Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

This Is Spinal Tap Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 15, 2009

Rob Reiner's cult "This is Spinal Tap" (1984) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The disc is loaded with supplemental features: an audio commentary, six featurettes, a number of outtakes, trailers, TV Spots, music videos, and more. Subtitled in Danish, French, German, Finnish and Swedish (but not English). Region-B "locked".

Funny?

First, a bit of history: When This is Spinal Tap premiered during the mid-80s, it was anything but an instant success. Initially, those who saw it were divided into two camps - one that could not stop praising the film for its originality and intelligence (famous critic Roger Ebert was part of it), and another that found it to be incredibly dull, misleading and even insulting. To this day, I side with the second camp. Are you still reading?

This is Spinal Tap follows the deeds of a fictional British rock band. Its members have a distinctive glam look - though, nowadays, one could successfully argue that they were more hair-metal than glam - and the overwhelming majority of the time do and say incredibly stupid things. When they perform in front of their fans, Spinal Tap typically resemble a group of teenagers who have suddenly been given the freedom to play with very expensive and very loud musical instruments.

The film is conveniently structured as a pseudo-documentary. Director Reiner plays filmmaker Marty DiBergi who questions the members of Spinal Tap - Nigel Tufnel, David St. Hubbins, and Derek Smalls - while they are touring the U.S. He talks to them about their music, their records, their fans, and personal lives. As expected, they provide him with an array of idiotic answers.

Halfway through This is Spinal Tap, one of the musicians phones his girlfriend in England and invites her to join the tour. She does, and a couple of canceled shows later, she becomes the new manager of Spinal Tap (the old one resigns after he gets incredibly frustrated with the girl). The rest of This is Spinal Tap is a never-ending soap opera where the musicians exchange jabs with their record label and consequently each other.

In 1985, Roger Ebert wrote the following about This is Spinal Tap: “The movie is absolutely inspired in the subtle way it establishes Spinal Tap's badness. The satire has a deft, wicked touch. Spinal Tap is not that much worse than, not that much different from, some successful rock bands.” I can only guess what successful rock bands the famous critic had in mind when he produced the above description, as I most certainly do not find the film to be even remotely convincing as a satire. In fact, there are so many poor generalizations in it that, if anything, it actually satirizes its creator’s lack of understanding of how the music industry bred and sold rock bands to the masses.

This is Spinal Tap also promotes the notion that, by large, successful rock bands knew very little about proper marketing and business. One of the “funniest” scenes in it is about a discussion addressing the cover for Spinal Tap’s latest album. After some revealing comments about what sells, the band’s record label approves and delivers a plain black cover – a very well calculated jab at rock fans and their supposed willingness to swallow anything their idols would put on the market. My point: what was “wicked” in 1985 made perfect business sense for Matallica on August 13, 1991.

The overwhelming amount of the dialog in This is Spinal Tap was improvised, and it certainly shows. I recall that some of the references to AC/DC’s Bon Scott, for example (who died in his own vomit), had a lot of the Australian band’s hardcore fans very upset.

All of the music in This is Spinal Tap was written and performed by the very same actors who play the members of Spinal Tap (they are all professional musicians). Director Reiner contributed as well.

This Is Spinal Tap Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Rob Reiner's This is Spinal Tap arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.

This is a good transfer. Given how the film was shot (16mm), contrast, clarity and detail are all satisfying. The color-scheme is fairly consistent, with reds, blues, greens, yellows, blacks and whites looking - as intended by director Reiner - slightly faded. More often than not, film grain is noticeable. Edge-enhancement is not a serious issue of concern, though a few times I was able to spot its presence. Macroblocking does not plague the transfer either. I noticed a few tiny flecks popping up here and there, but large debris, scratches and dirt are nowhere to be seen. Finally, when blown through a digital projector, the film looks remarkably stable. All in all, This is Spinal Tap probably looks the best it ever has. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" disc. Therefore, unless you have a native Region-B or Region-Free player, you will not be able to access its content).

This Is Spinal Tap Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English LPCM 2.0 and French LPCM 2.0. I opted for the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and later on did a few random comparisons with the English LPCM 2.0 track for the purpose of this review.

Generally speaking, the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track sounds very good. The bass is surprisingly potent, the rear channels a lot more active than I expected them to be, and the high frequencies not overdone (there are absolutely no distortions that I detected). The dialog is crisp and easy to follow. Additionally, there are no serious balance issues either. For the record, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings.

The English LPCM 2.0 track is very strong. In fact, there are a number of scenes (the Stonehenge gaffe) where I thought that the English LPCM 2.0 track was a lot more effective than the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Specifically, to my ears the dynamic amplitude of the English LPCM 2.0 track felt a lot more natural than that of the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. So, experiment with both and see which one appeals to you better. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional Danish, French, German, Finnish and Swedish subtitles. Strangely enough, there are no optional English subtitles.

This Is Spinal Tap Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features on this disc are in PAL. Therefore, if you reside in North America or another region where PAL is not supported, you must have a Region-Free player capable of converting PAL to NTSC, or a TV set capable of receiving native PAL data, in order to view them. All supplemental features, including the audio commentary, are subtitled in French and German.

Audio commentary - if you enjoyed the film, then you would love this commentary. The members of Spinal Tap deliver a mock commentary where they "recall" how the film was made, what made their characters fascinating to behold, etc. After awhile, however, the mocking gets pretty annoying.

This is Spinal Tap - some well known celebrities talk about how incredible the film is. (1 min).

Sprinkle some ****in' fairy dust on it - Reg Pressley from the band Troggs talks about a well known incident that was immortalized by Spinal Tap in This is Spinal Tap. (5 min).

2007 Live Earth - director Reiner introduces Spinal Tap at Live Earth. (7 min).

The Return of Spinal Tap - Bob Geldof introduces Spinal Tap at Blighty for another memorable doze of humor and music. Additional interviews with director Reiner and members of the band are included. (58 min).

Stonehenge Interview With Nigel - an interview in five parts with some not so intelligent, but occasionally hilarious, comments about Stonehenge. (10 min).

Outtakes - a massive gallery of cut scenes. (68 min).

Original theatrical trailers - two trailers (5 min).

Music Videos - "Gimme Some Money", "(Listen To The) Flower People", "Hell Hole", "Big Bottom"

Creative Meeting and Bitch School Video - the famous sexy video (5 min).

TV Spots -

Heavy Metal Memories - yet another spoof. (2 min).

Cheese roll trailer - cheese and This is Spinal Tap, what do they have in common? (2 min).

Flower People Press Conference - (2 min).

Featurettes - "Home Video and DVD", "The Controversy", "Back From The Dead", "Influence", "Mick Fleetwood", and "Music".

This Is Spinal Tap Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

During the years, This is Spinal Tap inspired legions of fans who remain convinced that it is one of the funniest films ever made. I am not one of them. To this very day, I find the overwhelming amount of the humor in it to be incredibly poor. I also find the film's message to be painfully misleading. To each his own, I guess. Nevertheless, those of you who hold This is Spinal Tap in high regard will definitely be pleased with Optimum Home Entertainment's Blu-ray release - it looks and sounds great!