Film 146 in the "1001 Films to See Before You Die" challenge is 1984's "This is Spinal Tap". This music mockumentary looks at British heavy metal band Spinal Tap and the wild behavior of rock bands in the 1980's. This is the first time seeing this film with the exception of one scene where Nigel talks about how his Marshall amps go to 11. I had never seen the Stonehenge scene prior to this and getting to see it in full was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. How can you mess up something like that? Simple, you get inches and feet confused. In 2008, Ozzy Osbourne had this to say about the Stonehenge scene, "After watching the 'Stonehenge' scene... I thought, why not fake the execution of a middget onstage?" I'm not quite sure what Ozzy means by this but it does remind me of the time he bit a bats head off. This is a really good film and would highly recommend watching. It reminded me a lot of the documentary series "The Decline of Western Civilization" with the first film looking at Los Angeles Punk Rock, the second looking at Metal and the third looking at Gutter Punk lifestyles of homeless teens. Again, I would recommend giving them a watch if your a music fan like me. Especially of those genres of music. Fun Fact of the Film - Among the inspirations for the Tap were British metal act Saxon, whom Harry Shearer accompanied on tour. If you have seen this film then let me know what you thought of it in the comments. Here is what I had to say while watching 1984's "This is Spinal Tap"
Film - This Is Spinal Tap
Year - 1984
Director - Rob Reiner
Written by - Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner
Staring - Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest
IMDb Rating - 8/10
My Rating - 8.2/10
Length - 79 min (1h 19min)
Genre - Comedy, Music
Hello Marty
Marty tells us about the first time he saw Spinal Tap in concert
Time to see how they will promote "Smell the Glove"
Don't drop the skull
"The music just unites people"
Get out the shot cameraman
Time to know how the band got together
They used to be called The Originals
Is this taken from a Beatles concert?
Our drummer died while gardening?!?
Stumpy Joe died as well choking on someone elses vomit
Time to party
The band are as confused as I am about who she is
They have mimes as waiters
Let's wish Spinal Tap luck on their North America tour
Time to talk about the book "Yes I Am"
Time for another concert
Is that two bass guitars combined into one?
Is everyone playing the bass?
Lets talk about reviews
"Shark Sandwich"
How can we promote something that doesn't exist
Wait.... We've cancelled our Boston gig!
Turns out the label doesn't like the album cover - It's a naked greased woman wearing a dog collar being sexually abused
We don't talk about The White Album
The label isn't doing to release the album due to the album cover
Sears and K-Mart are now boycotting their albums
Let's talk over breakfast about how we met
"All the Way Home" - It's clear they haven't performed this in a while
Time for the next concert
Why is this bread so small?
Nigel is upset about the size of the bread
Are those half-eaten Oreos?
Help me back up!
Better yet! Spin me!!!
Let's take a look at Nigel's guitar collection
Here we have a Les Paul
Here we have a custom 3-picker with a wireless
Don't point at my guitar!
A Marshall Amp that goes to 11
It's one higher
So... We have to get 14 people in one room
"What's the difference beteween golf and mini golf?"
We've cancelled Memphis due to poor advertisements
I have a random cricket bat in my office.... Just because
3 more gigs cancelled
Hooray! The wife is coming on tour with us
They just played "All The Way Home" on the radio
It's Elvis Presley's grave
Let's sing a little "Heartbreak Hotel"
Don't swear over Elvis's grave
It's another Beatles concert rip-off
Why is it that all their drummers die in weird ways - He exploded on stage
Time to sound check
David's wife has arrived
We have copies of "Smell the Glove"
The album cover is black! No letters, no pictures, nothing
David doesn't like this
Am I on the set of Dead Space?
Is it me or Nigel's guitar is small?
Derek is stuck in his pod!
That is the weakest hammer I've ever seen
Lets set fire to it
Derek is out!
Marty decides to chat with the drummer in the bath
Nothing like playing a Commadore 64 on the tour bus
David then talks about his wife Jeanine
Marty and Nigel chat about Nigel's piano skills
The D Chord makes everyone weep
There had to be one person who sets off the security alarm at the airport
Does Derek have a metal penis?
It's a cucumber in tin foil!!!
Concert time
What the hell is wrong with the keyboard player?
The band have a meetng with Artie from the record label but we don't see that
At the album signing... No one turned up
Artie takes the blame for no one turning up
Time for our next gig... If only we knew where the exit was
They get directions from a plumber
At Season's Dining
David and Jeanine say the album was mixed wrong
"They don't do heavy metal in Dublin" Or was it Derby?
Jeanine has designed new costumes based on star signs
Nigel suggests having a Stonehenge stage setting
All good designs come from drawings on napkins
Marty asks Nigel about his solos
This is not a good one
LOOK AT MY NIKES!!
Solo with a violin and a guitar
That's Stonehenge!!!
Fuck it! The show goes on!
Why is everyone dressed like druid?
They even have a song about Stonehenge
Leprechauns?
Let's blame Nigel's drawing for the small Stonehenge
It seems that Jeanine is added herself as a band member
She suggests that the manager hires help... in her!
Actually she wants to be Co-Manager
The manager has quit!
Looks like Jeanine is now the new manager
Back to Marty and Nigel's interview about David
"We're closer than brothers"
At the band recording we see Nigel and David argue about Jeanine
Time to interview Derek about what he thinks about Nigel and David
So... the original gig is cancelled but we have a back-up gig at an Air Force Base
Holy shit it's Fred Willard!
