it is a put-on. This "rockumentary," as Rob Reiner so seriously intones at the beginning, about an inept heavy metal ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
rec.arts.movies.reviews (David N. Butterworth)
Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek)
"Every instrument has its own personality. For example, I love the piano for the depth of its feeling. But the piano is not really an instrument -- it's really taking an orchestra, shrinking the people and putting them in a box. The guitar is actually ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek)
The Village Voice (Jessica Winter)
Despite a doggedly long life span and a celebrated cult documentary of their 1982 tour, Spinal Tap don't rate an entry in the encyclopedic All Music Guide to Rock, and even during their mid-'80s heyday, they were treated as a behind-the-curve novelty ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at The Village Voice (Jessica Winter)
Horror View
I don't write gushing reviews. I don't give away stars like candy. Hell, I'm a film student. We're trained to look at everything with a hypercritical eye. We are only allowed to enjoy obscure foreign movies and pretentious art films. Gushing reviews are ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Horror View
Jiminy Critic (Kyle Gilman)
The greatest of all fictumentaries, This is Spinal Tap is also one of the greatest comedy films made in the past twenty years. Combining three incredibly talented performers with one very funny director, and using an ideal method for imitating the ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Jiminy Critic (Kyle Gilman)
eye WEEKLY (Alex Patterson)
In this space back in 1995, I wrote about a bootleg of This Is Spinal Tap that I'd acquired. Although of punishingly poor image quality, this extended version of the 1984 comedy classic was three times as long -- four-and-a-half hours of rockumentary fun ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at eye WEEKLY (Alex Patterson)
DVD Breakdown
This fake documentary has probably gone further than any other in blurring the line between fiction and reality. Originally devised as a hilarious and sharp satire of the self-glorifying stupidity found in rock stars and their entourages, the Spinal Tap ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at DVD Breakdown
DVD MovieGuide
My first viewing of This Is Spinal Tap occurred during the film's general theatrical release in 1984. Actually, I took it in on 17th my birthday, and while I thought the movie was entertaining, I can't say I felt bowled over by it; the picture had ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at DVD MovieGuide
digitallyOBSESSED.com (Justin Stephen)
There is no use denying it, This Is Spinal Tap is a cultural phenomenon. This film, which came into being way back in 1984, is former All In the Family co-star Rob Reiner's first directorial effort. Reiner has since become one of the most prominent ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at digitallyOBSESSED.com (Justin Stephen)
Haro Online
Combine the rockumentary and the documentary and the result is This is Spinal Tap, the hilarious film that is enjoying a limited re-release with a restored 35mm print. Spinal Tap, a little over fifteen years old, still has the sharp bite and wit it had ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Haro Online
FilmDailies.com
This isnât a review of âThis is Spinal Tapâ documentary. This is a tribute to one of the loudest UK bands in Rock ânâ Roll history that goes by the same name. The band was not loved by music critics. An average review of the now classic album ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at FilmDailies.com
Philadelphia City Paper (Sam Adams)
by Sam Adams
Re-released for its 16th (?) anniversary, the celebrated mock-rock-doc hasnât lost any of its currency, even if the genre it parodies has since curled up its toes. (I donât think youâd find anything as benign as a cucumber in Fred ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Philadelphia City Paper (Sam Adams)
The Phantom Tollbooth
The movie is a spoof of other rock band documentaries, as it follows the North American tour of a fictional classic-rock group named Spinal Tap. Having gained huge fame in the '60s and '70s, the band is now playing "to a more selective audience" as they ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at The Phantom Tollbooth
DigsMagazine.com flick pick: THIS IS SPINAL TAP
Itâs 1982 and "Britainâs Loudest Band," Spinal Tap, has just embarked on a tour of America in support of its latest album, Smell the Glove. The band is clearly well past its heyday, though its members â singer David St. Hubbins, guitarist Nigel ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at DigsMagazine.com flick pick: THIS IS SPINAL TAP
DVD Town (John J. Puccio)
There are a lot of people who think heavy metal is a joke all by itself, and an equal number who take it quite seriously. So when Rob Reiner's satiric mock documentary "This Is Spinal Tap" came out in 1984, it delighted some viewers and outraged a few ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at DVD Town (John J. Puccio)
Reel.com
It's pretty funny that the first band film to be knighted with the term "rockumentary" is both the best of its kind and a complete fraud. The depiction of "England's loudest band" is so convincing that you're dragged right down with them as Nigel Tufnel ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Reel.com
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
It's very special, because, as you can see--the numbers all go to 11. Right across the board. Eleven, 11. . . . And most amps go up to 10? Exactly. Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder? Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not 10. You see, ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
La Movie Boeuf (David N. Butterworth)
Sixteen years ago, a bunch of comedy writers (among them Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer) got together and wrote a rock documentary, a "rockumentary" if you will, about a British heavy metal outfit called Spinal Tap. They cast ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at La Movie Boeuf (David N. Butterworth)
The Cranky Critic (Chuck Schwartz)
Most studios wait for a proper double digit year to release a Special Edition of a classic (meaning: old) film. Somehow, it is appropriate that, sixteen years after it crashed like the proverbial led zeppelin, MGM sees fit to reissue This Is Spinal Tap. ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at The Cranky Critic (Chuck Schwartz)
DVD Journal
