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This article is about the film. For the soundtrack album, see This Is Spinal Tap (album). "Big Bottom" redirects to this page regarding a song title
This Is Spinal Tap
Directed by Rob Reiner
Produced by Karen Murphy
Written by Christopher Guest
Michael McKean
Harry Shearer
Rob Reiner
Starring Rob Reiner
Michael McKean
Christopher Guest
Harry Shearer
Fran Drescher
Bruno Kirby
Music by Christopher Guest
Michael McKean
Harry Shearer
Rob Reiner
Distributed by Embassy Pictures
Release date(s) Flag of the United States March 2, 1984
Running time 82 minutes
Language English
Followed by A Spinal Tap Reunion: The 25th Anniversary London Sell-Out
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

This Is Spın̈al Tap (officially spelled with a non-functional umlaut over the letter 'n' and dotless 'i') is a 1984 mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner and starring members of the fictional heavy-metal/hard rock band Spinal Tap. Robert "Rob" Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American Actor, director, producer, Writer, and Christopher Guest (born February 5 1948 is an Emmy Award-winning writer Grammy Award-winning composer/musician director and comic actor Michael John McKean (born October 17 1947) is an American actor comedian composer and musician perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American comedic Actor, Writer, Musician, and radio host Robert "Rob" Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American Actor, director, producer, Writer, and Michael John McKean (born October 17 1947) is an American actor comedian composer and musician perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American comedic Actor, Writer, Musician, and radio host Francine Joy Drescher (born September 30, 1957) is an Emmy award and Golden Globe nominated American Film and Television Bruno Kirby ( April 28 1949 – August 14 2006) was an American film and television actor Embassy Pictures Corporation (previously known as Avco Embassy Pictures and later Embassy Film Associates) was an independent studio and distributor responsible for Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The heavy metal umlaut is the gratuitous or decorative use of an umlaut over letters in the name of a heavy metal band such as Events The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name Mockumentary (also known as a pseudo-documentary) a Portmanteau of Mock and documentary, is a film and TV Genre, or a single work Robert "Rob" Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American Actor, director, producer, Writer, and Hard rock (also referred to as heavy rock) is a variation of Rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and Psychedelic rock Spın̈al Tap is a semi-fictional heavy metal band the subject of the 1984 Rockumentary / Mockumentary film This Is {{Unicode|Spın̈al The film is a mock rockumentary that satirizes the wild personal behavior and musical pretensions of hard-rock and heavy-metal bands. The term rockumentary is a Neologism denoting a program on Television or movie documentary about Rock music or its Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human Hard rock (also referred to as heavy rock) is a variation of Rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and Psychedelic rock

Much of this film was ad libbed, and several dozen hours of footage were shot before Reiner edited it down to the released film. A 4½ hour bootleg version of the film exists and has been traded among fans and collectors for years. A bootleg recording is an audio and/or Video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority [1]

