Critic Reviews
This Is Spinal Tap (1984) Rank 4 Reviews
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based on (91) reviews
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Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
The children born at Woodstock are preparing for the junior prom, and rock `n' roll is still here to stay. Rock musicians never die, they just fade away, and ``This Is Spinal Tap'' is a ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Zap2it.com
Sixteen years after Rob Reiner's This Is Spinal Tap originally was released, this pioneering "mockumentary" is returning to theater for a limited run. ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Zap2it.com
Empire Magazine (Simon Braund)
Reiner’s brilliant “rockumentary” sends up its subject matter and the documentary form, with such deft perception that confusing it with the genuine article is an easy mistake to make. ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Empire Magazine (Simon Braund)
Sacramento Bee (Bruce Dancis)
This Is Spinal Tap," the funniest rock 'n' roll movie ever made... ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Sacramento Bee (Bruce Dancis)
Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
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. ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
This superb satire became the standard against which all mockumentaries are evaluated. The film was so successful that the fictitious group reunited for a series of live concerts and a TV special, further blurring the line between real and reel. ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
eFilmCritic.com (Brian Mckay)
A hilariously scathing indictment of the rock and roll lifestyle, and all the egoism and shallow philosophising that goes along with it. ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Brian Mckay)
Netflix (James Rocchi)
Mock "rockumentary" is wildly funny and deeply influential. ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Netflix (James Rocchi)
E! Online (--)
the bad-luck bad boys still don't disappoint in this ultimate roast of the music industry. ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at E! Online (--)
Boston Herald (James Verniere)
Crazy for Cinema
There are those people who have never seen THIS IS SPINAL TAP and those that have seen it over and over again. I happen to fall into the latter group and am appalled that there are people in this world who have not experienced the joy of watching this ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Crazy for Cinema
GamePro.com ("Dan Elektro")
Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
They're loud, they're misogynist, they're wasted, they're extremely stupid, and they have armadillos in their trousers. This is Spinal Tap was essentially the first and still the best episode of Behind the Music ever. The good times, the ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)
There have been plenty of mockumentaries since 1984, but with the exception of "Waiting for Guffman," none has come close to matching this one. Nor has Reiner made its equal, despite his many successes. In an era when every ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)
Steve Rhodes
THIS IS SPINAL TAP includes some hokey old blackandwhite television clips of the band when they were just a bunch of dorky boys with bowl haircuts, lightyears from their current longhaired sophistication. Quite an informative documentary, we learn that ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Steve Rhodes
filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
Perhaps the first, and certainly the best, entry into the mockumentary genre. Spinal Tap is responsible for so many American aphorisms (like "turn it up to 11") that it ought to be in the National Film Registry. Insanely funny.
Of special ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
DVD Verdict - Special Edition
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 - Special Edition
Audio Revolution
This Is Spinal Tap’ has been hailed in many quarters as one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll movies ever. Never mind that this rockumentary is really a mockumentary and that the members of the British band Spinal Tap – Nigel Tufnel, David St. ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Audio Revolution
Movie Reviews UK
A spot-on spoof rockumentary, This Is Spinal Tap casts a shrewd and knowing glance over the rock'n'roll industry. As the director of the film, Marty Di Bergi (Rob Reiner), says, he decided to film the group on their first US tour in 6 years because they ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Movie Reviews UK
DVD Talk (Jeremy Kleinman)
While some will refuse to purchase this film because the captions were left off of the transfer, and they will try to hunt down a copy of the Criterion Collection version of the film or wait until MGM realizes and corrects its error, this film is ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at DVD Talk (Jeremy Kleinman)
Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
Now that VH-1's "Behind the Music" and other rockumentaries are an increasingly regular part of the cable TV landscape, Rob Reiner's directorial debut, the 1984 mock documentary "This Is Spinal Tap," seems even more dead-on in its parody of a group of ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
FireBlade Coffeehouse DVD Reviews
I really wanted to diss this disk. I mean, they forgot to put in the ‘subtitles’ that were in the original, and when they discovered that, obviously, they had used the wrong print of the film, they just went and put fake fake subtitles where the real ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at FireBlade Coffeehouse DVD Reviews
David N. Butterworth
Many audience members didn't realize that Spinal Tap was a fictitious band before they entered the theater back in 1984, and so deadon was the parody that some still didn't realize it even after they had left. Not surprisingly, "This is Spinal Tap" ...read the complete This Is Spinal Tap movie review at David N. Butterworth
from $4.14 (14 sellers)
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