It's clear that no one likes this concert
Even Nigel knows this concert sucks
Nigel rage quits and leaves the concert
Turns out Nigel has left the band
37 people have been in Spinal Tap
David tells Marty that he and Nigel will never work together again
"We've got a bigger dressing room than the puppet show"
So... The set list needs changing due to Nigel's absense
The set list is all instrumental.... and terrible
It's the last show of the tour tonight in Los Angeles
David and Derek have a chat about maybe retiring after the tour
Derek wants to do a musical on Jack The Ripper
David wants to do a acoustic album
Nigel! What's he doing here?
He's got a message from their past manager saying Smell The Glove about reforming and doing a Japan tour
"Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight"
Looks like Nigel's back in the band much to the dismay of Jeanine
Did the drummer just explode us into Japan
Also, it looks like the past manager is back with his cricket bat
Back with a selection of interviews as the credits roll
THE END
Film - This Is Spinal Tap
Year - 1984
Director - Rob Reiner
Written by - Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner
Staring - Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest
IMDb Rating - 8/10
My Rating - 8.2/10
Length - 79 min (1h 19min)
Genre - Comedy, Music
Hello Marty
Marty tells us about the first time he saw Spinal Tap in concert
Time to see how they will promote "Smell the Glove"
Don't drop the skull
"The music just unites people"
Get out the shot cameraman
Time to know how the band got together
They used to be called The Originals
Is this taken from a Beatles concert?
Our drummer died while gardening?!?
Stumpy Joe died as well choking on someone elses vomit
Time to party
The band are as confused as I am about who she is
They have mimes as waiters
Let's wish Spinal Tap luck on their North America tour
Time to talk about the book "Yes I Am"
Time for another concert
Is that two bass guitars combined into one?
Is everyone playing the bass?
Lets talk about reviews
"Shark Sandwich"
How can we promote something that doesn't exist
Wait.... We've cancelled our Boston gig!
Turns out the label doesn't like the album cover - It's a naked greased woman wearing a dog collar being sexually abused
We don't talk about The White Album
The label isn't doing to release the album due to the album cover
Sears and K-Mart are now boycotting their albums
Let's talk over breakfast about how we met
"All the Way Home" - It's clear they haven't performed this in a while
Time for the next concert
Why is this bread so small?
Nigel is upset about the size of the bread
Are those half-eaten Oreos?
Help me back up!
Better yet! Spin me!!!
Let's take a look at Nigel's guitar collection
Here we have a Les Paul
Here we have a custom 3-picker with a wireless
Don't point at my guitar!
A Marshall Amp that goes to 11
It's one higher
So... We have to get 14 people in one room
"What's the difference beteween golf and mini golf?"
We've cancelled Memphis due to poor advertisements
I have a random cricket bat in my office.... Just because
3 more gigs cancelled
Hooray! The wife is coming on tour with us
They just played "All The Way Home" on the radio
It's Elvis Presley's grave
Let's sing a little "Heartbreak Hotel"
Don't swear over Elvis's grave
It's another Beatles concert rip-off
Why is it that all their drummers die in weird ways - He exploded on stage
Time to sound check
David's wife has arrived
We have copies of "Smell the Glove"
The album cover is black! No letters, no pictures, nothing
David doesn't like this
Am I on the set of Dead Space?
Is it me or Nigel's guitar is small?
Derek is stuck in his pod!
That is the weakest hammer I've ever seen
Lets set fire to it
Derek is out!
Marty decides to chat with the drummer in the bath
Nothing like playing a Commadore 64 on the tour bus
David then talks about his wife Jeanine
Marty and Nigel chat about Nigel's piano skills
The D Chord makes everyone weep
There had to be one person who sets off the security alarm at the airport
Does Derek have a metal penis?
It's a cucumber in tin foil!!!
Concert time
What the hell is wrong with the keyboard player?
The band have a meetng with Artie from the record label but we don't see that
At the album signing... No one turned up
Artie takes the blame for no one turning up
Time for our next gig... If only we knew where the exit was
They get directions from a plumber
At Season's Dining
David and Jeanine say the album was mixed wrong
"They don't do heavy metal in Dublin" Or was it Derby?
Jeanine has designed new costumes based on star signs
Nigel suggests having a Stonehenge stage setting
All good designs come from drawings on napkins
Marty asks Nigel about his solos
This is not a good one
LOOK AT MY NIKES!!
Solo with a violin and a guitar
That's Stonehenge!!!
Fuck it! The show goes on!
Why is everyone dressed like druid?
They even have a song about Stonehenge
Leprechauns?
Let's blame Nigel's drawing for the small Stonehenge
It seems that Jeanine is added herself as a band member
She suggests that the manager hires help... in her!
Actually she wants to be Co-Manager
The manager has quit!
Looks like Jeanine is now the new manager
Back to Marty and Nigel's interview about David
"We're closer than brothers"
At the band recording we see Nigel and David argue about Jeanine
Time to interview Derek about what he thinks about Nigel and David
So... the original gig is cancelled but we have a back-up gig at an Air Force Base
Holy shit it's Fred Willard!
It's clear that no one likes this concert
Even Nigel knows this concert sucks
Nigel rage quits and leaves the concert
Turns out Nigel has left the band
37 people have been in Spinal Tap
David tells Marty that he and Nigel will never work together again
"We've got a bigger dressing room than the puppet show"
So... The set list needs changing due to Nigel's absense
The set list is all instrumental.... and terrible
It's the last show of the tour tonight in Los Angeles
David and Derek have a chat about maybe retiring after the tour
Derek wants to do a musical on Jack The Ripper
David wants to do a acoustic album
Nigel! What's he doing here?
He's got a message from their past manager saying Smell The Glove about reforming and doing a Japan tour
"Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight"
Looks like Nigel's back in the band much to the dismay of Jeanine
Did the drummer just explode us into Japan
Also, it looks like the past manager is back with his cricket bat
Back with a selection of interviews as the credits roll
THE END