The three core members of Spinal Tap, David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls and Nigel Tufnel, are portrayed by the American actors Michael McKean and Harry Shearer and British American Christopher Guest respectively. David Ivor St Hubbins (born 1943 is a Fictional character who is the Lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the mock Rock band Spinal Tap Derek Albion Smalls (born 1941 is a Fictional character played by Harry Shearer. Nigel Tufnel (1945- is the fictional Lead guitarist of the rock band Spinal Tap featured in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap. Michael John McKean (born October 17 1947) is an American actor comedian composer and musician perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American comedic Actor, Writer, Musician, and radio host Christopher Guest (born February 5 1948 is an Emmy Award-winning writer Grammy Award-winning composer/musician director and comic actor The three actors actually play their musical instruments and speak credible British English throughout the film. Reiner appears as Marty DiBergi, the maker of the documentary. Other actors in the film are Tony Hendra as the group manager Ian Faith and June Chadwick as St. Tony Hendra (born 1941 is an English satirist and writer who has worked mostly in the United States June Chadwick (born November 30, 1951 in Warwickshire, England, UK) is an English actress Hubbin's interfering girlfriend Jeanine. Actors Paul Shaffer, Fred Willard, Fran Drescher, Bruno Kirby, Howard Hesseman, Ed Begley Jr., Patrick Macnee, Anjelica Huston, Dana Carvey and Billy Crystal all play supporting roles or make cameo appearances in the film. Paul Allen Wood Shaffer, CM (born November 28, 1949 in Fort William, now Thunder Bay, Ontario) is a Canadian Fred Willard (born September 18 1939 He also appeared as KVWN news director "Ed Harken" in Anchorman The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and in American Francine Joy Drescher (born September 30, 1957) is an Emmy award and Golden Globe nominated American Film and Television Bruno Kirby ( April 28 1949 – August 14 2006) was an American film and television actor Howard Hesseman (born February 27, 1940) is an American actor Edward James Begley Jr (born September 16, 1949) is an American Actor, Game show Panelist and Environmentalist Patrick Macnee (born 6 February 1922) is an English Actor, best known for his role as the secret agent John Steed Anjelica Huston (born July 8, 1951) is an Academy Award - and Golden Globe Award -winning American actress and former Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an Emmy -award winning American Comedian and Actor known for his work on William Edward "Billy" Crystal (born March 14, 1948) is an American Golden Globe Award -nominated and Emmy Award -winning A cameo role or cameo appearance (often shortened to just cameo) is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the Performing arts, such as Scream queen starlet Brinke Stevens appears in an uncredited cameo as a groupie or girlfriend of a band member. A scream queen is an actress who has become associated with Horror films either through an appearance in a notable entry in the Genre, as a frequent victim Brinke Stevens (born September 20 1954) is an American Actress, model and Writer. A groupie is a person who seeks sexual and/or emotional Intimacy with a Celebrity.

Contents

Cast

Plot overview

This Is Spinal Tap chronicles the group's waning popularity during a tour of the United States to promote their latest album Smell the Glove in the fall of 1982. Arthur Brown (born Arthur Wilton 24 June 1942, Whitby, Yorkshire) is an English Rock and roll Singer Bruno Kirby ( April 28 1949 – August 14 2006) was an American film and television actor Edward James Begley Jr (born September 16, 1949) is an American Actor, Game show Panelist and Environmentalist Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is a Guitarist Session musician, and songwriter Francine Joy Drescher (born September 30, 1957) is an Emmy award and Golden Globe nominated American Film and Television Patrick Macnee (born 6 February 1922) is an English Actor, best known for his role as the secret agent John Steed Julie Payne can refer to Julie Ann Payne (born 1940-07-10) American actress Julie Kathleen Payne (born 1946-09-11) Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an Emmy -award winning American Comedian and Actor known for his work on Sandy Helberg is an American actor He was born in Frankfurt, Germany who has starred in several comedy films in particular three Mel Brooks films William Edward "Billy" Crystal (born March 14, 1948) is an American Golden Globe Award -nominated and Emmy Award -winning Paul Benedict (born September 17, 1938) is an American Character actor who has made several appearances in television and movies from the Howard Hesseman (born February 27, 1940) is an American actor Paul Shortino (born May 14, 1953) is a singer who has sung for several bands including Rough Cutt /The Cutt Quiet Riot, Bad Boyz and Shortino Laura Ann Cody (born September 8, 1957 in Los Angeles California) better known as Lara Cody, is an American voice actress A groupie is a person who seeks sexual and/or emotional Intimacy with a Celebrity. Andrew J Lederer is a New York-based comedian who has also starred in low-budget movies and worked in writing and production Russell Kunkel, also known as Russ Kunkel, is a Drummer and producer who has worked as a Session musician with a number of well-known artists June Chadwick (born November 30, 1951 in Warwickshire, England, UK) is an English actress Vicki Blue (born September 16, 1959) now known as Victory Tischler Blue is a bassist and film and television producer Joyce Hyser (born December 20th 1957 is an American Actress. Career Joyce Hyser played in various films throughout the early 1980s Gloria Gifford is an American actress who has starred in films and on television Paul Allen Wood Shaffer, CM (born November 28, 1949 in Fort William, now Thunder Bay, Ontario) is a Canadian Archie Hahn is an American character actor and improviser best known for his appearances on the British version of Whose Line is it Anyway?. Charles Levin (born March 12, 1949) is an American actor who has appeared in television and movies and on stage Anjelica Huston (born July 8, 1951) is an Academy Award - and Golden Globe Award -winning American actress and former Fred Willard (born September 18 1939 He also appeared as KVWN news director "Ed Harken" in Anchorman The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and in American The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The sexist, misogynist, and overly-masculinized elements the general public associates with heavy metal music are parodied throughout. Marty DiBergi (Reiner), a director of television commercials, films the tour and interviews the musicians. A television advertisement or television commercial (often just commercial or advert (US or ad (UK is a span of television programming produced

