This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writers:

Christopher Guest (written by) &
Michael McKean (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

2 March 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Tagline:

Does for rock and roll what "The Sound of Music" did for hills

Plot:

Spinal Tap, the world's loudest band, is chronicled by hack documentarian Marti DeBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour.

Plot Keywords:

Band | Heavy Metal | Satire | Spoof | Stonehenge

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Rob Reiner	...	Marty DiBergi
Kimberly Stringer	...	Heavy Metal Fan
Chazz Dominguez	...	Heavy Metal Fan
Shari Hall	...	Heavy Metal Fan
R.J. Parnell	...	Mick Shrimpton
David Kaff	...	Viv Savage
Tony Hendra	...	Ian Faith
Michael McKean	...	David St. Hubbins
Christopher Guest	...	Nigel Tufnel
Harry Shearer	...	Derek Smalls
Bruno Kirby	...	Tommy Pischedda
Jean Cromie	...	Ethereal Fan
Patrick Maher	...	New York M.C.
Ed Begley Jr.	...	John 'Stumpy' Pepys
Danny Kortchmar	...	Ronnie Pudding
Fran Drescher	...	Bobbi Flekman
Patrick Macnee	...	Sir Denis Eton-Hogg (as Patrick MacNee)
Memo Vera	...	Bartender
Julie Payne	...	Mime Waitress
Dana Carvey	...	Mime Waiter
Sandy Helberg	...	Angelo DiMentibelio
Robin Menken	...	Angelo's Associate (as Robin Mencken)
Zane Buzby	...	Rolling Stone Reporter
Billy Crystal	...	Morty the Mime
Jennifer Child	...	Limo Groupie
J.J. Barry	...	Rack Jobber
George McDaniel	...	Southern Rock Promoter
Paul Benedict	...	Tucker 'Smitty' Brown
Anne Churchill	...	Reba
Howard Hesseman	...	Terry Ladd
Paul Shortino	...	Duke Fame
Cherie Darr	...	Fame Groupie
Lara Cody	...	Fame Groupie
Andrew J. Lederer	...	Student Promoter
Russ Kunkel	...	Eric 'Stumpy Joe' Childs
Diana Duncan	...	'Jamboree Bop' Dancer
Gina Marie Pitrello	...	'Jamboree Bop' Dancer
June Chadwick	...	Jeanine Pettibone
Victory Tischler-Blue	...	Cindy (as Vicki Blue)
Joyce Hyser	...	Belinda
Gloria Gifford	...	Airport Security Officer
Paul Shaffer	...	Artie Fufkin
Archie Hahn	...	Room Service Guy
Charles Levin	...	Disc 'n' Dat Manager
Wonderful Smith	...	Janitor
Anjelica Huston	...	Polly Deutsch (also as Angelica Huston)
Chris Romano	...	Little Druid
Daniel Rodgers	...	Little Druid
Fred Willard	...	Colonel On Military Base
Fred Asparagus	...	Joe 'Mama' Besser
Rodney Kemerer	...	L.A. Party Guest
Robert Bauer	...	Moke
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Helen Kelly	...	'Pod' Concert Viewer (uncredited)
Paul Korda	...	Rock star, LA party guest (uncredited)
Blackie Lawless	...	Comercial Headbanger (uncredited)
Claudia Sloan	...	Girlfriend (uncredited)
Brinke Stevens	...	Girlfriend (uncredited)

Directed by
Rob Reiner

Writing credits
Christopher Guest		(written by) &
Michael McKean		(written by) &
Harry Shearer		(written by) &
Rob Reiner		(written by)

Produced by
Karen Murphy	....	producer

Original Music by
Christopher Guest
Michael McKean
Rob Reiner
Harry Shearer

Cinematography by
Peter Smokler

Film Editing by
Kent Beyda
Kim Secrist

Casting by
Eve Brandstein

Production Design by
Bryan Jones

Makeup Department
Michele Payne	....	hair stylist supervisor
Michele Payne	....	makeup supervisor
Patricia Messina	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Lindsay Doran	....	executive in charge of production
Cary Glieberman	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Irwin Marcus	....	second assistant director
Donald Newman	....	first assistant director
Roger La Page	....	first assistant director: second unit (uncredited)

Art Department
Gregory Boone	....	designer: logo and album covers
Bernt Amadeus Capra	....	assistant production designer (as Bernt Capra)
Tommy Estridge	....	property master
Stan Harris	....	additional art director
James Maher	....	art director: Look & Listen
Will Weston	....	designer: additional album covers
Kent State	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Douglas B. Arnold	....	concert playback operator (as Doug Arnold)
Beth Bergeron	....	sound editor
John Brasher	....	supervising sound editor
David E. Campbell	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Dave Campbell)
Roberta Doheny	....	sound effects editor
Robert Eber	....	sound mixer (as Bob Eber)
Alia Kahn	....	sound assistant
Lars Nelson	....	sound effects recordist
John T. Reitz	....	sound re-recording mixer (as John Reitz)
Gregg Rudloff	....	sound re-recording mixer
Philip Rogers	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Wayne Beauchamp	....	concert special effects (as James Beauchamp)

