Reviewed by Colin Jacobson
| Title: | This Is Spinal Tap: Special Edition (1984) |
| Studio Line: |
MGM - Does for rock and roll what The Sound of Music did for hills
Rob Reiner's directorial debut has developed into a cult phenomenon. The film that invented the "mockumentary" has now outlasted most of the bands it mocked. Following the ill-fated American comeback tour of an aging heavy metal group, this film has joined the ranks of the greatest comedies ever made. |
| Director: | Rob Reiner |
| Cast: | Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Rob Reiner, Harry Shearer, Tony Hendra, R.J. Parnell |
| DVD: | Widescreen 1.80:1/16x9; audio English Dolby Digital 5.1; subtitles Spanish, French; closed-captioned; single sided - double layered; 29 chapters; rated R; 82 min.; $29.98; street date 9/12/00. |
| Supplements: | Audio Commentary by Spinal Tap; 78 minutes of Deleted Scenes; New Interview With Rob Reiner; Flower People Press Conference; Spinal Tap Appearance on "The Joe Franklin Show"; 6 TV Commercials; "Heavy Metal Memories" ad; 4 Music Videos; Collectible Booklet; 2 Theatrical Trailers. |
| Purchase: | DVD | Music soundtrack - Spinal Tap |
|
Picture/Sound/Extras: C+/A-/A
Slowly I changed my opinion. The magic of home video meant that I could re-experience the film at will, and I took full advantage of that ability. I have no clue how many times I've watched TIST to date, but let's just say it's a lot; I won't claim it's the greatest movie ever, but I think it's in the ballpark, and I might just argue it's the finest comedy on film. To quickly summarize the picture, it offers a documentary look at the first tour in a few years by an English heavy metal band called Spinal Tap. Though they once were hugely successful, the years have not been kind, and as of the early Eighties (the time in which the movie was made), they're struggling with their current status, and this elevates the tensions in the band. For the record: the whole thing's fake. I always thought this disclaimer would be unnecessary, but I still see a lot of reports from people who thought Tap were a real band and this was a true documentary. It's not; though it is a pretty spontaneous affair, all of the characters are fictional and the circumstances staged. I suppose this fact was probably clearer to people 15 years ago, since many of the participants - such as director/actor Rob Reiner, actors Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Fred Willard, and others - had been on TV shows that were relatively recent at that time; their faces were a lot more recognizable then, though I expect quite a few folks still didn't get that it was a joke. (Of course, there are a lot of actors who were less-known then but famous now, such as Fran Drescher, Billy Crystal, and Dana Carvey.) Actually, another factor that complicates the "reality" of Tap stems from the fact that they sort of did become a real band. In a way, they always were; even though the group was conjured for the film, the actors nonetheless wrote and performed their own songs, and Tap even performed a few concerts after the movie became a success. Back in 1992, they reformed for another album (Break Like the Wind) and an additional tour plus a TV special. 2000 has seen yet another resurgence in Tap activity, most of which is tied to this video re-release. So I guess I can better understand some folks' confusion about the issue of Tap's true-to-life existence, but it still somewhat surprises me that so many believe they're a regular band, especially if those people have seen the movie. I mean, c'mon! While TIST takes some real rock-band-on-tour situations and duplicates them, the emphasis is so heavily on the absurd and the comical that I don't understand how anyone could not get the gag. Perhaps it's a testament to Rob Reiner's skill as a filmmaker that so many have missed the joke, for TIST indeed plays like real documentary; even when the subject matter seems absurd, it's always presented with a straight face. This was his first directorial effort, and although Reiner's gone to a (usually) solid career in that position, none of his later efforts show the same level of quality and assurance. Simply put, this is a virtually-perfect film, with almost nothing about it that I would change.
