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Nobody
Jul 25, 2000
Directed by: Rob Reiner aka Marty Di Bergi
Starring: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer

Okay, I've labelled this as a documentary only because there isn't an option for ROCKumentary.

This classic 1984 film follows the British heavy metal band Spinal Tap as they prepare to launch their now infamous self-titled "black album" on the American market. After such critically acclaimed albums as Shark Sandwich the band must resurrect their career with a tour of the US to introduce the audience to an inspirational repertoire of songs including Big Bottom, Stonehenge and the always profound Sex Farm.

This Is Spinal Tap captures more than it set out to do, as it witnesses the perils and complexities of life on the road testing the band members' dedication. They endure such obstacles as labyrinthine backstage areas, record company censorship, disinterested audiences, malfunctioning stage props, management disputes and tiny sandwiches. Whether they overcome these obstacles I won't say, but I'll mention that my favourite moment involves the band's big breakthough as the opening act for a puppet show.

The DVD release is especially valuable for those of us who grew up watching copies of copies of VHS copies, as it includes the original band members reflecting on times gone by in the audio commentary. Not to mention the entire second DVD full of deleted scenes, film clips and interviews.

I've voted this a five only because the votes don't go up to eleven.

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Juanito
Jan 20, 2004

I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?
Hell Gem
My favorite quote from the movie:

Nigel is playing some music on the piano.
Marty, the reporter: It's very pretty.
Nigel: You know, just simple lines intertwining, you know, very much like - I'm really influenced by Mozart and Bach, and it's sort of in between those, really. It's like a Mach piece, really. It's sort of...
Marty: What do you call this?
Nigel: Well, this piece is called "Lick My Love Pump."

Cousin Balki
Jan 31, 2002

quote:

Nobody came out of the closet to say:
I've voted this a five only because the votes don't go up to eleven.
God, I love that quote.

THESE AMPS GO TO ELEVEN!!

grutz
Mar 16, 2004

i am a BANANA!
So many classic lines. . .

Nigel Tufnel: It's like, how much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black.

Ian Faith: The Boston gig has been cancelled...
David St. Hubbins: What?
Ian Faith: Yeah. I wouldn't worry about it though, it's not a big college town.

And my most favorite of all:

Bobbi Fleckman: Ian, you put a greased naked woman...
Ian: Yes
Bobbi: ...on all fours...
Ian: Yes
Bobbi: ..with a dog collar around her neck...
Ian: with a dog collar
Bobbi: ...and a leash...
Ian: and a leash
Bobbi: ..and a man's arm extended out up to here holding onto the leash and pushing a black glove in her face to sniff it. You don't find that offensive? You don't find that sexist?"
(a few seconds later, Nigel and Ian are talking)
Nigel: Well so what? What's wrong with being sexy? I mean there's no...
Ian: Sex-ist.
David: -ist. More than sexy.


http://www.chiprowe.com/tap/scripts/tist.pdf - The complete script.

Squall91
Nov 19, 2002

DONG LARGO DEL BURRO DEL DONG
One of my favorite mockumentaries ever. Just endlessly quotable but I think it's all been done in this thread or whatnot (too lazy).

Quick Stop
May 12, 2001

D'flecting d'fensive ends and d'bilitating injuries
This movie really doesn't really make me laugh out loud when i watch it, but the overall movie is so much more than the sum of it's parts, which makes it one of the funniest movies ever. The Stonehenge bit is probably my favorite individual one.

edit: poo poo I voted 4, when I meant to hit 5 :(

Crazy Newbie
Dec 11, 2002
Dude.... no, our amp goes up to 11.

AHAHAHHA

Mr. Bonky
Jan 28, 2001
If you enjoyed shows like 'Home Movies' then this is probably a movie for you. While I found the movie on whole to be entertaining, I didn't find it extraordinarily funny. At the time, a brilliant idea that's been copied quite a bit since then. If your taste in humor is subtle and dry, then I recommend it. If you're looking for quirky, weird, or zany humor, then see this when you're in the mood for subtle humor.

3/5

madbeaner
Sep 11, 2003
i love you
I didn't know what the big deal was until i actually saw. it's a very subtle humor (most of the time, anyways) but it works loving perfect. one of my favorite movies of all time :D

de_sadesky
Mar 17, 2002
This film is perfect. Perfect. Also, the outtakes/commentary on the DVD are superb.

5 with a bullet.

Pointblank
Jan 1, 2004

It is a world transformed, where things are not what they seem.
I think I actually cried from laughter at about ten points throughout this movie.

It's got a perfect mixture of subtle humour and slapstick, even more enjoyable if you've ever been into the hard rock/heavy metal side of music.

I learned recently that most of the dialogue in this (and in stuff like A Mighty Wind) is pretty much all ad-lib, which really adds to the confusion in most scenes.

5/5

I Hate Emo
Mar 21, 2004

by elpintogrande
One of my favorite movies. If you're into British classic rock/metal, this is a must see. Also, if you've seen Best In Show, Waiting for Guffman, or A Mighty Wind, and liked any of those films, you'll love this. Christopher Guest and Michael Mckean are brilliant. Fred Willard makes a great appearance too.

Edit: As mentioned in an above post, the DVD extras are GREAT, including actual music videos for a few songs.

5/5

substitute
Aug 30, 2003

you for my mum
"This Is Spinal Tap" is the first movie I bought as a kid. I think this movie really takes on a whole other level of hilarity if you're a musician.

Cabbit
Jul 19, 2001

Is that everything you have?

quote:

grutz came out of the closet to say:
http://www.chiprowe.com/tap/scripts/tist.pdf - The complete script.