David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel were childhood friends who ran through many band names at the beginning of their career — the initial name of the band was "The Originals", which they had to change to "The New Originals" because there was already another band going by the name — before settling on "The Thamesmen". Under this name, the group found its first fame with the early skiffle/R&B hit, "Gimme Some Money". Skiffle is a type of Folk music with Jazz, Blues and Country influences usually using homemade or improvised instruments such as the Washboard

'Listen to the Flower People'
'Listen to the Flower People'

Invariably, the Thamesmen tried to capitalize on whatever music trend was popular, but always as it was waning. Renaming themselves Spinal Tap, they had another hit with the flower power anthem, "Listen to the Flower People", before turning to heavy metal. Spın̈al Tap is a semi-fictional heavy metal band the subject of the 1984 Rockumentary / Mockumentary film This Is {{Unicode|Spın̈al Flower power was a Slogan used by Hippies (aka Flower Children) during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of Non-violence Ideology Various real bands underwent similar musical development. Status Quo started out as a psychedelic band before turning to the more traditional rock and roll sound that made them famous; Black Sabbath were originally a blues-based psychedelic band before turning to their current heavy metal stylings; while Sweet went from bubblegum pop to hard rock, while Queen did the opposite; started out as a hard rock or metal band before softening their sound. Status quo is a Latin term meaning the present existing state of affairs or "the state in which" Black Sabbath are an Sweet (referred to as The Sweet on albums before 1974 and singles before 1975 were a popular 1970s British band. Queen were an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist However, their trajectory appears to most closely track that of The Beatles until 1970; that is, they were originally a skiffle band founded by friends that went on to a more psychedelic sound. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960

A theme running through the story is that St. Hubbins and Tufnel possess genuine talent as composers, but have compromised their talents through laziness, stupidity, or through pursuit of commercial success. This idea is demonstrated when Nigel plays a complex new composition for Marty, discusses its minor key and relation to classical music (D minor is the saddest of keys), then reveals that the title is "Lick My Love Pump. Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music "

One of the most famous scenes in the film sees Tufnel showing DiBergi his guitar collection, and noting that all of their amplifiers "go to 11," a parody on the standard numbering of 0 - 10 on a typical amplifier's gain (volume) control dial. When DiBergi asks, "Why not just make 10 louder and make that the top?" Tufnel pauses before replying, "These go to 11. " Hence the phrase 'Up to 11' entered the pop culture as a way of saying, "Turn it up as loud as possible. " Up to eleven " or " these go to eleven " is an Idiom from Popular culture which has come to refer to anything being exploited to "