Some regard the last third of the movie as less-strong than the first two acts, but I disagree. Yes, the final 25 minutes of so offer less material that's broad and quotable, but I think they're at the heart of what makes TIST so special. This isn't just some hatchet-job parody of a rock band that mocks, mocks, and mocks some more. Sure, the filmmakers have a good time with the excesses of the musicians but their affection for the subject remains clear at all times; no matter how stupid the characters may appear, the participants maintain a humanity about them that lets them resonate with us. That's why the final third of the film is so crucial to its enduring appeal. The trials and tribulations of the band become more believable, and the situation grows dim. The events depicted add to the tone of the movie in that they create an emotional release at the end and they allow us to buy into the characters more. These aren't just cartoon buffoons; they're folks about whom we care. A lot of that credit has to go to the amazing cast. As the main members of Tap, McKean, Guest (guitarist Nigel Tufnel) and Shearer (bassist Derek Smalls) have iffy grasps on their English accents but otherwise perform their roles perfectly. I remember when TIST first appeared, I couldn't imagine it was any good; after all, it starred some unknown (Guest), Lenny from Laverne and Shirley (McKean), and an unmemorable member of Saturday Night Live's cast. All that and it was directed by Meathead, who also acted in it as documentarian Marty Di Bergi - it sounded like a recipe for disaster. How wrong I was! The acting thoroughly convincing at all times and the participants truly "become" their characters. As I mentioned earlier, TIST succeeds partially because it never actively lets you in on the joke. There are no asides to the cameras or glib references that tell you it's all fake and phony; the whole production is played straight. Some sublime editing adds to the effect. TIST never dallies or tries to milk jokes; once punch lines are delivered, the film usually cuts very quickly to the next scene. The changes aren't done in an abrupt or unnatural manner. In fact, the edits always feel smooth and fluid. More importantly, they make sure the movie proceeds at a rapid and appropriate pace. Frankly, I could go on for hours about all the reasons why This Is Spinal Tap is such a great movie, but I'll stop here. Suffice it to say that the film is an exquisitely crafted piece that offers terrific performances, strangely endearing characters, and a great deal of wit. It's an absolute classic that hasn't aged a day over the last decade and a half. To put it bluntly, it doesn't get much better than this. The DVD:
I compared the DVD's picture to that of my Criterion laserdisc and the two aren't identical. Most of the time the DVD features a slight amount of extra matting at the top and bottom and doesn't lose anything from the sides, but occasionally some scenes are mildly cut on the edges. This is most obvious during the band interviews early in the film, and it also shows notably in some of the cocktail party scenes, where the image seems more cramped than in the Criterion version. Because of Criterion's reputation for their dedication to the replication of original aspect ratios, I think that version's the correct one, but I can't state this as a fact. In any case, the differences are mild, and the framing seems satisfactory on both. Since it was shot in such a loose, hand-held manner, the framing is often dodgy anyway, so some alteration in the presentation isn't as negative as I'd normally think. The initial preview copy of this DVD I received had another flaw: it omitted the subtitles that originally appeared during the film. For example, when we first meet the band as they perform "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight", text should list the names and instruments played. More subtitles should show up throughout the movie, such as whenever we go to a new city and with introductions of other characters like Bobbi Flekman. To MGM's credit, they put out a recall on the subtitle-free offerings and reissued the DVD with the text in place. Everything's good, right? Not according to some people. The subtitles aren't the exact same ones that were burned into the original prints; instead, they've been added as a subtitle option that defaults to "on" when you start the film. This means that the subtitles don't look exactly the same as the ones from the original movie, though they come very close; the fonts used are similar and you have to know the picture extremely well to detect a difference. I raise the issue mainly because it's received some negative attention on newsgroups. I respect anyone who feels that the movie should be reproduced exactly as originally shown, and if this alteration will bother you, at least you know about it in advance. However, I feel that the change is a workable and practical solution to a problem. MGM quickly fixed this concern and got the corrected DVD on the shelves roughly by street date, something I wouldn't have imagined possible given the late date at which they became aware of the situation. Would I prefer the actual original subtitles? Yes. Do I have any qualms about these "generated" subtitles? None whatsoever - they get the job done, and do it effectively. The quality of the image seems generally adequate but it clearly shows the limitations of the original material. After all, TIST was shot cheaply on 16mm film; as such, it never will - or should - look terribly clear or crisp. My "C" mainly reflects the overall look of the image and disregards the Sharpness appears fairly accurate but frequently seems slightly soft or hazy; much of this comes from the awkward focus that occurs at times, but most of it's due to the film stock. In any case, the movie never looks badly fuzzy and the sharpness is acceptably clear. Moiré effects and jagged edges aren't a concern, and I also noticed very few artifacts from the anamorphic downconversion on my 4X3 TV. Print flaws are a moderate issue. Light grain appears throughout the entire film, and I also witnessed fairly frequent though less consistent speckling and grittiness. The movie contains a few minor scratches as well.
