The Return of Spinal Tap is based around Tap's performance at the Royal Albert Hall in 1992. In between the footage of Messrs. St. Hubbins, Tufnel, and Smalls performing in front of a huge crowd enthusiastically determi... more »ned to go along with the joke, there are clips purporting to investigate the band's humble origins in the East London suburb of Squatney, and updates from "rockumentary" director Marty DiBergi and hapless record plugger Artie Fufkin from the original movie. It is the latter component that is the real strength of Return. Though the concert footage faithfully rehashes many of the film's most treasured jokes (the malfunctioning props, the dancing midgets), the real satirical strength of This Is Spinal Tap was never its treatment of heavy metal music (which, after all, is hardly a difficult target). What the first movie did best was illuminate the egomania, paranoia, delusion, and stupidity that are the cornerstones of rock & roll as it is lived. The Return of Spinal Tap is a worthy companion piece. --Andrew Mueller« less
"While nothing, absolutely nothing, can compete with the original "This is Spinal Tap" for comedic genius, this DVD is a brilliant work in it's own right. While it is true that the majority (maybe 75 percent or so) of the film is a live show shot in the Royal Albert Hall in 1992, there are numerous interludes and links to keep the satire quotient pegged. All in all the music is performed well, but some of the newer materiel falls a bit flat compared to the "Smell the Glove" set. Songs like "Cash on Delivery" and "Clam Caravan", while vaguely amusing are not up to the normal Tap standards (although Nigel playing the clarinet is quite a sight), and the Rap version of "Sex Farm" was just plain annoying. Having said that, there are moments of inspired brilliance here. During "Stonehenge" they have the opposite problem they had in the original...the monument is too huge to get in the theatre. During "Big Bottom" all three play basses, which is not only funny to think about, but very funny to actually hear. The guitar pyrotechnics and way over the top soloing of Nigel Tufnel continue in "Diva Fever", a forgettable song without the solo. During this particular solo (during which Derek takes a cab and gets a huge meal at a restaurant, while David has a cucumber facial and pedicure) Nigel plays his guitars by throwing horseshoes at them, juggling while playing with his feet, etc.Interspersed with the concert footage are numerous links, most of which are utterly brilliant. We learn that Nigel has invented a folding wine glass (he still needs the rubber hinges), and has founded 'Travel for Animals', an organization that allows animals (in this case his ferret, Trevor) to travel with their own passport. We learn that Derek goes on his father's telephone sanitizing service ('Sani Phone') business calls with him to help make ends meet, and has invested in not one, but two unbuilt London apartments, the net result of which is that he has to stay in a hotel while in London. David and his wife now work part time at a summer soccer camp in California and she runs 'Potato Republic', a store specializing in itchy Irish clothing. Additionally, David and Nigel visit their boyhood home of Squatney, and reminisce. All of these bits are inspired as are the guest spots featuring things like Mel Torme singing "Big Bottom" and a member of Primus with a picture of Derek tattooed on his bicep. My only irritant with this DVD is that some of the songs are incorrectly named in the liner notes for some reason; for instance, "Big Bottom" is called "Bum Cakes" in the credits. All in all, I think this is a wonderful DVD, and is well worth the money. If you are a true Tap fan, you must own this!"
Know what to expect
Itamar Katz | Ramat-Gan, Israel | 07/10/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Those who loved This Is Spinal Tap generally divide into two categories: those who love heavy metal and those who hate it. If you fall into the latter, The Return of Spinal Tap is probably not for you. If, on the other hand, you watched the movie and then went out and bought the soundtrack... it's definitely worth your time. You should know, though, what to expect beforehand.The Return of Spinal Tap is not a satire or a mockumentary like This Is Spinal Tap. It's nothing more and nothing less than Spinal Tap Live. Don't get me wrong: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer are still funny as hell; but the brilliant commentaries carry less weight in favor of the music. And why not? The joke could never have been as funny the second time around, so instead, the three just decided to have some fun, returning to their beloved characters and living out the dream of doing a big rock concert in front of a huge crowd. Frankly, the concert segments are much funnier this time around, with the on-stage antics of the three brilliant comedians, as well as winks back to the first movie in segments like `Rock N' Roll Creation' and `Stonehenge'. Plus, you get to sing along to all the beloved, cheesy, brilliantly idiotic songs from the first movie, like `Big Bottom', `Sex Farm', `Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight', `(Listen To The) Flower People', `Hell Hole' and `All The Way Home'. Also you get a bunch of great new songs like `Bitch School', `Break Like The Wind', `Clam Caravan' and `Cash On Delivery' with a rare lead vocal performance by Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer - by now, keep in mind, a Simpsons veteran).Before you watch The Return Of Spinal Tap, you should ask yourself two questions. The first is - do I really love Spinal Tap, or did I like it just for the satire? If you really loved the first movie, you'll love seeing the beloved old characters of Smalls, St. Hubbins and Tuffnel return. The second is - would I enjoy watching a Kiss concert? If you answered both these questions with a positive reply, watch it."