You, sir, rock.

There's not much I can say about this movie that hasn't already been said with a number of humorous quotes. It's really great.

Kynetx
Jan 8, 2003


Full of ignorant tribalism. Kinda sad.

quote:

substitute came out of the closet to say:
"This Is Spinal Tap" is the first movie I bought as a kid. I think this movie really takes on a whole other level of hilarity if you're a musician.

Indeed.
5/5

FistEnergy
Nov 3, 2000

DAY CREW: WORKING HARD

Fun Shoe
The movie by itself is a 5. With all the additional and HILARIOUS stuff on the DVD it gets a 5.5 easily. This is a fine example of using the DVD medium to its fullest.

Captain Fwiffo
Jan 23, 2004

Resident of Pluto
Excellent look at how patheticly serious people can take silly things, as with most Christopher Guest movies, and the Stone'enge scene will always be classically funny.

Dr_Strangelove
Dec 16, 2003

Mein Fuhrer! THEY WON!

My second-favorite comedy ever (you can guess what Number One is). It's the setup of the "These go to 11" gag that makes it so brilliant:

MARTY: Why don’t you just make ten louder and make ten be the top... number... and make that a little louder?

(pause)

NIGEL: These go to eleven.

That Nigel; dumb as a stump.

5/5

Pipski
Apr 18, 2004

poi - the cast (all professional actors) learned to play their instruments just to make this film. So many great moments ...

"You're making it ragga!"
"Dubly"

My favourite scene would have to be the stage act with the cocoons ...


Anyone remember the ads that used to occasionally turn up in the band pages of Kerrang, advertising for new drummers? `Spinal Tap require a new drummer, experience essential. Preferably fireproof.' lol.

Sulman
Apr 29, 2003

What did you do that for?

quote:

grutz came out of the closet to say:

Bobbi Fleckman: Ian, you put a greased naked woman...
Ian: Yes
Bobbi: ...on all fours...
Ian: Yes
Bobbi: ..with a dog collar around her neck...
Ian: with a dog collar
Bobbi: ...and a leash...
Ian: and a leash
Bobbi: ..and a man's arm extended out up to here holding onto the leash and pushing a black glove in her face to sniff it. You don't find that offensive? You don't find that sexist?"
(a few seconds later, Nigel and Ian are talking)
Nigel: Well so what? What's wrong with being sexy? I mean there's no...
Ian: Sex-ist.
David: -ist. More than sexy.



"You should have seen what they wanted to put there. It wasn't a glove I can tell you!" Classic.


Edit: Artie Fufkin, Polymer records.

SCOTT SMAGO
Aug 10, 2003
I judge people based on this. I ask them what the funniest movie ever made was, and if they don't say Tap, I'm disappointed, unless they've never seen it, then they tend to agree with me.

"I'm sure I'd feel much worse if I wasn't under such heavy sedation"

ALSO: "Mime is money"

abelwingnut
Dec 23, 2002


Here's what I've deduced from asking people about this film. Whether or not you like this film depends on your interest in old metal, classic rock, 60s pop rock and roll, psychedlia, glam rock, et al. If you don't know much, or don't care for much of any of these genres, it'll be hard to see the comedic genius behind the film. If you do like and understand these genres, prepare to watch the funniest film you've ever seen.

Spider Jerusalem
Mar 27, 2002

quote:

Cabbit came out of the closet to say:
There's not much I can say about this movie that hasn't already been said with a number of humorous quotes.
But that's part of the problem. I sat to watch it with some guys who were huge fans, and I'd already heard half of the funny bits before the movie started. (The whole "...goes to eleven" joke was repeated endlessly, and it wasn't the first time I'd heard it anyway.)

I also kind of got bored by the whole concept well before the end. Like, yeah, we get it, it's a documentary about a heavy metal band but it's actually a parody, ha ha, do we really have to sit through another hour?

It did have its moments, though. The lyrics to the songs were excellent--in that they were completely ridiculous and yet they didn't sound much different from "real" rock lyrics (which, I guess, tells you everything you need to know about heavy metal lyrics.) I also liked how they set up Hubbins and Nigel in their performances--it's like they're playing and singing two completely different songs, and they just happen to be on stage at the same time.

Shady Lane
Jul 21, 2002

Chilin ( <3 C-Mart )
If you've enjoyed any other Christopher Guest movie or you really enjoy some dry humor, you really need to see this movie.

stomachpancake
Nov 18, 2003

I'm fucking Lady Jaye.
I showed this movie to my roomates and their friends about a year ago. They loved it so much we watched it three times straight--the third time with the Nigel-David-Derek comentary, which made it seem like an entirely new movie. It remains the most quoted and loved movie among all of us.

Everybody needs to see Spinal Tap. Purchase the DVD, it's one of the most packed, deep discs out there.

If you liked "Best in Show" or "A Mighty Wind" this movie is about ten times better, and I loved those two.

"He was the patron saint of quality footwear."

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Pascallion
Sep 15, 2003
Man, what the fuck, man?
The first time I saw this movie, I would have given it a 3/4 or so. Then I saw it again and I laughed harder. Then again and I laughed even harder. By the end of the summer, my sister had put it on (and I had watched along with) 7 times and I definitely consider it one of the greatest comedies ever made.

The whole hors d'oevre scene with the non-foldable bread is fantastic and, as has been mentioned, the DVD treatment was superb. I was in love with the DVD even before I saw the special features because the menu music loops GRACEFULLY!

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