Once again, I don't fault the transfer for the flaws. I have concerns about the aspect ratio, but I don't find any transfer-specific problems with the picture. This Is Spinal Tap looks okay but not very good, and God bless it for that; a more polished appearance would seem inappropriate for this kind of film. I didn't feel comfortable giving it a higher grade than "C+" but I have no complaints about the image; it looks the way it should. Some folks worried about the film's remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 transfer and feared it would become some sort of silly sound extravaganza with excessive and distracting levels of activity. Happily, that's not the case; the new mix stays true to the original Surround track but adds some very welcome improvements. The soundfield stays largely monaural for the most part. Much of the audio comes from the center channel with a few notable exceptions. Some broader locations - like the cocktail parties or lobbies, and when we see planes fly overhead - feature a light but convincing spatial quality on the sides; it's quite gentle but it provides a little extra dimension. Where the mix really comes to life is during the concert segments. The soundtrack presents some great scope to the songs, as they spread distinctly and effectively to the sides. The surrounds also kick in with some great ambience; for the most part, the rears offer a general reinforcement of the songs and some crowd noise, but some speaker-specific music comes from there as well, and the whole thing comes across in a very lively and involving manner. Audio quality appears excellent. I found the dialogue to sound surprisingly warm and natural. Very little of it seems to be dubbed, and considering the cheap production values of the piece, I thought speech seemed exceptionally clear and smooth; most big-budget movies from the era show some flatness in their dialogue, so for the speech of TIST to appear so distinct, it seems very impressive. Effects are a relatively minor component of the film, but they seemed clean and realistic, with no signs of distortion; listen to the scenes with the planes, which are very smooth. Easily the best aspect of the mix is the music, which has never sounded better. Although all of the songs were recorded in the studio, I've always been impressed by the wonderfully "live" feel they display in the film, and the effect is even more convincing here. The tunes show great clarity and dynamic range; highs are clean and crisp, and the bass sounds taut and rich.
This DVD is my third disc-based purchase of This Is Spinal Tap (and I had a videotape of it as well). I bought the original fullscreen laserdisc back when I got my LD player in 1991 - one of my very first purchases, naturally - but I replaced that version when Criterion's laserdisc appeared in late 1994. The latter was a veritable treasure trove for Tap fans like myself and it remains the definitive archive of materials related to the film. The new DVD features quite a substantial complement of extras as well. I'll initially list the supplements that appear on this DVD, and then I'll cover how this package differs from the Criterion LD and also how they stay the same. This DVD starts unusually with its opening menu. After MGM's usual - and exceedingly loud - "studio announcement", the screen goes black and we hear "Nigel", "David" and "Derek" discuss the presentation. This mini-commentary continues as the main menu appears and lasts for a couple of minutes, at which time their speech is replaced with music from the film. It's a fun and clever way to open the DVD (and one that can be easily skipped if desired). An additional voice-over from the band appears when you enter the "Subtitles" menu. We hear more "in character" material through a full audio commentary from the three band members. When I first heard of this track, I feared the worst, as this kind of faux performance art can be extremely lame, and there's too much of a "wink wink, nudge nudge" attitude that's come to surround Tap over the last 15 years. You may have noticed that this review contains absolutely no Tap quotes, and that's because I've grown tired of all the hipster-doofus tone around the production. Frankly, the continued "existence" of Tap as a semi-band is not something I particularly like. The movie's so perfect that additional attempts to recapture the magic come across as forced and lame. Better to leave it all alone and not ruin the legacy. That said, the "character commentary" was much more entertaining than I expected. Of course, it provides almost no information about the making of the movie itself, but it makes for a frequently-funny look at the "reality" of the period. The band fill in the gaps about what we didn't see in their lives, and they gripe a lot about how poorly they were treated by Di Bergi and other characters. Ultimately, I'd prefer a track that provides a nice discussion of the creation of the film, but this one's pretty clever and witty. Next is "Catching Up With Marty Di Bergi", another "in character" piece that features an interview with Reiner as Di Bergi. The program runs for five-minutes and intersperses statements from Di Bergi with some film clips (deleted ones, actually, that appear in that area) and a couple of shots from a recent Tap press conference. It's nothing special but the piece is entertaining in the same manner as the audio commentary, and it's short enough to keep from wearing out its welcome.