"This Is Spinal Tap" went to 11..."Return of"... falls to 10
gillberg87 | Chicago,IL USA | 07/20/2000
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This Is Spinal Tap was (and still is) a hillarious and exremely entertaining cult classic directed by Rob Riener made in 1984. In The Return of Spinal Tap, a just as entertaining sequel was attempted and unfortunately didn't live up to the hype. My thoughts on this movie are that first of all that cheap "made for T.V. movie" look that made it seem very low budget (which it was...)Second, the name should've been Spinal Tap: Live considering %90 of it was concert footage. However, I wouldn't have fast frowarded through most of that footage if it contained more of vintage Tap gags and humor (which it lacks emmensly.) So if you like the music, then I suggest this movie. If not, rent it first. Though I did get a kick out of the amp capo and foldable wine glass (minous the rubber hinges....) invented by lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel. But because of the effort made to create a sequel I give it 3 out of 5 stars. Hardcore Tapheads will certainly give credit where credit is due for even the attempt to recreate one of the greatest movies ever This Is Spinal Tap!"
Save your money unless you're a die-hard collector
gillberg87 | 02/14/1999
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I was disappointed. Essentially, the video is a low-budget film of a Spinal Tap concert, with a few silly moments. The best parts are interviews with people like Rob Reiner and the Air Force base captain (played by Fred Willard). If the video contained more of those interviews, I would have rated it higher. Too bad that such interviews lasted only a few minutes. I liked the original movie, but I wouldn't necessarily want to sit through an entire Spinal Tap concert. Unfortunately, this video asked me to do so, and I respectfully fast-forwarded my way through 90% of it. Save your money, unless you're a die-hard collector of Spinal Tap memorabilia."
WARNING: only a mono transfer from the NTSC LaserDisc
John Frame | Brisbane, Queensland Australia | 06/08/2007
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I now own three different commercially distributed versions of "The Return Of Spinal Tap" and this "Region free NTSC" version is clearly the worst.
I can tell that it is only a MONO transfer to DVD from the NTSC LaserDisc - which is crazy, because I own the LaserDisc and it's in superb digital stereo (one the best live stereo recordings I've ever heard).
When I transferred my own LaserDisc to DVD-R I had to use my brother's PAL output player which does a dodgy inbuilt conversion of NTSC for PAL TV's. Using the right setting on the DVR for that type of input gives acceptable results, but the process does noticeably compromise the video quality - making it look slightly washed out.
So the "Region free NTSC" DVD does have a more appealing look about the video - the colour and contrast are more natural. The major flaw (aside from being mono) is that the soundtrack is very slightly, but very annoyingly, out of synch all the way through - even though it is perfect on my LaserDisc.
As others have pointed out there are several blatant or wildly wrong song titles on this DVD (eight wrong titles in all), and this fact combined with "The Folksmen" being called "The Folkman", indicates that whoever authored this DVD knows as little about the English language as they do about Spinal Tap - and they didn't look for the correct titles elsewhere.
The other available version of "The Return Of Spinal Tap" is on the "bonus" DVD in the 4 disc French made (Studio Canal) boxed set, which comes in a Marshall Stack display box. That version is clearly made from the original film stock - it looks fantastic, BUT it is only the first 60 minutes (side 1) of the 110 minutes on the LaserDisc version AND it lacks some of the post production title and audio editing as well as being in mono - but with a MUCH wimpier sound than the mono audio of the "Region free NTSC" DVD.
I have given up hope of finding an officially released stereo DVD equivalent to my "Return Of Spinal Tap" LaserDisc. It took a bit of work, but I was able to use Sony Vegas video editing software to perfectly synchronise the video from this dual layer mono DVD with the stereo audio from my LaserDisc. It's been well worth the effort to have the best possible version in the DVD format. Mind you, if the producers of this particular DVD had done their job right, then everyone else would be able to own a DVD of the exact same quality.
As it stands this "Region free NTSC" DVD is at best a two star version of what could have been a five star DVD."