Camera and Electrical Department
Victor Abbene	....	electrician
Ben Batzdorff	....	best boy
Rod Blackie	....	assistant camera
Hilyard John Brown	....	additional camera operator (as H.J. Brown)
Robert Carmichael	....	additional camera operator (as Bob Carmichael)
Skip Cook	....	best boy grip
Thomas Geren	....	additional camera operator (as Tom Geren)
Steven Green	....	assistant camera (as Steve Green)
Joseph Matlock	....	grip
Bill Meurer	....	gaffer
Richard Ocean	....	lighting designer: concert lighting
James Quakenbush	....	assistant camera
Hector Ramirez	....	additional camera operator
Rick Robertson	....	additional camera operator
Jeff Smith	....	key grip
Kristin York	....	unit photographer
Mark Simon	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Mark Simon	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Marc Hirschfeld	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Renee Johnston	....	costume stylist
Lesley Neufeld	....	wardrobe assistant (as Lesley Nicholson)

Editorial Department
Christine Cholvin	....	assistant editor
Robert Leighton	....	supervising editor
Marsha Murphy	....	post-production coordinator
Cathy Rosenstein	....	post-production coordinator
Arthur Tostado	....	color timer (as Art Tostado)

Music Department
Harlan Collins	....	music arranger: "Cup & Cakes"
Christopher Guest	....	musician
David Kaff	....	musician
Kenneth Karman	....	music editor
Patrick McDonald	....	music recording engineer
Michael McKean	....	musician
R.J. Parnell	....	musician
Harry Shearer	....	musician
John Sinclair	....	musical stylist
John Sinclair	....	musician: additional keyboards
Bob Badami	....	music editor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Billy G. Arter	....	transportation coordinator (as Billy Arter)
Ed Hanna	....	driver
Joe Johnson	....	driver

Other crew
Robert Bauer	....	band road manager
Harlan Collins	....	copyist: "Cup & Cakes"
Leslie Cornyn	....	assistant production controller
Jane Covner	....	unit publicist
Margaret E. Fannin	....	production coordinator
David Guerra	....	roadie
Bill Hankins	....	production liaison
Vicki Hillman	....	production liaison
Carol Kravetz	....	choreographer
Ralph Lee Moss	....	roadie
Debbie Nodella	....	production secretary
Anne Rapp	....	continuity
Douglas E. Stoll	....	location manager (as Douglas Evan Stoll)
Jeffrey Stott	....	production controller (as Jeff Stott)
Steve Turek	....	craft service
Michael Thomas Slifkin	....	talent coordinator (uncredited)

Thanks
Susan Rogers	....	acknowledgment: still photographs provided by

Production Companies

• Spinal Tap Prod.

Distributors

• Embassy Pictures Corporation (1984) (USA) (theatrical)
• Savoy Filmi (1985) (Finland) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2002) (re-release)
• Carlotta Films (France)
• Criterion Collection, The (1994) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Criterion Collection, The (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (video)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (2000) (USA) (re-release) (also video)
• Oy Europa Vision AB (????) (Finland) (VHS)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• Studio Canal
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1993) (Finland) (TV) (TV2)

Other Companies

• Atmosphere Agency  additional casting
• Christal Blue Casting  additional casting
• Ludwig Drums  drums
• Miscut Enterprises Inc.  negative cutting
• Star  additional casting
• Universal Records  soundtrack published by

Also Known As:

This is Spinal Tap®: A Rockumentary by Martin Di Bergi (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.70 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 (TV rating) | Australia:M | Canada:G (Quebec) | Finland:K-7 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-8 (original rating) | France:U | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Spinal Tap Prod.

Trivia:

It is revealed that "37 different people have been in the band over the years". Minus the two original members, one keyboard player, and the original and current bass players, this implies that the band has had 32 different drummers who inexplicably died.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: At the time the film is set, it was common for British rock stars to be mid-Atlantic "fake Americans". This could explain Nigel's pronunciation of "semi" and Derek's "zipper". Also, note that Jeanine says "airplane" and not "aeroplane". Exit was also pronounced 'egg-sit' rather than the British 'x-it'.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Marty DiBergi: Hello; my name is Marty DiBergi. I'm a filmmaker. I make a lot of commercials. That little dog that chases the covered wagon underneath the sink? That was mine. In 1966, I went down to Greenwich Village, New York City to a rock club called Electric Banana. Don't look for it; it's not there anymore. But that night, I heard a band that for me redefined the word "rock and roll". I remember being knocked out by their...

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

All The Way Home

Smell the Glove!

The humor of "This is Spinal Tap" has a special time-release formula. I didn't find myself rolling on the floor laughing the first time I saw this but as the day went on my friends and I couldn't stop recalling the dialogue. This movie is a legend.

"See Spinal Tap" should be written in the dictionary next to satire. Lately satire has come to mean a simple mockery of pop-culture instead of "human vice or folly attacked through irony, derision or wit". Movies like "Scary Movie" claim to be parodies or satire without even trying to be witty. They just imitate something as opposed to commenting on it. True satire takes a bit more work by the writers and will make you laugh much harder.

Spinal Tap gives you the absurdity of the rock and roll world, yet still respects the music. I understood this when I saw a clip of the movie for the first time at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was the scene with amps that go to "11". I couldn't stop thinking about that scene until I finally saw the movie. Every aspect of the music world is lampooned; arrogance, absurdity, backstage crybabies, has-beenism, volume, even the Beatles. This movie is quoted like the Simpsons, which isn't always good but certainly proof of legendary movie. It's dry, deadpan humor and it may take a day to sink in but this movie is hilarious.