It's a good collection that offers a nice look at some of the shots that didn't make the cut. The majority of them are entertaining, and as a dedicated Tap fan, I'm more than delighted to have them, but I'm glad they were omitted. Some of them might have worked well in the movie, but a lot would have seemed redundant, and the scenes they could have replaced are better. Some seamier material appears here as well, such as more explicit involvement in drugs, and a deeper look at the groupie scene. Perhaps "explicit" is the wrong word, as there's nothing raunchy or nasty; however, the filmmakers wanted to keep the tone lighter so almost all mention of drugs is omitted, and only peripheral info about groupies appears. In any case, I think the final 82-minute cut is virtually perfect, so while I like being able to see all of this unused material, I'm glad none of it made the film. From the "Tap Archive", we find two clips. The first is the "'Flower People' press conference". This one minute and 45 second piece shows the band at a Beatle-esque question and answer panel. It's very funny and entertaining, but would have been inappropriate in the movie; the few glimpses of earlier incarnations of the band work in the film because they're restricted to performance clips, but this conversational snippet would have taken us out of the "reality". Further stretching the boundaries of real world and the fake is a brief clip from the "Joe Franklin Show". We find the final two minutes of Tap's mid-Eighties appearance on that program. From what we see, it seems unclear if Franklin and the other guests are in on the joke. It's too brief and insubstantial to offer much information, but I was happy to see it. One note: the quality's pretty bad, as it obviously comes from someone's personal videotape collection. When we enter the "Music Video" section, we find some more good clips. "Gimme Some Money" presents the entire song from the faux-Sixties TV performance shown in the movie. In a similar vein is "(Listen to the) Flower People", which offers the whole Jamboreebop" version of that tune, which we see part of in the film. Both are beautifully done and it's wonderful to have them in their entirety. Another unedited movie segment appears in the form of "Big Bottom". We saw parts of the song in the film, but this piece gives us the whole tune. A more formal music video can be found as well. "Hell Hole" is given the then-typical treatment for metal vids; if you're old enough to remember the era, you'll find it clever and witty in the way it apes and mocks the conventions of the period. The clip has no formal connection to the movie; it takes a conceptual air and features no film snippets.
Another untraditional promotional piece arrives in "Heavy Metal Memories", which takes the form of an ad for one of those cheesy K-Tel hits albums. It provides a very fun way of introducing and promoting the film. Finally, this section ends with three different 30 second TV ads. None of these are anything unusual; they do the typical job of making us aware of the film's existence. I regarded the "Commercials" section as an odd prospect; didn't we just see all of the promos for the film in the previous area? Nope, as we get three different ads for something called Rock 'n Rolls, which appears to be a Hot Pockets kind of pastry. I couldn't figure out the actual time frame of their appearances, but I'd guess they came from the early Nineties, and they show new clips of the band as they promote this product. Odd but it makes for a cool addition to the package. Finally, the DVD includes some mini-biographies of the three main members of Tap in its booklet. We get "the early years" of Nigel, "the later years" of David, and "all the years" of Derek. The text also lists a "necrology" of some of Tap's dead drummers. It's a brief but interesting piece. Whew! That's quite a package of material, but it doesn't exhaust all of the stuff we found on the Criterion LD. Of the greatest significance are that disc's two audio commentaries; we got one from Reiner, producer Karen Murphy, and editors Robert Layton and Kent Beyda, plus another from McKean, Guest and Shearer. These two tracks mark the most notable material that doesn't arrive on the new DVD, as both were exceedingly informative and compelling; they provide a lot of great details about the production and do so in a very entertaining manner. Criterion essentially refuse to license the commentaries they create, so that's why neither appears here. It's unfortunate, but I don't blame MGM for the omission. I don't know if they attempted to get the rights to Criterion's tracks, but I doubt they would have been able to obtain them in any case, based on what I know of the situation. The collection of deleted scenes on the Criterion disc differs from the set found on this DVD. Actually, at first glance, it appears that the former tossed in many more clips, as it lists 32 deleted scenes to the DVD's 14. However, that description is misleading since the DVD numbers the clips differently; this means that some scenes that account for one chapter on the DVD may be in two or more segments on the Criterion set. The more important number is the running time, which is virtually identical for both packages. The Criterion offers about 80 minutes of clips to this DVD's nearly 78 minutes of segments. Actually, that total is also misleading, since a couple of Criterion's deleted scenes appear elsewhere on the MGM DVD; its "music video" of "Gimme Some Money" was a Criterion "deleted scene", as was the "'Flower People' press conference", so once those clips are added to the total, the DVD actually runs longer than the Criterion in that department.
