This Is Spinal Tap
(From left) Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, and Michael McKean in character for a promotional photo from the documentary-film parody This Is Spinal Tap (1984).
This Is Spinal Tap
film by Reiner [1984]
Also known as: “This Is Spinal Tap: A Rockumentary by Martin Di Bergi”
- Also known as:
- This Is Spinal Tap: A Rockumentary by Martin Di Bergi
This Is Spinal Tap, American film comedy released in 1984 that parodies the “rockumentary” film genre via the exploits of the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap. Directed by American filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner, the film was largely improvised by Reiner and the core cast members—American actors Michael McKean and Harry Shearer and British-American actor and director Christopher Guest. Its success led to a series of documentary parodies directed by Guest, including Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006). (Read Martin Scorsese’s Britannica essay on film preservation.) This Is ...(100 of 653 words)