Released in 1984, This Is Spinal Tap was by no means the first so-called mockumentary film, nor even the first about a fictional music band. (For one, The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash predates it by several years.) However, even though not a huge financial hit during its original theatrical release, Spinal Tap grew so much in stature and influence over time that it became perhaps the defining example of the genre, the template that countless later movies and TV series have imitated, rarely if ever to such perfection.
This Is Spinal Tap also marked the feature film debut as director for former All in the Family sitcom actor Rob Reiner. The secret to his success in this first outing was committing to the concept so thoroughly that the movie could easily be mistaken for a real documentary.
| Title: | This Is Spinal Tap |
| Year of Release: | 1984 |
| Director: | Rob Reiner |
| Watched On: | Blu-ray |
| Also Available On: | 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Various VOD rental and purchase platforms |
Reiner also appears on-camera in Spinal Tap, playing Marty Di Bergi, a hack director hired to make a promotional documentary about a the latest North American tour for a washed-up British heavy metal act hailed as “one of England’s loudest bands.” To call the group a One Hit Wonder would suggest that it ever had a real hit, rather than just a handful of also-ran tracks that sound somewhat familiar but never actually topped the charts. The three primary members – David (Michael McKean), Nigel (Christopher Guest), and Derek (Harry Shearer) – are middle-aged has-beens desperately clinging to whatever proximity to fame they ever once had. Their tour winds up a disaster of canceled shows and countless technical screw-ups.
Of course, all that is obvious. Spinal Tap is a very famous, popular, and influential film. The genius of the movie is how understated Reiner and the cast play it. This isn’t the type of comedy that goes for big laughs with obvious punchlines. The humor is almost all derived from small character moments.
That the jokes feel less like jokes than like genuine humiliating experiences for a trio of musicians at one of the lowest ebbs of their shared career has helped This Is Spinal Tap endure as one of the rare comedies that not only survives, but thrives on repeat viewings without wearing out its welcome. The famous parody songs are also surprisingly quite musically sound, even catchy. As ridiculous as their lyrics might be, if you told me “Big Bottom” or “Hell Hole” came from real bands of the era like Kiss or Quiet Riot, I’d almost believe it.
In this watch, my first in a number of years, I got a big kick out of seeing all the famous (or soon-to-be famous) faces I didn’t remember being in the film (Fran Drescher, Bruno Kirby, Anjelica Huston) and those whose screen time is so minimal they’re barely recognizable. In honing this very short, 82-min. movie down to only the footage he knew he needed, Reiner cut Billy Crystal playing a mime waiter at a dinner party almost entirely out of the picture. Dana Carvey, who wouldn’t rise to fame on Saturday Night Live for a few more years, plays another mime in the same scene.
After This Is Spinal Tap, Rob Reiner would go on to make a stunning run of more than half a dozen excellent films in less than a decade, including instant classics Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally. Sadly, that winning streak would come to an abrupt end in the mid-1990s, after which the director long struggled to regain his mojo. Whether the belated sequel, Spinal Tap II, will mark a return to form remains to be seen as I write this. From the trailers, I can only adopt a stance of cautious optimism for now.
The 2009 Blu-ray
20th Century Fox released This Is Spinal Tap on Blu-ray back in 2009. At the time of this writing, a newly remastered 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray edition is scheduled for physical media release from the Criterion Collection in just another week, on Sept. 16, 2025. Strangely, despite the obviously intentional tie-in, that disc will come out after Spinal Tap II premieres in theaters on the 12th.
I opted not to wait. I had interest in rewatching the movie now, before Spinal Tap II, and I’ve had a copy of the older Blu-ray in my collection for years. Let me be very clear that the disc under review here is the Blu-ray from 2009, not the new remaster. My apologies if you clicked on this article expecting otherwise, but my goal in running this blog is not just to cover brand new releases. I think it’s also important to rate how older discs a collector may already own hold up over time.
One of the reasons for my hesitation, if not indifference, to the prospect of a 4K upgrade for this title is that This Is Spinal Tap was never really meant to look all that great. By design, the movie should look like a documentary, shot on 16mm film for a low budget under mostly makeshift lighting conditions. It’s supposed to look a little rough around the edges. That’s kind of the whole point of the thing. Unless something terribly wrong happened to the previous video master (which is what I wanted to test), even an old Blu-ray should be sufficient for Spinal Tap.
Indeed, I found that the 2009 Fox Blu-ray looks fine. The 1.85:1 image may be pretty soft and grainy, but appropriately so for the intent. It looks like an authentic documentary. Some gate-weave is evident during the opening credits text, and contrast throughout the film is quite flat, but I don’t see signs of edge enhancement, DNR, or other unwanted digital artifacts.
Does the 2009 Blu-ray leave some room for improvement? Sure. I expect that Criterion’s remaster will probably look a little crisper and have better contrast. If I didn’t already own this copy of Spinal Tap, I’m sure I’d go for that one first. Nevertheless, 4K seems like overkill for this particular movie.
One area where the 2009 Blu-ray shines is its audio quality. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack has terrific musical fidelity and throbbing bass during all the performance scenes. It practically sounds like attending a real rock concert – minus the ear-bleeding volume levels, which you can control on your own at home. (I still recommend cranking it up.) The songs have strong stereo separation and wrap around nicely to the surround channels so you can feel the music all around you.
The Blu-ray also has an alternate Dolby Digital 2.0 track that I believe is meant to represent the film’s original Dolby Stereo mix, but the 5.1 remix is very tasteful and doesn’t sound too gimmicky. In this case, I think the benefits of lossless audio outweigh concerns about purity.
According to the release announcement, the Criterion 4K edition will offer both 5.1 or 2.0 tracks in lossless DTS-HD Master Audio. Whether the 5.1 is simply a direct port from this older disc or a new 5.1 remix is unclear at this time.
I’m sure Criterion will provide a host of interesting new bonus features, but the Fox Blu-ray already does well in that area. Items include an in-character audio commentary from the movie’s stars playing their Spinal Tap alter egos, an interview with Rob Reiner (also in-character as documentarian Marty Di Bergi), more than an hour of deleted scenes and outtakes, four music videos, some pretty funny fake promo materials, and a few TV spots. The accompanying DVD also adds a couple later appearances by the cast making in-character concert and TV appearances.
The one knock I have against the disc is that the animated menus are overly elaborate and annoying.
Related
- Rob Reiner (director)
- Michael McKean
- Fran Drescher
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