This Is Spinal Tap
| This Is Spinal Tap | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Rob Reiner |
| Written by |
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| Produced by | Karen Murphy |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Peter Smokler |
| Edited by |
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| Music by |
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Production company | Spinal Tap Productions |
| Distributed by | Embassy Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 82 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2 million[1] |
| Box office | $5.8 million (North America)[2] |
This Is Spinal Tap (also known as This Is Spinal Tap: A Rockumentary by Martin Di Bergi[a]) is a 1984 American mockumentary comedy film directed by Rob Reiner in his feature directorial debut. Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer wrote the screenplay.
Guest, McKean, and Shearer play members of the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap.[3][4] Reiner plays Martin "Marty" Di Bergi, a documentary filmmaker following the band's American tour. The film satirizes the behavior and musical pretensions of rock bands and the hagiographic tendencies of rock documentaries such as The Song Remains the Same (1976) and The Last Waltz (1978), similarly to what All You Need Is Cash (1978) by the Rutles did for the Beatles.[5] Most of its dialogue was improvised and dozens of hours were filmed.
This Is Spinal Tap was released to critical acclaim, but found only modest commercial success in theaters. Its later VHS release brought greater success and a cult following. Credited with "effectively" launching the mockumentary genre,[4] it is also notable as the origin of the phrase "up to eleven". Deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2002. Reiner, Guest, McKean, and Shearer reprised their roles for the 2025 sequel Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.
- ^ Nixon, Rob. "The Big Idea Behind THIS IS SPINAL TAP". Turner Classic Movies. Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ^ "This Is Spinal Tap (1984)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 8, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
- ^ Hill, Stephen (April 29, 2014). "11 Reasons We Love Spın̈al Tap". Louder. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- ^ a b Arnold, Jeremy (2016). 52 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter (1st ed.). Running Press. ISBN 978-0762459469. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- ^ Yarbroff, Jenny (April 10, 2009). "Spinal Tap and its Influence". Newsweek. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
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