The film notes early on that Spinal Tap — "One of England's Loudest Bands" — have had a succession of drummers, all of whom have died under odd circumstances, one in a "bizarre gardening accident". The loudest band in the world is a subject of some dispute in musical circles although the claim has been made that Motorhead holds this distinction A drummer is a Musician who plays a Drum or drums particularly a Drum kit ("drum set" or "trap set" Marching percussion Gardening is the practice of growing Plants for their attractive flowers or foliage and Vegetables or Fruits for consumption (Since the film's release, Toto's drummer Jeff Porcaro actually died in a gardening-related accident. Toto was a Grammy Award winning American rock band founded in 1977 by some of the most popular and experienced Session musicians of Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro ( April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was a highly regarded session drummer and a founding member of the ) Another of Spinal Tap's drummers "choked on vomit", specifically someone else's vomit (several musicians have died after choking on their own vomit, notably guitarist Jimi Hendrix, drummer John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, and Bon Scott, the original singer of AC/DC); and one drummer seems to have fallen prey to spontaneous human combustion. James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix) (November 27 1942 – September 18 1970 was an American Guitarist, Singer and Songwriter John Henry "Bonzo" Bonham (May 31 1948 – September 25 1980 was an English Drummer and member of the band Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin were Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott (9 July 1946 – 19 February 1980 was an Australian rock musician most well-known for being the lead singer and Lyricist AC/DC are an Australian Hard rock band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. Spontaneous human combustion ( SHC) refers to the belief that the human body sometimes burns without an external source of ignition St. Hubbins reports that "Dozens of people spontaneously combust each year. It's just not really widely reported. " This run on drummers was a nod towards several bands; both John Bonham and Keith Moon had died years before, while Judas Priest were, for a variety of reasons, on their seventh drummer at the time of the film's release. Keith John Moon ( August 23, 1946 &ndash September 7, 1978) was the Drummer of the rock group The Who. Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in 1970 in Birmingham. However, the main inspiration for the running joke is the supposed curse on keyboard players for the Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Spinal Tap's concert appearances are repeatedly canceled due to low ticket sales. Tensions continue to rise when several major retailers refuse to sell Smell the Glove because of its sexist cover art (which was boycotted in stores) and there is growing resentment shown towards the group's manager Ian Faith (played by humor writer Tony Hendra). Sexism is the belief or attitude that one Gender or Sex is inferior to or less valuable than the other and can also refer to a Hatred or distrust towards This Is Spın̈al Tap (officially spelled with a non-functional umlaut over the letter 'n' and dotless 'i' is a 1984 mock Rockumentary Tony Hendra (born 1941 is an English satirist and writer who has worked mostly in the United States Nigel becomes even more perturbed when St. Hubbins' girlfriend Jeanine — a manipulative yoga and astrology devotee — joins the group on tour and proceeds to participate in band meetings and attempts to influence their costumes and stage presentation. Yoga ( Sanskrit: योग, IAST: yóga, joːgə refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India, to the Astrology (from Greek grc ἄστρον astron, "constellation star" and grc -λογία -logia) is a group of Systems

Airport Security. Smalls sports a Shrewsbury Town F.C. shirt.
Airport Security. Smalls sports a Shrewsbury Town F.C. shirt. Shrewsbury Town Football Club are an English football club currently playing in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football

"Polymer Records" (not Polydor Records) decides to release Smell the Glove with an entirely black cover, though without consulting the band (four years after The Damned's The Black Album some versions of which were genuinely all-black, but embossed; two years after AC/DC's Back in Black, also all black with embossed writing; and seven years before Metallica's eponymous 1991 album, which featured a nearly-all black cover). Polydor Records is a Record label currently headquartered in the UK, and is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. The Damned are an English band formed in London in 1976 notable for being the first Punk rock band from England to release a single (" New Rose " an The Black Album was the fourth album by The Damned, and the first to feature Paul Gray on bass guitar AC/DC are an Australian Hard rock band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. Back in Black is the 7th Studio album by Australian Hard rock band AC/DC, released on 25 July 1980 Metallica is an American heavy metal band that formed in 1981 in. Metallica (also known as The Black Album) is the self-titled 5th studio Album by the American heavy metal band This prompts more distress from the band, declaring the album cover depressing and reminiscent of death, but they are somewhat mollified after Faith reminds them that so much great art is about death. While studying the Smell The Glove cover, Tufnel says that it seems to ask how much more black it could be (the answer, "none more black", later became the name of an American rock band), and St. None More Black is a New Jersey -based melodic punk outfit on Fat Wreck Chords, formed by lead singer / guitarist Jason Shevchuk after the Hubbins makes the memorable observation that "There's a fine line between stupid and clever. "

In an interlude, Nigel Tufnel is shown during one of his trademarked on-stage guitar solos, playing the guitar first with his feet (parodying Jimi Hendrix's habit of playing his guitar with his teeth) and then with a violin, parodying Jimmy Page's violin bow solo spot on "Dazed and Confused". James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix) (November 27 1942 – September 18 1970 was an American Guitarist, Singer and Songwriter The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member James Patrick Page, OBE (born 9 January 1944 is an English Guitarist, Composer and record producer In Music, a bow is moved across some part of a Musical instrument, causing Vibration which the instrument emits as Sound. "Dazed and Confused" is a song by Jake Holmes and by Led Zeppelin.

