Blu-Ray Review: ‘This Is Spinal Tap’

Today was the release of ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ on Blu-Ray and I promise not to say that this Blu-Ray goes to 11. I’m sure you will see that line in every Blu-Ray review of the film and I strive for originality. Besides, the sticker on the front and the artwork on the back of the case say it for me.

I know I will get a wave of hate from admitting this but I had never seen ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ before.   I have, of course, heard of the film and seen clips before, but I had never watched the film. I finally got a chance to yesterday on Blu-Ray. While I don’t believe it lives up to the hype as one of the funniest films ever made, it is nevertheless a very funny film. Some parts were flat out hilarious while others provided some minor chuckles, but I was always entertained. The songs are great and the slew of things that go wrong on tour are hysterical. Some of the humor is rather simple but just very well done to the point where you are laughing when you don’t think you will. The band getting lost backstage was one of my favorite parts of the film and I really don’t know why.

I did not read the extras on the back of the case so I opened the package to see 2 discs. I thought it was a bonus soundtrack but it turned out to be a standard definition DVD with 2 extras on it. From what I understand, these two extras are the only new features with everything else being carried over from a previous DVD release. The features include outtakes, deleted scenes and a where are they now? style featurette about the fictional director of the “documentary,” Marty DiBergi. There are also some fake press conferences, 4 music videos, a fake TV show appearance and some old trailers. There is also a audio commentary with everyone in character. Of these, I think the fake press conferences with Spinal Tap are the best but I’m sure fans of the film will enjoy them all.

The second disc, the standard definition Bonus DVD, has the two newest features. The first is the live appearance of the band that was part of the 2007 Live Earth Concert. The band performed their hit “Stonehenge” with a larger scale model this time. However, there is still a subtle problem that made the performance hilarious. In addition to the live footage, there are also a few snippets of an interview with one of the band members, Nigel Tufnel, about Stonehenge that National Geographic created to advertise their Stonehenge documentary. The disc run time totals about 12 minutes, which leads me to wonder why didn’t they just include it on the Blu-Ray disc?

The picture quality is fantastic in my opinion. Obviously it does not look like it was just filmed this year but the video looks great. It especially looks good compared to the unmastered footage in the bonus features, which are all presented in standard definition. I do not have the DVD release to test the Blu-Ray upconvert for comparison. Luckily for this music driven film, it sounds just as good as it looks.

While I prefer ‘Walk Hard’ when it comes to comedies about fictional musicians, “This Is Spinal Tap’ is a hilarious film and this Blu-Ray is the best way to see it, along with a bunch of other awesome extras. This Blu-Ray certainly goes to 11. Damnit!

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com