The Film
For a band that never really existed, Spinal Tap has reached cult status thanks this "mockumentary" - the first of its type as a matter of fact - which today still remains quotable and while dated, is no less so than the real documentaries of the era. This is Spinal Tap is a low budget and equally lowbrow film which captures the essence of every eccentric classic rock and metal band that ever toured Europe or America and trashed a hotel room or demanded a particular color of M&Ms be removed from the bowl back stage.
The band plays up every stereotypical joke made infamous by rockstar legends in deadpan comedy, complete with bizarre stage props and tensions between egotistical band members. Fans of big hair musical acts of days past and even present will still appreciate the film, although what's absent are any signs of the over indulgence, namely the sex and drugs part of rock and roll. Abundant however, are the tight pants and heavy metal hair that were ever present on stage in the ‘80s.
The Picture
What's also dated is the picture, and it makes us think we're doing the time warp while watching it. This is Spinal Tap looks like a low budget documentary filmed in the ‘80s, and the studio did little to clean up the quality of the picture. Must of the problem is that the source material just isn't all that great, and while mostly free of any noise or artifacts, the picture just is a bit flat. The colors are somewhat muted, and visually it just feels like a step up from an old VHS copy. This isn't one that improves with HD, but then again the somewhat sorry production values are what makes this one feel so real!
The Sound
As with the picture, the sound falls a little short of 11; an overplayed joke in the movie (and by fans). The same way Spinal Tap plans elaborate stage acts that are sure to fail with comic effect, the sound had similar failure. While the dialog is generally clear, this one has all the sonic range of a cassette tape. For such a music-heavy production, both the dialog and the movie lacked the punch present in more modern flicks such as Dreamgirls or even the more recent A Mighty Wind, which shares Tap's lead actors Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, and Christopher Guest.
The Extras
The Special Features department is where This is Spinal Tap on Blu-ray manages to make some magic. There's a mini-mockumentary added to the documentary-style film itself that follows Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner), the one following the band to interview and capture their actions. He explains how the band disliked him after filming the incident where they got lost backstage before a concert.
In addition to the mock featurette of Marty DiBergi, the Blu-ray includes a smattering of deleted scenes; a video and press conference with Flower People, Spinal Tap's previous band; Spinal Tap music videos; the band's appearance on the Joe Franklin Show; and even Spinal Tap selling a few goods. A bonus DVD offers the Live Earth 2007 concert performance of the song "Stonehenge," along with Nigel Tufnel's comedic mock National Geographic interview on the topic of Stonehenge. The extras make up for the shortcomings of the sound and picture, and unlike the band actually pull it together.
Final Thoughts
Some old classics get better with age, and some just seem silly when revisited. This is Spinal Tap falls in between. It isn't as dated or as embarrassing as the actual era of music that it mocks, but the feature doesn't really improve on Blu-ray. It still looks and sound low-budget, and were it not for a few new bonus features this one would merely be worthy of the cutout bin.
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