As resentment towards Ian Faith grows, Jeanine increasingly becomes involved in the group's problems. During a tense meeting where Jeanine's idea for new stage costumes based on astrological signs is rejected, Nigel suggests the band reinstate the Stonehenge set and scribbles out a diagram of Stonehenge on a napkin. Stonehenge is a Prehistoric Monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury Ian agrees he will follow the band's direction to the letter; unfortunately he does not check the diagram properly and presented with an 18-inch (46 cm) model, made exactly as indicated on the original plan by Tufnel (a restaurant napkin with 18" instead of 18' written on it). Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit The band is surprised when the tiny Stonehenge appears in the show, as it is smaller than the two dwarves who arrive on stage to dance around it, and it seems ridiculous to the concert audience who laugh at the band. Dwarfism ( is a medical condition in humans characterized by extreme small size St. Hubbins laments during the gig debrief, "I think that the problem may have been. . . that there was a Stonehenge monument on stage that was in danger of being crushed. . . by a dwarf", which causes Smalls to suggest that the band remedy the situation by choreographing the dwarves' dance in such a way that the mini-monuments were not in danger of being "trod upon". DWARF is a widely used standardized Debugging data format. DWARF was originally designed along with ELF, although it is independent of Object file Black Sabbath's tour for 1983's Born Again album featured massive Stonehenge sets that barely fit on the stages the band played. Born Again is Black Sabbath 's eleventh studio album released in 1983 [2] (Sabbath's management had ordered the set measurements in feet, but the manufacturers accidentally built the set using metres; Sabbath's models would thus have been roughly three times too large, whereas Tap's were one twelfth the desired size). Black Sabbath are an A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit [3] The film may have inspired the real-life band, as the Stonehenge sequence appeared in a 1982 20-minute demo of the film. Led Zeppelin had also had a Stonehenge stage theme in the final US concerts held in Oakland, California in July 1977, so the sequence in the film may also have been a reference to this.

After the Stonehenge debacle, manager Ian Faith quits in disgust when St. Hubbins suggests that his girlfriend Jeanine can co-manage the group. Jeanine takes over management duties and begins plotting astrology charts for the group members and for the group itself, and begins basing their concert appearances on the alignment of stars. Astrology (from Greek grc ἄστρον astron, "constellation star" and grc -λογία -logia) is a group of Systems Her character is drawn chiefly on the public image of Yoko Ono, Linda McCartney and Nancy Spungen as inexperienced interlopers in their lovers' music careers. born in Tokyo on February 18 1933 is a Japanese Artist and Musician. Linda Louise McCartney (née Eastman, formerly See, September 24 1941 – April 17 1998 was an American Photographer, Musician and Nancy Laura Spungen (February 27 1958 – October 12 1978 was the American girlfriend of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious.

The group performs at a US Air Force base, managed by Fred Willard, who calls the group "Spinal Tarp", and requests a Barry Manilow song suitable for slow-dancing. Fred Willard (born September 18 1939 He also appeared as KVWN news director "Ed Harken" in Anchorman The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and in American Barry Manilow (born June 17, 1943) is an American Singer-songwriter, Musician, arranger, producer and conductor The audience disapproved, not expecting a hard rock group, and Tufnel's wireless guitar-amplification system picks up interference from an air traffic control broadcast. Air traffic control ( ATC) is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct Aircraft on the ground and in the air After the various problems of the tour, resentment towards Jeanine, and the general unsuitability of the Air Force gig, this latest problem prompts Nigel to storm off stage. We soon learn that he has left the group; DiBergi asks St. Hubbins how he feels about his longtime collaborator's departure and St. Hubbins replies, "Well, I'm sure I'd feel much worse if I weren't under such heavy sedation. "

The remaining band members continue the tour. After arriving to play at an amusement park (filmed at Six Flags Magic Mountain) where they are given second billing after a puppet show ("Puppet Show and Spinal Tap") they plan the show omitting all the Tufnel-composed tracks. Six Flags Magic Mountain is an Amusement park located in Valencia, California north of Los Angeles. This leaves them with about 10 minutes of material. Against St. Hubbins' initial reluctance, faced with a dearth of material to perform the group is forced to launch "The new birth of Spinal Tap, Mark II", with Smalls' fusion-esque, "Jazz Odyssey", which is roundly rejected by their already diminishing fan base. Fusion or more specifically jazz fusion or jazz rock, is a Musical genre that merges Jazz with elements of other styles of music particularly

