This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

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 | Spoof | Satire | 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:

Nigel Tufnel's name is a joke on Eric Clapton, derived from "dull name" and "location in London". Eric became Nigel, and "Clapton Pond" became "Tufnell Park": Nigel Tufnel.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Before the Jazz Odyssey scene, David and Viv are discussing the amended (and much shortened) set list. David, when running down the list says "Heavy, Hole..." rather than saying "Heavy Hole" as has been stated here before. This can be seen as a mix up between two other Tap songs, "Heavy Duty" and "Hell Hole", but in reality David is referring to the two songs separately, in a sort of shorthand (using only a portion of each title) as he runs down the list of songs they might be able to play.

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:

Referenced in Ten Inch Hero (2007)

Soundtrack:

Hell Hole

Cult classic

By many seen as the favorite cult classic (together with 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show') 'This is Spinal Tap' is truly a comedy masterpiece. The rockumentary about fake band Spinal Tap seems so honest and serious that the slightest joke gets a huge laugh. We follow the band together with a documentary filmmaker, played by director Rob Reiner, on a tour that must make sure they will have a comeback. We see some of their shows where things go wrong, we see how they argue about the cover of their album, and we see how a girlfriend almost destroys the band.

The movie handles all these events as serious as possible, presenting itself as a real documentary about a real band. The fact that the band members are not too bright makes it funny. Especially the scene where the lead singer talks about an amplifier that goes to eleven instead of ten and therefore produces louder sounds is hilarious. The scene where the band plays on a Stonehenge stage is a classic, very memorable.

Writer Christopher Guest recently wrote and starred in 'Best in Show' (2000) and 'A Mighty Wind' (2003), two hilarious and terrific fake documentaries, the so-called mockumentaries, but 'This is Spinal Tap' stays the classic example. He and his co-writers, including director Reiner, have created the ultimate cult classic.