The next most substantial omission from the Criterion set is "Spinal Tap: The Final Tour". This 20-minute film is actually a demo for the movie itself, as the filmmakers used their script advance to make this instead of writing a formal text. I found this clip's absence confusing, since I don't know why there'd be any rights problems with it. The piece itself isn't nearly as entertaining as the actual film, although we see the genesis of some of the latter's material since a few gags appear there in embryonic form. While "ST:TFT" isn't terribly interesting on its own, it remains a vital piece of material for TIST fans, so I regret its absence. Additional missing components are less substantial. A second longer and funnier version of the "Cheese Rolling" trailer appears on the LD; this one was created to sell the film to theater owners, and the shorter edition actually just abbreviates this one, the original piece. Another unusual bit on the LD is a late Seventies appearance by the band on a spoof of the old "Midnight Special" TV show. Reiner plays Wolfman Jack and introduces Tap, where they play a song that doesn't exist in the movie. As with "ST:TFT", it's not the most entertaining program, but it's a great piece of history. The final missing video piece is called "Roma '79". In the deleted scenes of both packages, we see snippets from a film in which Derek appeared. "Roma '79" was the movie, and the end of the LD shows this bit in its entirety. (Of course, there was no such film, and all that exists of it is Derek's opening scene, which is what we find on the LD.) Finally, the Criterion LD included a wealth of text materials and photos. It used stillframe abilities to present many written details of the production, from the story outline to various notes that were made along the way. None of these make the cut on the DVD. Here's a quick list of the various pieces that appear on both the Criterion set and this DVD. In addition to roughly 50 percent of the deleted scenes, the shorter "Cheese Rolling" trailer, "Heavy Metal Memories", the "Hell Hole" video, "Gimme Some Money",and the "'Flower People' press conference" are the other shared components. This leaves these exclusives on the new DVD: the character audio commentary; "Catching Up With Marty Di Bergi"; about half of the deleted scenes; the "(Listen to the) Flower People" video; the Rock 'n Rolls ads; the theatrical trailer (non-cheese rolling); the three TV spots; the "Joe Franklin Show" snippet; and the "Big Bottom" video. If you've made it this far, you probably deserve a prize; treat yourself to this new DVD of This Is Spinal Tap and that'll be reward enough. The film is one of the all-time classics, a nearly-perfect comedy that continues to work amazingly well more than 15 years after its original release. The picture looks appropriately crude and cheesy, and the new 5.1 audio sounds absolutely great. Add in some choice supplements - many of which are new to this DVD - and you get a "must have" DVD. Remember when I said that TIST is maybe the best comedy ever? Scratch that - I wrote the line before I rewatched it tonight. This Is Spinal Tap is the greatest comedic film of all-time and it belongs in your DVD collection pronto.
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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 received glowing reviews, and I simply
didn't think it deserved such a fuss.
The movie features a negligible plot at best, but that makes sense since
it's supposed to emulate a documentary. Actually, a storyline does develop
once Jeanine (June Chadwick), the girlfriend of singer/guitarist David St.
Hubbins (McKean) appears on the scene; a "Yoko Ono" plot begins that causes
some dramatic activities in the film's final act.
This Is Spinal Tap appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.80:1
on this single-sided, double-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for
16X9 televisions. You'll note that I didn't add my usual "original
theatrical" tag before "aspect ratio" because I can't confirm that the
dimensions match those shown in theaters.
Colors are reasonably accurate but they generally seem a bit muddled and
bland; in general, they offer a vaguely murky appearance that doesn't look
tremendously tight. Black levels are decently dark and deep, but not
terribly strong, and shadow detail seems similarly good but a bit hazy.
I was somewhat reluctant to give this soundtrack such a high rating, but I
realized that even if TIST had come out last year, I'd have given it
a "B+" just because of the excellent sound quality; considering the age of
the material, I felt it deserved a slight "curve" and my "A-" is the result;
the remix adds life to the track but stays largely true to the original, and
it deserves high marks for achieving that goal.
Probably the most compelling extra on the DVD is the collection of deleted
scenes. That section features 14 clips, each of which range from 19 seconds
to nine minutes, 45 seconds, for a total running time of 77 minutes and 45
seconds. The number of scenes is actually a bit deceptive, as I'll discuss
when I make more direct comparisons to the Criterion package, so the running
time is the best indicator of the amount of material we find.
In the "Promotional Materials" area, we get a fairly traditional theatrical
trailer for the film's original release plus we find the famed "Cheese
Rolling" promo. The latter shows Reiner working at the editing desk; he
says that he can't show any clips from the movie since they're still making
it, so he offers some shows from a fictional festival in Scandinavia. It's
unusual and delightful.
Many of the scenes found on the DVD also appear in the Criterion, but a
surprisingly high number of them differ. I didn't make a formal comparison,
but I think that roughly half of the DVD's clips are new to us and weren't
on the Criterion release, and (obviously) vice versa. Cool realization:
between the two packages, we probably come pretty close to replicating the
film's original three hour-plus rough cut, since the combination of final
movie and all the deleted scenes totals at least three hours and 20 minutes.
I don't know if I'd ever want to actually watch a