After that, it becomes apparent to the remaining members that Spinal Tap cannot continue as it has been, and consider winding-up the band. St. Hubbins and Smalls reconsider "Saucy Jack", their long-abandoned idea for a musical based on Jack the Ripper (perhaps a jab at any number of overwrought rock and roll concept albums, probably those of the Kinks in the late 70s). Musical theatre is a form of Theatre combining Music, Songs spoken Dialogue and Dance. Jack the Ripper is an alias given to an unidentified Serial killer active in the largely impoverished Whitechapel area and adjacent districts of London In Popular music, a concept album is an Album which is "unified by a theme which can be instrumental compositional narrative or lyrical" The Kinks were an English pop and rock group formed in 1963 and categorised in the US as a British Invasion band Backstage at their last show, before the band takes the stage, Tufnel returns to tell the group that "Sex Farm", one of their songs from the album Shark Sandwich, treated with a frosty reception in the States (with one review merely composed of two words - "Shit Sandwich") has become a big hit in Japan and that their former manager would like to arrange a tour. Spın̈al Tap is a semi-fictional heavy metal band the subject of the 1984 Rockumentary / Mockumentary film This Is {{Unicode|Spın̈al For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. His entreaties are initially rebuffed, but later, as Tufnel watches from the wings and mouths the words to "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight", St. Hubbins relents and invites his friend back onstage.

The film ends with Spinal Tap performing in Japan with new drummer, Joe "Mama" Besser (a reference to one of the latter members of The Three Stooges as well as a pun on the comic insult standby "yo mama"), after Mick Shrimpton's sudden death from spontaneous human combustion. Joe Besser ( August 12, 1907 &ndash March 1, 1988) was an American comedian known for his impish humor and is now best remembered for his The Three Stooges were an American Vaudeville and Comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous Short subject films A mother insult is a reference to a person's Mother through the use of phrases such as "your mother" Spontaneous human combustion ( SHC) refers to the belief that the human body sometimes burns without an external source of ignition As the band plays on stage, reinstated manager Ian Faith stands proudly offstage, aggressively brandishing the cricket bat he carries to assert his dominance, while David's girlfriend sits passively by looking rather morose. A cricket bat is used by batsmen in the sport of Cricket. It is usually made of Willow wood The revival in Japan is a nod to KISS, who toured extensively in Japan after popularity began to wane in the US in the early 80s. Deep Purple also held a similar embrace of Japanese fans, although they didn't suffer poor popularity like the band.

Reception

This Is Spinal Tap was only a modest success upon its initial release, suffering from, among other things, the failure of many viewers to understand that it was not a real documentary. Audience feedback cards from early screenings had comments such as "Too shaky. Get new cameraman. " However, the film found greater success, and a cult following, after it was released on video. A cult following is a group of fans devoted to a specific area of Pop culture. Video is the technology of electronically capturing, Recording, processing storing transmitting and reconstructing a sequence of Still images

In 2002, This Is Spinal Tap was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The National Film Registry is the registry of Films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of The Library of Congress is the De facto National library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress

The movie cut a little too close to home for some musicians. Robert Plant, Dee Snider and Ozzy Osbourne all reported that, like Spinal Tap, they had become lost in confusing arena backstage hallways trying to make their way to the stage. Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948 West Bromwich, England) is an English rock singer and songwriter famous for his membership in the Daniel Dee Snider (born March 15 1955) is an American Musician, radio personality, and Actor. John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born December 3 1948) is a British singer [4] [5] Singer Tom Waits claimed he cried upon viewing it and Eddie Van Halen has said that when he first saw the film, everyone else in the room with him laughed as he failed to see the humor in the film. Thomas Alan Waits (born 7 December 1949) is an American Singer-songwriter, Composer, and Actor. Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen (born January 26 1955 is a Dutch Guitarist, Keyboardist, Songwriter and producer "Everything in that movie had happened to me," Van Halen said. When Dokken's George Lynch saw the movie he is said to have exclaimed, "That's us! How'd they make a movie about us?"[6]

Lars Ulrich told a press conference crowd that the Metallica/Guns N' Roses 1992 tour seemed "so Spinal Tap. Dokken is an American heavy metal and Hard rock band that was formed in 1978 Lars Ulrich (born December 26 1963) is a Danish Drummer best known as the co-founder of the American heavy metal Metallica is an American heavy metal band that formed in 1981 in. Guns N' Roses is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 " Shortly after the tour started, Metallica's James Hetfield suffered third degree burns on his arms after he stood too close to a pyrotechnic device. James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963, in Downey California) is the main Songwriter, co-founder vocalist and Rhythm guitarist