Despite the hype in 1999 about how The Blair Witch Project was fresh, new and original, the "mockumentary" concept is certainly nothing new. While the technique has been used to enrich serious films â like Reds and Citizen Kane â it reaches full ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at DVD Journal
PopMatters
Sixteen years ago, a young filmmaker named Marti DiBergi set out to capture, in his words, "the sights, the sounds, and the smells" of a workhorse British rock band named Spinal Tap. With a small crew by his side, Marti filmed the group during their ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at PopMatters
DVD Verdict (Bill Gibron)
This Is Spinal Tap is found not guilty and is free to go. All charges against the cast and crew are dropped. MGM is found guilty of failing to provide contextual insight into the making of this masterwork as part of its DVD presentation and is sentenced ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at DVD Verdict (Bill Gibron)
The Spinning Image
Heavy metal rock act Spinal Tap have the reputation of being one of Britain's loudest bands. To promote their latest album Smell the Glove, they go on a tour of America, closely followed by film maker Marty Di Bergi (Rob Reiner) who is making a ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at The Spinning Image
Doug Pratt's DVD Review
The first cut of the 82 minute rock music comedy ran over four hours, so there is a wealth of material to draw from for a supplement, and the DVD bulges with extras. Rob Reinerâs precious 1984 make-believe documentary is letterboxed with an aspect ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Doug Pratt's DVD Review
DVD MovieGuide
Long considered a cult classic, This Is Spinal Tap has taken on new significance in the decade of the aging rocker, and dead-on satire secured it a place in history as one of the funniest films ever made. Tracing the steady demise of an aging English ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at DVD MovieGuide
Movie Magazine International (Monica Sullivan)
For no other reason than that a good laugh is just as crucial in the 21st century as the 20th, "This is Spinal Tap" is returning to the big screen for the benefit of old fans & new. The group Spinal Tap was meant to be satirical, but they somehow wound ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Movie Magazine International (Monica Sullivan)
Teen Movie Critic (Roger Davidson)
As far as I know, no other film in the history of cinema mocked "rockumentaries" and Heavy Metal music so cleverly as Spinal Tap. Director-actor Rob Reiner made his film debut with this side-splitting look at a fictitious British rock band. The irony ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Teen Movie Critic (Roger Davidson)
Weekly Reviews (Nathan Weinbender) - Capsule
Edinburgh U Film Society (Ben Stephens)
An obvious spoof of Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz, Spinal Tap is introduced as a "documentary, or if you will Rockumentary" and aims to "capture the sights, sounds, and smells of a hard working rock band on the road". In The Last Waltz it was The ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Edinburgh U Film Society (Ben Stephens)
Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
Back in my early days of being a movie aficionado, I made a blanket statement to my friends, calling This is Spinal Tap (1984) a perfect film. Its very format, the mock-documentary made it so, I said. It didn't have any screenplay, editing or camera ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
Movie Magazine International (Mary Weems)
Well, the appeal of "This Is Spinal Tap," director Ron Reiner's 1984 Mocku - Rockumentary, only gets stronger, and, no wonder, what a perfectly tuned, deadpan, right-on, take-off on the rock scene, with Christopher Guest as pouty rocker Nigel Tufnel; ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Movie Magazine International (Mary Weems)
Movie ram-blings (Ram Samudrala)
The band is on an American tour, facing problems with a dwindling fan base as well as a lack of support from their label who finds their latest album cover misogynistic. Covering the tour is a documentarian, Marti DeBergi (director Rob Reiner) who wants ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Movie ram-blings (Ram Samudrala)
Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
Quite possibly the funniest spoof of all time, Rob Reiner's debut feature This Is Spinal Tap is so jam packed with classic moments that it leaves us giggling helplessly from start to finish. It's played dead straight as a documentary--no, ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
DVDBeaver
The deleted scenes here are the cream of what was cut-- the cameos by Dana Carvey, Billy Crystal, Fran Drescher, Bruno Kirby, Paul Shaffer, and others are all much longer and funnier, Kirby's and Crystal's in particular. ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at DVDBeaver
Film Frat
Despite its greatness, This Is Spinal Tap does suffer a bit from the fact that it pre-dated the heyday of the hair metal explosion, which could have lent itself to some more good gags that seem to be missing from the film. And some of the jokes here have ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Film Frat
BBC Films (Ben Falk)
First of all, let's just clarify something: "This Is Spinal Tap" is the funniest film ever made. So it's a welcome return to the big screen for David St Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel, and Derek Smalls 16 years after their first visit. ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at BBC Films (Ben Falk)
Nitrate Online (KJ Doughton)
Since the release of This Is Spinal Tap in 1984, many a band has been asked the question, "What was your most "Spinal Tap" moment?" Hell-bent on getting embarrassing exposes and candid retellings of onstage or in-studio blunders, rock journalists ask ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Nitrate Online (KJ Doughton)
Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
This cultish clever rockumentary is helmed by Rob Reiner (also stars as filmmaker Marty DiBerti) and is written by Mr. Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer; it's a pseudo documentary that intends to chronicle the comeback American ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
CinemaZone.dk
For nylig annoncerede den agtværdige engelske ordbog Merriam-Webster sit 11. oplag med ordene "We go to eleven!". Det må vel være et af de bedste beviser på den udbredelse This Is Spinal Tap efterhånden har fået. Filmen fejrer 20 års jubilæum og ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at CinemaZone.dk
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