According to a 1997 interview in Spin magazine with Aerosmith rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford, "The first time Steven [Tyler] saw it he didn't see any humor in it. Spin is a Music Magazine that reports on Music for Life Founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr Aerosmith is an American Hard rock band sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston " and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band" Brad Whitford (born Bradley Ernest Whitford 23 February 1952, in Winchester Massachusetts, is the rhythm and lead Guitarist for Stephen Victor Tallarico (born March 26 1948 in Yonkers New York) better known as Steven Tyler (and often nicknamed The Demon of That's how close to home it was. He was pissed! He was like, 'That's not funny!'"

It became a common insult for a pretentious band to be told they were funnier than Spinal Tap. As George Lynch put it, the more seriously a band took themselves, the more they resembled Spinal Tap. George Lynch (born September 28 1954 is a Hard rock guitarist best known as a member of the band Dokken. [6] After seeing a 1986 performance by British metal band Venom, singer Henry Rollins compared them to Spinal Tap. Venom are an English Henry Rollins (born February 13 1961 as Henry Lawrence Garfield) is an American singer-songwriter Spoken word Artist, Stand-up comedian, author [7] In their respective Behind the Music episodes, Quiet Riot's Rudy Sarzo and Ratt's Robbin Crosby compared their own bands to Spinal Tap to some extent. Behind the Music was a Television series on VH1 that ran from 1997 to 2006, and continues to air sporadically with new episodes Quiet Riot was an American heavy metal band whose 1983 & 1984 success contributed to launching the 1980s Glam Rudy Sarzo is a Bass guitarist born Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont in Guanabacoa Havana City Cuba on November 11, 1950 Ratt is an American Glam metal band that formed in San Diego and enjoyed significant commercial success in the 1980s Robbin Crosby (August 4 1959 – June 6 2002 born Robbinson Lantz Crosby and nicknamed "King" was co-lead guitarist in the Glam metal band Ratt For example; as a parallel to the "Shit Sandwich" incident, Quiet Riot's 4th album Condition Critical was given the two-word review of "Condition Terminal" in one magazine. Condition Critical was the follow-up album to Quiet Riot's smash hit Metal Health. R.E.M.'s Mike Mills described early tours as "very spinal tap," citing, among other things, the fact that they had indeed played at a US Air Force base. REM is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by Michael Stipe ( lead vocals) Peter Buck ( Guitar This article is about Mike Mills the REM bassist Other similar sounding articles include the Irish journalist Michael Mills and Mike Mills (director.

DVD release

This Is Spinal Tap has been released twice on DVD. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is

The first release was a 1998 Criterion edition which used supplemental material from the 1994 Criterion laserdisc release. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) The Criterion Collection is a Privately held company that distributes "authoritative" consumer versions of "important classic and contemporary films" Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) The Laserdisc (LD is an obsolete Home video disc format and was the first commercial Optical disc storage medium It included an audio commentary track with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer; a second audio commentary track with Rob Reiner, Karen Murphy, Robert Leighton and Kent Beyda; 79 minutes of deleted scenes; Spinal Tap: The Final Tour, the original twenty minute short they shot to pitch the film; a mock promo film, Cheese Rolling; a TV promo, Heavy Metal Memories; and a music video, Hell Hole. On disc based video formats an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers that plays in real time with video A music video is a Short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music most commonly a Song with lyrics Sales of this edition were discontinued after only two years and the DVD has become a valuable collector's item. Much of this material had appeared on a 1994 CD-ROM by The Voyager Company that included the entire film in QuickTime format. CD-ROM (an initialism of "Compact Disc Read-Only Memory " is a pre-pressed Compact Disc that contains data accessible to but not writable The Voyager Company was a pioneer in CD-ROM production in the 1980s and early 1990s and published The Criterion Collection a pioneering home video collection of classic and QuickTime is a Multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc, capable of handling various formats of Digital video, Media clips sound text

In 2000, MGM released a special edition with new supplemental material. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It has a new audio commentary track with Guest, McKean and Shearer performing in character throughout, commenting on the film entirely in their fictional alter-egos, and often disapproving of how the film presents them; 70 minutes of deleted scenes (some of which were not on the Criterion DVD); a new short, Catching Up with Marty DiBergi; a shorter version of Cheese Rolling; the Heavy Metal Memories promo and six additional TV promos; music videos for Hell Hole, Gimme Some Money, Listen to the Flower People and Big Bottom; segments of Spinal Tap appearing on The Joe Franklin Show; and the theatrical trailer. Short subject is a format description originally coined in the North American Film industry in the early period of cinema. Joe Franklin (born Joseph Fortgang on March 9 1926, Bronx New York) is an American radio and television personality The special features were produced by Automat Pictures. Automat Pictures is an entertainment Production company based in Los Angeles, which specializes in EPK / DVD Added Value as well original television

On IGN, This Is Spinal Tap was the only DVD - and seemingly the only thing reviewed on IGN - to get 11 out of 10, though it is more than likely a joke in reference to the memorable scene in the film. IGN (abbreviated and formerly known as I magine G ames N etwork is a multimedia news and reviews Website that focuses heavily on Video [8]

Other musical parodies

Other rock/pop "mockumentaries" include:

The Adult Swim show Metalocalypse has also been compared to Spinal Tap. Mockumentary (also known as a pseudo-documentary) a Portmanteau of Mock and documentary, is a film and TV Genre, or a single work All You Need Is Cash (also known as The Rutles) is a 1978 television film that traces (in Mockumentary style the career of The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians known for their Television series The Comic Strip Presents Bad News are a spoof rock band, created for the Channel 4 Television series The Comic Strip Presents Bad News are a spoof rock band, created for the Channel 4 Television series The Comic Strip Presents Fear of a Black Hat is a film satire on the evolution and state of American Hip hop music. Hard Core Logo is a Canadian Mockumentary adapted by Noel Baker from the novel of the same name by author Michael Turner. Sons of Provo is a 2004 Film written by Peter Brown and Will Swenson, and directed by Will Swenson Electric Apricot Quest For Festeroo is Mockumentary film by Primus lead-man Les Claypool, featuring himself as well as others using Pseudonyms Metalocalypse is an American Animated television series on Adult Swim created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha.

Related works

Audio samples

The Thamesmen - Gimme Some Money excerpt

An excerpt from the Thamesmen's Gimme Some Money
Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Spinal Tap - Stonehenge excerpt

An excerpt from Spinal Tap's Stonehenge
Problems listening to the file? See media help.

References in popular culture

Main article: Up to eleven

See also

References

  1. ^ spinaltapfan.com
  2. ^ Born Again. " Up to eleven " or " these go to eleven " is an Idiom from Popular culture which has come to refer to anything being exploited to The semi fictitious rock band Spinal Tap has released two albums in addition to several bootleg compilations that have been compiled by fans Mockumentary (also known as a pseudo-documentary) a Portmanteau of Mock and documentary, is a film and TV Genre, or a single work All You Need Is Cash (also known as The Rutles) is a 1978 television film that traces (in Mockumentary style the career of Morton & Hayes was a short-lived Comedy Television series, shown Wednesday nights at 830 on CBS. Waiting for Guffman is a musical Mockumentary starring co-written and directed by Christopher Guest that was released in 1997 Best in Show ( 2000) is a Mockumentary that follows five entrants in a prestigious dog show. G-SALE ( 2003 film 2005 DVD is a Mockumentary film about Garage sales and the people who are obsessed by them A Mighty Wind is a 2003 pseudo-documentary about a Folk music reunion concert and the three groups that must come together to perform on national television Caramba! Anecdotage. Retrieved on 2007-11-19. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1095 - The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land
  3. ^ Geezer Butler interview. Classic Rock Revisited. Retrieved on 2007-11-19. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1095 - The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land
  4. ^ see the notes for Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978, Rhino Records, 2002
  5. ^ Q&A: Robert Plant : Rolling Stone
  6. ^ a b Konow, David (2002). Bang Your Head. Three Rivers Press, 216-217. ISBN 0-609-80732-3.  
  7. ^ Rollins, Henry, Get In The Van: On The Road With Black Flag, 2. 13. 61 Publications, 1994
  8. ^ IGN: This is Spinal Tap DVD

External links

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